Here is a link<\/a> to the whole our series on the keys to the kingdom. Thanks to Jim Baker for doing this and to Bob Robinson for hosting the link at his site. And below is the full text. <\/em>
\nKEYS TO THE KINGDOM
\nSCOT McKNIGHT
\n1
\nWe begin today a series on the relationship of the kingdom of God to the Church and I do so for several reasons:
\nFirst, I have long wanted to sort out the evidence in the Gospels and Epistles again. I did some very serious work on kingdom in the 80s and 90s but have felt a need to return to that same evidence with new questions.
\nBest book on kingdom: See GR Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God .
\nSecond, many today have chosen to prefer \u201ckingdom\u201d over \u201cchurch\u201d in a way that is not unlike this idea: as I like Jesus instead of the Church, so I like kingdom instead of Church. This concerns me, and it concerns me deeply. It plays off the distinction between kingdom and church in a way that is out of line with what the New Testament says.
\nThird, in the history of the Church, many have either equated or come close to equating kingdom with the Church. E.g., Augustine, many Roman Catholics (and I assume Eastern Orthodox), and in some ways in the Reformed traditions. Today\u2019s rather cavalier playing off of these two concepts, then, needs to be more respectful of these Church traditions, even if it disagrees with them. (It bothers me when folks dismiss this view without really even knowing about the history.)
\nFourth, Dispensationalism has at times (what it is now is no longer what it was) made a radical distinction between kingdom and Church, not unlike our \u201csecond\u201d point, but with a different set of factors: kingdom being more related to Israel and God\u2019s governance in earthly terms and Church being a spiritual organism. The second group tends to eliminate Israel from \u201ckingdom of God\u201d, sees kingdom as justice and peace and good government in this world, and see the Church in other terms (though I\u2019m not always sure where this group might be on this question).
\nFifth, George Ladd\u2019s famous discussion in his NT Theology (chp 8.), the book on which my generation cut its teeth, defines \u201ckingdom\u201d as a dynamic relationship with God and therefore the kingdom \u201cis never to be identified with the church\u201d (109). This is a non sequitur in my judgment, but it is also our QED \u2014 what we are looking at in this series.
\nLadd\u2019s points:
\n1. NT does not equate believers with kingdom. But he presses on both Matt 13:41 and 16:18-19. But, we\u2019ll look at this too.
\n2. The kingdom creates the church. This assumes the point and explains church as following the kingdom.
\n3. The church witnesses to the kingdom. True, but beside the point. One can reverse it: kingdom people witness to the church.
\n4. The church is the instrument of the kingdom. Same weakness; it is explaining the point rather than proving the point.
\n5. The church is the custodian of the kingdom. Same.
\nHere we go then\u2026 creates, witnesses, is the instrument, and custodian are not arguments but explanations \u2026 each assumes that the two are not the same and explains the one vis-a-vis the other. I want to challenge this but I want to challenge it by looking at the texts in the Gospels to see if these explanations are the best explanations.
\nSixth, to a different subject: the singular background to \u201ckingdom\u201d for Jesus must be kept at a general level for now: kingdom arrival, as Jesus teaches it, must mean the fulfillment of Old Testament and Jewish expectations for the society God has always intended for Israel\/God\u2019s people. [The idea that \u201ckingdom\u201d means simply \u201cheaven\u201d in life beyond death is a reduction; there is continuity between kingdom and heaven, but the two are not synonyms though many seem to use the terms this way.]
\nThere are tons of things to say \u2026 they\u2019ll all come up in the series and in the comments you will offer. Tomorrow I begin with Mark 1:15.
\n2
\nThere are 85\/eighty-five distinguishable references to \u201ckingdom\u201d in the Synoptic Gospels. There are more references, but there are overlaps between Matthew, Mark and Luke that permit us to narrow the references to 85. We\u2019ll look at each one. Here is my breakdown if you\u2019d like it:
\nMark: 20
\nQ: 11
\nMatthew (cutting out Mark and Q references): 32
\nLuke (cutting out Mark and Q references): 22.
\nWe begin with Mark 1:14-15, with Mark\u2019s summary description of Jesus\u2019 ministry: \u201c14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 \u201cThe time has come,\u201d he said. \u201cThe kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!\u201d (See also Matthew 4:17, the parallel.)
\n1. Mark assumes that his readers know what \u201ckingdom of God\u201d means. We can assume that he means the kingdom as expected in the Old Testament and Judaism.
\n2. The kingdom message is the gospel message (v. 14 ties to v. 15).
\n3. When Jesus says \u201cis near\u201d he means \u201con the horizon.\u201d This word does not mean \u201calready arrived\u201d but on the verge of arriving. There is a subtle difference here but we should maintain it. There is an eschatological expectation here: the Big Day is about to arrive!
\n4. One enters into this kingdom\/gospel message of Jesus by \u201crepenting and believing the gospel.\u201d This is not said in so many terms; it seems, however, the only expectation. Jesus announces the near-arrival of the kingdom; he calls those who want to enter it to repent and believe his gospel message.
\n5. The implication of this summary is that there will be a set of followers around Jesus who can be called Jesus\u2019 kingdom community. It is true that there is a \u201cdynamic\u201d at work; but that dynamic is society-forming and not just a dynamic at work in individuals.
\nNow a point I want to make that I\u2019ve made on this blog before: Jesus rarely uses \u201cchurch\u201d. Twice, to be exact. What are we to make of this?
