Luke 1:30-33 ESV
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of HIS KINGDOM THERE WILL BE NO END.”
“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s kingdom. It is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven.” N. T. Wright
“The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you are now invited to belong to it.” N. T. Wright
The reign of Christ’s kingdom has begun, and it will have no end. The kingdom will be fully manifested when Christ comes again, but the inauguration of His kingdom and the completion of that inauguration occurred in his incarnation and resurrection. Those words that Gabriel spoke to Mary about the un-ending kingdom and reign of Christ are extraordinarily significant and practical for Christians to get deep down inside of them, in this ever-changing world where it appears that darkness is prevailing. Part of the discipline of practicing the presence of Jesus is to fix our eyes on him and not the darkness that surrounds us. No matter what it looks like or feels like, the reign of Christ has not been paused and will never end. Psalm 97 makes it clear that even when there are clouds and thick darkness surrounding, behind all that, the Lord is reigning, and therefore we can rejoice. During this time of pandemic and political and social upheaval, it is imperative that we look beyond the darkness and believe what God’s word says about the kingdom of Christ never ending. Things may seem really bad right now, but the kingdom of Christ has not ended. You may be personally going through a very difficult time, but it is important that you look beyond the clouds and thick darkness and rejoice in the fact that the reign of Christ continues and will prevail in your life. If we don’t keep that foundational truth before us concerning our own personal lives or the world around us, we will easily fall into despair and deception. Is the devil real and is evil present in the world? Yes, but the reign of Christ continues, and His kingdom will prevail.
If you are a passenger in an airplane and at 33,000 feet in the air, one of the engines go out, that is not good, but if the pilot comes over the intercom system and says for everyone to not be afraid because he is in control and that he is a good pilot, then you can be at peace. The pilot didn’t cause the engine to go out, and engines can go out, but in light of the engine going out, the pilot is in control, and because he’s such a good pilot, he will cause all to work out for good.
Too many Christians today are practicing the presence of darkness and focusing on what the enemy is doing instead of fixing their eyes on Jesus and the unending reign of His kingdom. When Jesus was crucified, it appeared as if everything his followers had hoped for came crashing down before their eyes. In acts 2:23, Peter said that Jesus was “nailed to a cross by the hands of godless (wicked) men.” Even though evil acted in the crucifixion of Christ, God’s purposes were advanced, and His kingdom came forth in the resurrection. No matter what you might be going through or what the world might be going through around you, keep your eyes on Jesus, knowing that His kingdom hasn’t ended, and it will come forth manifesting the advancement of God’s purposes. He reigns!!