Come to Meet Jesus

Open the Gospels and you meet a world crackling with the miraculous, blind eyes opening, the sick recovering, the dead raised. Then you look at your own life, and the gap can be unsettling. Why do we not see what the early church saw? It is worth asking honestly, without rushing to explain the discomfort away.

One popular explanation is that signs and wonders were only ever meant for the apostles, needed just long enough to get the church started, and no longer necessary now that we have the Bible. It is a tidy theory. The trouble is there is not a single verse that actually says so. What Scripture does say is startling.

Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Mark 16:20

The Prayer That Changes Everything

Here is a clue that reorients the whole question. What does God care about above all else in this age? Look at the very first request Jesus put on our lips when He taught us to pray: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." That is God's opening priority, His heartbeat.

We usually hear that the salvation of souls was the primary thing Jesus came to accomplish. And souls matter enormously. But notice the deeper truth: Jesus came to receive a kingdom, to be enthroned as King, and it was as King, with all authority in heaven and on earth, that He was able to save anyone at all. He did not receive a kingdom in order to save souls; He saved souls because He had received a kingdom, and as King He loved us enough to rescue us.

So His very first teaching moment was, "Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near." The word kingdom does not only mean a territory or a people. At its heart it means the reign, the rule, the active authority of a king. Jesus came to receive the right to reign over this world and this age, even while the territory was still occupied by the enemy.

Heaven Invaded Earth

Think of history in ages. There was the age of Adam, when humanity was given dominion over creation. That age ended when we sinned and handed our authority over to the evil one, opening the age we still live in, the age in which Scripture repeatedly calls Satan the prince and god of this world. And there is a coming age, the age of King Jesus, when righteousness and peace will fill the earth, when, as Isaiah pictured it, the wolf and the lamb will lie down together and nothing will hurt or destroy.

Now here is the astonishing thing. While we were still under the present age, the King of the coming age stepped into our age and received authority to reign, right in the middle of enemy territory. Heaven invaded earth. Jesus effectively announced, "I know the devil still holds sway, but a new King has arrived, and He has come to destroy the works of the devil, even now."

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8

The enemy will not be fully and finally undone until the age to come. But even now, his works can be pushed back. Even now, people can be transferred, in the realm of the spirit, out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Jesus, where there is life. That is why Jesus said the kingdom had come near. It is not yet fully here, but it can come near enough to taste.

Bringing the Kingdom Near

This reframes what "your kingdom come" is really asking. It is not only, "Take us to heaven one day." It is a plea that we would see the reign of God break into our world and our lifetime, however briefly. Jesus would never have told us to pray for the coming age to arrive, that will happen whether we pray or not. He taught us to pray that people might begin to taste that kingdom now.

And someone has to cooperate with God to bring it near enough for people to taste and see that the Lord is good. That is why, when Jesus sent out His disciples, He did not simply tell them to invite people to be born again. He said, announce that God's rule has invaded this world, and back the announcement up: heal the sick, open blind eyes, set people free, in the name of the King of that kingdom.

As you go, proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:7-8

Remember Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night, drawn not by the words Jesus spoke but by the works He did. Anyone can talk; but to heal, to set free, to show glimpses of the coming kingdom, that is different. And what did Jesus tell him? The kingdom is near you now, and here is how to enter it: be born again, believe on the Lord Jesus, and receive the very life of that kingdom.

Signs That Confirm the Word

Look again at Mark 16:20. The Lord confirmed the word with signs following. Not the apostles, the word, and specifically the word of the kingdom, the message that introduced people to the King who had invaded this age. So here is a sobering possibility: perhaps one reason we see so little is that we are not out in our world introducing people to King Jesus at all.

The usual appeals we hear, come to Jesus, give Him your heart, be washed clean, are precious and true. But there is a fuller announcement to make: that a King has come, that His kingdom is near, and that His nearness can be tasted where the enemy has done his worst, in people's bodies, their marriages, their businesses, their broken places. That is how you introduce a King who reigns in the midst of His enemies, by coming against the enemy's works in love.

Imagine walking through an ordinary day with that awareness: "The kingdom of heaven is near this person. Could this be a moment for someone to taste it?" Imagine our worship, our gatherings, our small groups all quietly aimed at bringing the King near enough that people say, "I want more; I want this King in my life." That is what it means to come, and to invite others to come, and meet Jesus.

Where the Miraculous Begins

When you read how Jesus fed the five thousand, notice where it starts. He was moved with compassion, because the crowds were like sheep without a shepherd. Nearly every time Jesus demonstrated the kingdom's power, it flowed from compassion, a pity so deep He would gladly give Himself in exchange. It is the ache a mother feels for her nursing child. So let yourself feel it. When compassion stirs in you, an opportunity to show the nearness of God's kingdom is often close at hand.

Alongside compassion, learn to see what the Father is doing. Jesus said He only did what He saw His Father doing, so when others rushed to natural solutions, He would pause and sense where heaven was already at work. This is why living close to the Spirit matters so much, because it is the Spirit who takes the things of the Father and shows them to us.

Freedom to Try

Now here is a word that takes the pressure off. Recognize your own inadequacy and lean entirely on the Holy Spirit. Very practically, that means you will sometimes, maybe often, pray and see nothing happen. That is not a reason to stop. Use what you have, a simple prayer, the laying on of hands, a bit of oil, and lift people up in God's name. And if nothing seems to happen, it does not make God's word untrue; it just means we are still learning to draw on His power, and we get better with practice.

One minister recounted praying for nearly a thousand people and watching every terminally ill person he prayed for die. Yet he kept going, convinced the problem was not God's unwillingness but his own inexperience in cooperating with God. One day he finally said, "God, I give up," and sensed the Lord reply, "Good, now you are ready. You have been in the way all along." There is grace even in our failures, and freedom to keep trying.

Finally, listen for instructions and do whatever He says. Often there is a simple word, rise and walk, go and wash. Interestingly, faith is not the first thing in seeing the kingdom break in; it is the last, the obedience that acts on what the King says. The kingdom is received like a little child, and it is your Father's good pleasure to give it to you.

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

So this is the invitation, and it is open to everyone, the seasoned believer and the curious newcomer alike. Come and meet Jesus, not merely a teacher or a comfort, but the King who has stepped into our world to make things whole. Commit today to introduce Him to the people around you, stay open to the promptings of the Father, and start practicing your faith one ordinary moment at a time. Let His kingdom come, near enough to taste, right where you are.