By: John Krug
Mysteries have always had a great fascination for many people. A quick perusal of any book store will reveal scores of mystery books that attract many purchasers. Movies and TV have also fed the mystery fans a constant barrage of "who done it" tomes. The old Sherlock Holmes and other mysteries can often be found on the old rerun channels. With great fondness I remember the Hardy Boy mysteries I devoured as a boy. Even my sister's Nancy Drew mysteries were a fascination, although I would never let the guys know that! Later as kids and into our teens we played the board game Clue for hours. I can still recall Colonel Mustard subjecting the victim to a lead pipe in the library, or was it Mrs. Peacock doing the dastardly deed with a candlestick in the ballroom? Mysteries are even so fascinating to some that they spend a whole evening riding a mystery train trying to solve some great crime. There may be some who would view that as a waste of a good train ride.
A definition from Webster's that would fit the investigation of mysteries is "a piece of fiction dealing with the solution of a mysterious crime". However, the word mystery has its roots much farther back into the past. It is a Biblical word which removes it from the realm of fiction and puts the plot and solution in the hands of God. In looking at the Greek word for mystery (musterion) as used in the New Testament, it can be observed that our word for mystery is a simple transliteration. The Easton Bible Dictionary states that mystery is "a truth undiscoverable except by revelation, long hid, now made manifest." Unger's Bible Dictionary states that mystery "has reference to some operation or plan of God hitherto unrevealed. It does not carry the idea of a secret to be withheld, but to be published." I Corinthians 4:1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. The apostle Paul here recognizes his responsibility for divulging to believers the mysteries with which he was entrusted.
In the New Testament this word mystery is used a number of times, and I felt that playing detective would be of interest in determining what are some secrets that God has allowed to be hidden in the past that are now revealed to us. In an effort to properly analyze the truth of the mysteries we'll ask the following questions: What was hidden in the past? Why was it hidden? Why is it now revealed?
Unger's Bible Dictionary gives the list of mysteries that occur in the New Testament as follows:
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"The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13:3-50)
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The mystery of the translation of the living saints at the end of the Church age (1Cor. 15:51, 52; 1Thess. 4:14,17)
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The mystery of the Church as the Body of Christ, composed of saved Jews and Gentiles of this age (Eph. 3:1-11; 6;19; Col. 4:3)
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The mystery of the Church as the Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:28-32)
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The mystery of ‘Christ in us the Hope of glory' (Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:26,27)
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The ‘mystery of God, even Christ' (Col 2:2,9; 1Cor 2:7) This mystery involved Christ as the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form.
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The mystery of iniquity (2Thess. 2:7; Matt 13:33)
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The mystery of the operation by which man is restored to godliness (1Tim. 3:16)
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The mystery of Israel's blindness during the gospel age (Rom. 11:25)
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The mystery of the seven stars (Rev. 1:20)
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The mystery of Babylon, the harlot (Rev. 7:5,7)"
1. The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13:3-50)
This is the great passage of Jesus expounding the parables of the kingdom of heaven. After stating the parable of the sower and seed to the multitudes, Jesus proclaimed to His disciples in verse 11: "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them (the multitudes) it has not been granted." Jesus then goes on to explain the parable of the sower to His disciples and then followed with a number of other parables including: the tares and the wheat, the mustard seed, the leaven, hidden treasure, the pearl of great value and the dragnet. To look at these parables in detail is a comprehensive study in itself; but for this study we want to see their significance as it relates to the idea of mystery.
Our first question has to do with what was hidden in the past. The truths that Jesus expounded here about the kingdom for the disciples and our benefit, and incidents that would occur at the "end of the age", could have only been found in the background of some Old Testament rituals or in some partial and vague predictions of the prophets. These truths could have been perceived by the Old Testament scholars; but they failed to understand the purpose of the coming Messiah. When Jesus was being examined by Pilate He stated in John 18:36: "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." Because He recognized that Jesus was not a threat to the Roman rule, Pilate made an effort to have Jesus released.
This brings us to the next question of why was the truth hidden in the past. Had the Jewish scholars studied their scriptures with a view toward a spiritual Messiah, the truth would have not been hidden. The people had the wrong concept of what the kingdom was all about. Most thought the purpose of the coming Messiah was to end the rule of Rome and reestablish the rule of Israel. Because of this misconception, they could not understand the idea of a Messiah who was coming to establish a spiritual rather than a physical kingdom. A closer study of the parables of Matthew 13 gives insight on how one is to live and minister in God's kingdom rather than organizing a military conquest in the name of the Lord. Even after the resurrection Jesus' disciples still had not completely grasped the true meaning of kingdom living. This was quite evident in Acts 1:6 "So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, 'Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?'" The last thing that Jesus told them before His ascension is found in Acts 1:8 "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
This then leads us into the third question of why the truth is now revealed. The previous verse in Acts gives us some clue. The truths of the kingdom were to be incorporated in the lives of Jesus' believers to be His witnesses on earth after He returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of the throne of God. John 1:11,12 "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name," We who have believed in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior then have a two fold commission: First we are to heed and understand the message of the parables and incorporate the kingdom principles as our lifestyle and Biblical world view. Romans 14:17 "…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Colossians 1:13 "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." Second, Jesus left the work to His disciples and ultimately us to spread the message of the kingdom to those who are lost in their sins. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." We who have been saved by God's grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross have a wonderful gift to share with those who are outside of the kingdom. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
TO BE CONTINUED…..
All Scripture from The New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation.
