Seeking and Entering the Kingdom

Seeking and Entering the Kingdom
One particular trait about the kingdom is that is can be sought and entered. However, some passages that discuss this "entering of the kingdom" seem to relate to the present, but others seem to relate to the future. Those that relate to conversion are discussed below; those that relate to judgment are discussed under Distinguishing Between Conversion and Judgment Standards in the Gospels.

Section	Text	Comments
36	JN 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; [2] this man came to Him by night, and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." [3] Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." [4] Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" [5] Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] "Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.' [8] "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."	Jesus states that new birth-- one of water and spirit-- is required for entry into the kingdom. Since such a new birth is an event, it seems to be pointing towards conversion rather than something that might be a criteria at the time of judgment. Jesus has one new birth in mind. Verse 3 makes this clear. Some have tried to make this into two "births" on the basis of verse 5. However, the Greek has one preposition governing both "water" and "spirit." This construction links the two together. In context, this is probably referring to the baptism of John. John's baptism was controversial, especially to the religious leaders (Jn 1:19-28). This passage doesn't directly say anything about Christian conversion because it is talking about John's baptism. But Christian conversion is an extension of John's baptism in that it is also referred to as a "new birth" (ref. 1 Pet 1:3, 23, 1 Jn 2:29 et. al.).
89, 90	MT 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. MT 13:45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, [46] and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.	The value of the kingdom is great, great enough for someone to sell all he has to get it. There is a contrast here between the man in the field who finds a treasure somewhat haphazardly and the merchant who is diligently looking for a pearl. Though they came upon something of great value in different ways, they recognized that value and made an appropriate deal to ensure themselves of that thing of great value. Relating to Christian conversion, some might stumble upon the gospel, others might diligently search for its truth. Those who find it joyfully place it above all else in their lives.
145, 199	LK 11:52 "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered." MT 23:13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.	Continuing in his opposition to the religious leaders, he speaks against them for obscuring the ways of God to the people. Certainly some were entering but being hindered by the opposition and false teachings of the religious leaders. This text doesn't say anything directly about Christian conversion, but it does show that religious leaders can obscure God's ways from people.
158	JN 10:1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. [2] "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. [3] "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. [4] "When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. [5] "And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." [6] This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. JN 10:7 Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. [9] "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.	This passage uses the allegory of the shepherd and sheepfold. In this time and place, sheep pens had a single opening. Sometimes they had a gate and doorkeeper. In this case the shepherd is the one with legitimate access to the gate and sheep, as the sheep follow his voice only. Other times, there would be no gate to the sheep pen. Shepherds would then occupy this opening to keep sheep from leaving. Thus, Jesus positions himself as the shepherd of God's flock here. He is the legitimate shepherd and the gate itself. The gist of this passage is that other would-be "shepherds" were thieves and robbers, but the sheep-- God's people-- did not follow them. The sheep recognize the Shepherd's voice and follow him. The analogy of the sheep entering suggests that the subject is people entering God's fold. The contrast between the thieves and robbers entering illegally vs. entering through Jesus suggests that this is a call for the leaders to recognize Jesus' role as the Shepherd and Gate for all the sheep. This text doesn't say much about Christian conversion, other than the obvious point that one must go "through Jesus" to become part of God's flock. This idea is echoed in Jn 14:6, men must go through Jesus to get to the Father.
168	LK 16:14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at Him. [15] And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. [16] "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. [17] "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. [18] "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.	Jesus had just warned the listeners that they could not serve both God and money. Here he goes after their desire to be esteemed among each other instead of being esteemed by God. People are said to be "forcing their way into the kingdom." Obviously, Jesus is speaking of something in the present tense-- that people are hearing the gospel and "everyone" (hyperbole, no doubt) is "forcing" his way into the kingdom. The suggestion here is that people are attempting to associate themselves with Jesus but are simultaneously disregarding his teachings-- specifically, on the authority of the Law, matters of divorce and the proper use of material wealth. This doesn't speak much about Christian conversion in a positive sense, but does show that some may try to "force" their way into the kingdom while simultaneously disregarding the authoritative teachings of the word.
177	MK 10:13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. [14] But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. [15] "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all." [16] And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands upon them.	Children are being brought to him, but being chased away by the apostles. Jesus' correction contains two interesting elements: 1) the kingdom belongs to children-- illustrating that children seem to be within God's grace apart from faith, and 2) that adults need to receive the kingdom (probably meaning the gospel of the kingdom) like a child. Many childlike attributers could be cited-- humility, joy, trust. These must accompany the receiving of the message for conversion to occur.
194	MT 21:31 "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The latter." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you. [32] "For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.	"Doing the will of the Father" from faith is contrasted with past behavior and "religious standing" as the key to entering the kingdom. It is interesting that this is expressed in a future context-- "will get into..." Whether the church or heaven is in view isn't clear. Jesus is commending the faithful response of the tax-gatherers and harlots.
197	MK 12:28 And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" [29] Jesus answered, "The foremost is, `HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; [30] AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' [31] "The second is this, `YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." [32] And the scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher, You have truly stated that HE IS ONE; AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; [33] AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." MK 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.	The idea of a particular individual being "not far" from the kingdom suggests not only ideological proximity but also closeness to entrance. The valuing of love over sacrifices and obedient actions is thus a key element to entry into the kingdom.