Jesus stated more than once that He is the King of the perfect world, that we have a choice to enter the Kingdom now, and that He is the way to enter that Kingdom.  Yet it’s a Kingdom with a twist—there is no immediate power over territory, no immediate conquering of enemies, no immediate peace and prosperity.

Perhaps because so much yet remains to be fulfilled, we’ve unconsciously minimized the relevance of the claim.  His listeners knew nothing about a first and second coming—they naturally supposed it was a package.  So they had to decide, “Is this humble itinerant teacher/healer the coming King?”  His disciples believed him.

The astonishing reality is that Jesus has already brought the Kingdom, and our perspective, limited by time, keeps us from seeing this.  As we understand that Jesus fulfilled many prophecies and is fulfilling all the rest, our view of the story of our lives may change.  If we follow Him, we realize that we have a part in the coming of the Kingdom and a responsibility to play our part.

While there are many passages devoted to descriptions of the coming Kingdom, we can take one instance to show the relationship between the Kingdom prophecies and Jesus.  A series of descriptions of immense prosperity for Jerusalem in Isaiah 60 includes the following promises:
• Glory of God will shine on Jerusalem
• People will return
• Wealth of many lands will be brought to Israel
• Foreigners will rebuild the cities
• The Temple will be glorious
• Children of former tormentors will bow
• Violence will disappear from the land
• God will be the light
• Sun and moon won’t go down
• Mourning will come to an end
• All people will be righteous
• The land will belong to them forever
• Smallest family will be a large clan

In the midst of these promise of Israel’s future prosperity and honor, come the verses in Isaiah 61:1,2:
• The Spirit of God is on me
• I bring good news to the poor
• Comfort the brokenhearted
• Free the oppressed
• Announce the time of God’s favor (the Year of Jubilee)
• God’s anger against His enemies

Jesus claimed He fulfilled these verses.  When he preached his first sermon at Nazareth and quoted this he stated:  “This Scripture has come true before our very eyes!” (Luke 4:21)  In addition to the scripture that Jesus applied to Himself there are several others from the context that we recognize fit him.  Once we realize that Jesus is the glory of God, we realize that “the glory of the Lord is shining upon” Jerusalem has been fulfilled.  “All nations will come to your light.  Mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” (Is. 60:3)  When He was born they brought “gold and incense for the worship of the Lord” (Is. 60:6). 

Yet clearly there are portions that, to some extent, are being fulfilled in our day—eg. the return of Jews to the land of Israel—and portions that remain to be fulfilled—eg. “Violence will disappear from your land.”  (Is. 60:18)  God knew when He spoke through the prophets that Jesus coming as the Son of Man, as the King, involved a coming as a baby, a humble servant, as a Messiah who would die.  We can see now that this, in fact, all fits together.

An important point for our spiritual understanding is to really grasp in what sense “the Kingdom is at hand” in our time of waiting for the final fulfillment of all the promises.

Prophecies provide tangible proofs that Jesus is the King.  His acts resonated with Old Testament prophecies.  Not only prophecies regarding his lineage, birth, childhood, entry into Jerusalem, and his death and resurrection, but each of the acts of his ministry.  Prophecies regarding the coming King include that he will heal, remove unclean spirits, forgive sins, calm storms, provide feasts, remove death and wipe away tears.  Specific prophecies refer to healing the blind, deaf, lame, and mute.  Jesus knew this was evidence to any who understood the Old Testament that he was the promised King, and he referred to these acts as proof for John the Baptist when he had reached a moment of doubt in his imprisonment.

Josh McDowell, in Evidence that Demands a Verdict, gives us many of the instances of Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment in Christ.  He outlines nearly two hundred and cites a Bible Encyclopedia with 191 and another source with 323.  I find the later figure quite believable, but haven’t yet managed to track down the source.  Further, he gives the incredible improbability that even eight prophecies would be fulfilled in one person, much less so many, many more. (p. 193-4).

But it is not just prophecies as proof of Jesus as the promised King that interests me, it is that EVERYTHING that Jesus did has echoes in the Old Testament, and so many of these prophecies tie into descriptions of the Kingdom of God.  In the Appendix I have collected prophecies in conjunction with the events in Jesus’ life from the book of Mark and indicated when these are in the context of prophecies regarding the coming Kingdom.  The verses that follow here highlight things Jesus did in his first coming and show how they are mixed in with the images of future perfection.

Is. 25:1-9 O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God.  You do such wonderful things!  You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.  You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins.  Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble.  Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt.  Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory; ruthless nations will revere you.  But to the poor, O Lord, you are a refuge from the storm.  To the needy in distress, you are shelter from the rain and the heat.  For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert.  But you silence the roar of foreign nations.  You cool the land with the shade of a cloud.  So the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.  On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will spread a wonderful feast for everyone around the world.  It will be a delicious feast of good food, with clear, well-aged wine and choice beef.  In that day he will remove the shadow  of death that hangs over the earth.  He will swallow up death forever!  The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.  He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people.  The Lord has spoken!  In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God.  We trusted in him, and he saved us.  This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.  Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!

Is. 35: 1-6  Even the wilderness will rejoice in those days.  The desert will blossom with flowers.  Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy!  The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel’s pastures, and the plain of Sharon.  There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God.  With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have week knees.  Say to those who are afraid, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.  He is coming to save you.”  And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf.  The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing!  Springs will gush forth in the wilderness and streams will water the desert.