Seeing the Kingdom

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NKJV)

Under the cover of night, Nicodemus, a prominent leader, a Pharisee, came to Jesus. All that Jesus was doing had not just made him curious but had piqued his interest. Nicodemus wanted to know more; he desired a deeper understanding. I believe that Nicodemus, though puzzled, was hungry for it.

Jesus did not hesitate to go straight to the heart of the matter. “You cannot see the Kingdom…unless you are born again…you cannot enter the Kingdom unless you are born of water and of the Spirit” (see John 3:3,5)

Jesus revealed two truths that night which spoke of seeing and entering. But Jesus, in speaking to Nicodemus, was also alluding to something much deeper. You see Nicodemus, as mentioned earlier, was a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, a Teacher of religion, yet he neither understood or knew these things.

Jesus was showing that one can be a teacher of Scripture and still not understand the simplest of truths it contains. How disconcerting is that to us who are dependant on our leaders’ interpretation of the Word? How many of our leaders, who bring the Word to us are struggling to understand the Word?

That may be a topic for another day.

Luke 17:20 tells us,

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation”

Jesus is referring here to natural observation. We need God to open our spiritual eyes to see the Kingdom, and the realities contained therein. But, going back to John chapter 3, a spiritual birth must first take place. Jesus was speaking a language that was foreign to Nicodemus since he could not grasp what was being said to him.

Many of us are like Nicodemus in that our eyes are covered to the Kingdom;we don’t believe earthly things, therefore we will not believe heavenly things (see John 3:12).

Do you know who saw the Kingdom but never entered?

Asa Wright Nature Centre

Moses saw the Kingdom – the Promised Land- but never entered. We do not want to be like Moses, do we? We want to see and to enter, not in the future but now. Too many of us are born again statues. We remain in one position, doing the same things and saying the same things and expecting the same things. We are content with complacency and living on the edge of the Kingdom. Seeing the Kingdom but unable to enter the Kingdom.

We keep hitting the Rock instead of speaking to the Rock. We are stuck on the outskirts, and we cannot even recognize that that is where we are. We could be moving forward with our Living Lord but we’re too full of our own righteousness to realize that we are at a standstill.

We religiously prattle about this and that, sincerely believing that we are fluent in Jesus-talk, but we do not truly understand His language so we fail to follow His basic instructions, all the while, walking in our own created glory.

The fact is, we cannot see the Kingdom far less enter the Kingdom, without the Spirit. Seeing the Kingdom is seeing in the Spirit. This involves intimacy with the Spirit of Jesus Christ; we must desire more. We must be like Nicodemus in this regard. We need to become hungry not to just observe naturally, but to see spiritually…to hear and to talk and to walk in the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:8-9 (NLT)

But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

 

Amen †

 

 

Shelley Johnson “Seeing the Kingdom” © February 25, 2025