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| WHAT SHOULD A LEADER LOOK LIKE? |
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| Jesus told to describe his "kingdom of heaven" - a phrase used 32 times in Matthew. Although Jesus never concisely defined the phrase, he gave many clues about the nature of his kingdom. The kingdom is so important, he said, that belonging to it is worth selling everything a person owns. Jesus said his kingdom doesn't have geograpical boundaries. Unlike, say, Greece or China or Spain, it can't be charted on a map. Its followers live right among their enemies, not separated from them by a moat or a wall. Yet Jesus predicted that his kingdom would show remarkable growth even in an evil environment bent on its destruction. The Disciples Fail to Understand The "kingdom of heaven" consists of the rule of God in the world. It's made up of people of all races and from all nations who loyally follow God's will on earth. Jesus stressed that this new kingdom was a major advance in God's plan: its least member, he said, is even greater than John the Baptist was (11:11). The disciples, accustomed to more traditional images of power and leadership, couldn't quite grasp Jesus' concept of the kingdom. They kept asking him to explain his parables even as they jockeyed vainly for status. As the days passed, the disciples became convinced that Jesus was "the Messiah," the Son of the Living God!" - Peter won warm praise for that assertion (16:17). But he received Jesus' strongest rebuke in the next scene when he recoiled from the idea that his leader might soon suffer and die. The paradoxes of Jesus' style of leadership deepened as |