A Historical Watershed Moment

THE WORLD WAS TURNED INSIDE OUT BY JESUS. A key historical turning point occurred two thousand years ago. The birth of Jesus absolutely shattered history! Even now, the secular world calculates time from His birth, though some in our culture would desire to see this change. But there is no denying that no other person in recorded history has ever received such a distinction! Since Jesus walked the globe, there have been other historical turning points, but no one has ever had the same impact on the world as His life and ministry. His gang of "roughneck" rebels turned the world on its head! THE KINGDOM'S SIGNIFICANCEIn Matthew 10, Jesus commissions His twelve disciples, sending them out in pairs to proclaim that "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Our modern understanding of the phrase "at hand" is "near" or "close," yet a more realistic definition would be "a taste or a preview of what is to come." He came the first time to announce the arrival of a Kingdom that was not of this world, as well as to prepare us for a future dimension of completeness.In the same context, Jesus instructs His disciples to "...cure the sick, bring the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons," defining this sight of the "Kingdom" as a manifestation of supernatural power. These would be the signs pointing the way to a greater Kingdom still to come, just like a billboard might offer you a glimpse of what's up ahead on the highway - a restaurant or filling station.