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The Realm of Heaven Is at Hand | Matthew 9:36–10:8

The Realm of Heaven Is at Hand | Matthew 9:36–10:8

Last updated on: June 13, 2026 at 3:05 pm by Jeff Hood

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The Realm of Heaven Is at Hand | Matthew 9:36–10:8 2026-06-13T15:05:52-06:00 Jeff Hood

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The Realm

The Realm is at Hand

I. Sheep Without a Shepherd

When Jesus looked at the crowds he saw a people who had been abandoned. The text says they were like sheep without a shepherd. That image is not sentimental. It is political.

A shepherd was supposed to protect the flock. A shepherd was supposed to defend the vulnerable. A shepherd was supposed to stand between danger and those who could not defend themselves. Yet when Jesus looked upon the people he saw a nation full of leaders with almost no shepherds.

The rich had protected themselves. The powerful had protected themselves. The religious authorities had protected themselves. The empire had protected itself. But who was protecting the people? Who was protecting the poor? Who was protecting the sick? Who was protecting the condemned? Who was protecting those crushed beneath systems they did not create… could not escape?

Jesus looked upon the suffering of the people and refused to look away. That is where liberation always begins. Liberation begins when somebody refuses to look away.

The powerful survive by convincing us that suffering is normal. They tell us poverty is inevitable. They tell us violence is unavoidable. They tell us oppression is simply the way things are. They tell us there is no alternative.

But Jesus looked at the crowds and saw something different. He saw people who deserved better than the world they had been given. He saw people who deserved more than survival. He saw people who deserved life.

The Gospel begins with the conviction that the world as it is does not reflect the world as God intends it to be. God did not create human beings to be crushed. God did not create human beings to live in fear. God did not create human beings to be disposable.

The suffering of the people was not the will of God. The suffering of the people was the consequence of powers that had forgotten God.

That is why Jesus says the harvest is plentiful. The fields are full. The need is everywhere. The wounded are everywhere. The forgotten are everywhere. The oppressed are everywhere. The harvest is not scarce. The workers are.

There are too few people willing to enter places of suffering. Too few willing to confront systems of death. Too few willing to risk comfort for the sake of liberation. Too few willing to tell the truth when the truth becomes dangerous.

The harvest is plentiful. The laborers are few.

II. Unclean Spirits

Then Jesus sends the disciples out. Notice what he does not tell them to do. He does not tell them to protect the status quo. He does not tell them to bless the existing order. He does not tell them to make peace with injustice. He sends them into direct conflict with everything that diminishes human life.

The text says he gave them authority over unclean spirits. Too often we imagine unclean spirits as something distant from the realities of public life. But the ministry of Jesus constantly reveals that evil is never merely personal.

Evil becomes embedded in systems. Evil becomes embedded in institutions. Evil becomes embedded in economies. Evil becomes embedded in laws. Evil becomes embedded in the stories societies tell themselves.

Unclean spirits are the forces that convince us that some people matter less than others. Unclean spirits are the forces that transform human beings into numbers. Unclean spirits are the forces that teach us to accept cruelty as normal. Unclean spirits are the forces that turn suffering into policy.

Jesus does not negotiate with those spirits. He drives them out. The mission of the church is not to accommodate the forces of death. The mission of the church is to confront them.

III. The Realm of Heaven Is at Hand

Then Jesus gives the disciples a message. The realm of heaven is at hand.

This is not a promise about some distant future. This is an announcement about the present. The realm of heaven is at hand. The reign of God is breaking into the world right now.

The powers of death do not have the final word. The powers of violence do not have the final word. The powers of exploitation do not have the final word. The powers of empire do not have the final word.

The realm of heaven is at hand. A new reality is breaking through the old one. A new way of living is breaking through the old one. A new vision of humanity is breaking through the old one.

The kingdom arrives wherever the hungry are fed. The kingdom arrives wherever prisoners are remembered. The kingdom arrives wherever the poor are lifted up. The kingdom arrives wherever the excluded are welcomed. The kingdom arrives wherever dignity is restored. The kingdom arrives wherever fear loses its grip.

That is why Jesus immediately connects proclamation with action. Cure the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse the lepers. Cast out demons.

In other words… do not merely talk about liberation. Practice it. Do not merely preach good news. Become good news. Do not merely announce the reign of God. Embody the reign of God.

The Gospel is not an abstract theology. The Gospel is a confrontation with everything that destroys life. The Gospel is a challenge to every system that feeds upon human suffering. The Gospel is a declaration that no one is disposable. The Gospel is a declaration that every person bears the image of God. The Gospel is a declaration that another world is possible because another world is already breaking in.

This is the mission Jesus places before the church. Find the sheep who have been abandoned. Confront the unclean spirits that have settled over the land. Challenge the powers that profit from suffering. Stand beside those whom the world has discarded. Announce that the realm of heaven is at hand.

And then prove it. Not only with words. But with lives so committed to liberation that people can see the reign of God breaking into the world before their very eyes.

The realm of heaven is at hand. The Shepherd has come for the scattered. The unclean spirits are being driven out. And the world as we know it will never be the same.

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About The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood is a Catholic priest (Old Catholic), theologian, and nationally recognized activist based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. A spiritual advisor to death row inmates across the country, Dr. Hood has accompanied more people to their executions than any other advisor in the U.S., including the first-ever nitrogen hypoxia execution in 2024. His work sits at the intersection of justice, radical compassion, and public theology. Dr. Hood holds advanced degrees from Auburn, Emory, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, University of Alabama, Creighton, and Brite Divinity School, among others. He also earned a PhD in metaphysical theology and founded The New Theology School, where he serves as Dean and Professor of Prophetic Theology. Author of over 100 books—including the award-winning The Courage to Be Queer—Dr. Hood’s writings and activism have been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, CNN, and more. A frequent collaborator with men on death row, he sees theology as a shared, liberative act. Dr. Hood has served on the leadership teams of organizations like the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. His activism has earned multiple awards, including recognition from PFLAG and the Next Generation Action Network. On July 7, 2016, Dr. Hood led the Dallas protest against police brutality that ended in tragedy. His actions that night saved lives, and his story is now archived in the Dallas Public Library. A father of five, husband to Emily, and friend to the incarcerated, Dr. Hood rejects institutionalism in favor of a theology rooted in people, presence, and prophetic witness. You can read more about the author here.

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