\n1. Did Jesus announce the kingdom but it was the church that formed in its wake?
\n2. Did Jesus preach a bigger vision (kingdom) that the Church narrowed (church)?
\n3. Did Jesus use one term (kingdom) for God\u2019s society and NT writers used another term (church) for God\u2019s society?
\nI think #3 deserves serious consideration. #1 is in some sense true; #2 deserves to be challenged. (Could it be that we have not defined \u201cchurch\u201d big enough?)
\nSee GR Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God .
\n3
\nWe turn today to two texts, Mark 3:24 and 4:11. Here are the texts:
\n3:23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: \u201cHow can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.
\nThis text uses \u201ckingdom\u201d in proverbial fashion. It is set up next to \u201chouse\u201d. A good suggestion here is to see \u201ckingdom\u201d referring to a political kingdom, say one like that of Pilate (a Roman one) or Antipas\u2019 (a more Jewish one).
\nMark 4:11 reads, in context:
\n10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, \u201cThe secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
\n\u201c \u2018they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
\nand ever hearing but never understanding;
\notherwise they might turn and be forgiven!\u2019. \u201d
\n1. Jesus chooses riddle-like parables to explain what he means by kingdom. He doesn\u2019t define it; he plays with it by using images.
\n2. Jesus\u2019 disciples, those who have seen and perceived, those who have heard and understood, and those who have turned and been forgiven (see 1:15) have now grasped to some degree the \u201csecret\u201d of the kingdom of God. [Those who define \u201csecret\u201d tend to guess too much for me at this point in our discussion.]
\n3. The \u201csecret of the kingdom\u201d is the \u201ckingdom itself.\u201d That is, \u201csecret of the kingdom\u201d probably means the \u201csecret which is the kingdom.\u201d (Standard grammatical explanation.)
\n4. To connect \u201csecret\u201d to kingdom means that kingdom is in some sense connected to a kind of knowing others don\u2019t have.
\n5. Clearly, kingdom describes the community of repentant, perceptive, understanding followers of Jesus.
\n4
\nOur kingdom series now moves to Mark 4:26, the fifth reference to kingdom:
\nMark 4:26 He also said, \u201cThis is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain\u2013first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.\u201d
\n1. Jesus chooses to play with kingdom as a term by casting up an image of what it is like.
\n2. Point: the kingdom is like the situation of a farmer who plants and waits; he doesn\u2019t do anything and he doesn\u2019t comprehend it, but the seed finally grows.
\n3. An emphasis here is on \u201cAll by itself\u201d \u2014 and most take this to be an image of God-at-work. Human effort is played off God\u2019s work.
\n4. Harvest normally refers to judgment in the teachings of Jesus.
\n5. This parable does not demand quietude or passivity; instead, it focuses on God\u2019s \u201cunder the ground, mysterious work.\u201d
\n6. Still, the farmer does something: he plants. (And he is concerned and humble and patient.) Planting probably refers to preaching gospel.
\n7. Kingdom here is the work of God that has \u201cabove the ground\u201d manifestations.
\n8. Kingdom describes the work of God, now both below and above ground, that will result in a final judgment.
\n9. The work of God is the gospel message of Jesus at work now.
\nSee GR Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God .
\n5
\nMark 4:30, much like our parable from yesterday, deserves to be quoted as well in context:
\nMark 4:30 Again he said, \u201cWhat shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.\u201d
\nThere have been two major interpretations here: one focusing on gradual growth and one on contrast. The first emphasizes the gradual growth of the kingdom until it takes over (often connected with postmillennialism) and the second the major contrast between present appearance and final glory. I prefer the second one. (I haven\u2019t mentioned this book of mine: A New Vision for Israel ; it is my textbook on the teachings of Jesus in historical context.)
\n1. The present manifestation of the kingdom is like a mustard seed and leaven: inauspicious, quiet, small.
\n2. The future manifestation of the kingdom is out of proportion to its present manifestation: thus, it will be magnificent and glorious and all pervasive.
\n3. Shade for birds probably refers to Gentile inclusion in kingdom (cf. Ezek 17:23; 31:6; Dan 4:10-12; Ps 104:12).
\n4. Work now, Jesus saying, in spite of how inconspicuous it looks because Pay Day is Coming!
\n5. Kingdom of God seems to refer here to the present humble state of God\u2019s work among God\u2019s People.
\nHere\u2019s a tentative proposal: kingdom of God refers to the gospel, the good news of the inconspicuous underground\/above ground work of God, in the present, among those who repent and believe in Jesus. These people \u201cget it\u201d (comprehend) and are restored and forgiven. This work of God is leading to a grand and final harvest-like judgment.
\nAgain, see GR Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God .
\n6
\nMark 9:1 is one of those texts that has baffled interpreters for centuries: And he said to them, \u201cI tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.\u201d What does this tell us about the kingdom and, if anything, about the kingdom\u2019s relationship to the church?
\n1. There are a few texts that, while we cannot treat each one here, deserve to be brought to together because each emphasizes what can only be called the \u201cimminency\u201d of the kingdom of God. That is, Jesus teaches that there will be something dramatic and it will happen soon. Those texts are Luke 19:11; 17:20; Mark 13:20-22 and especially Mark 9:1; Matthew 10:23 and Mark 13:30.
\n2. The question always leads to this: What is it that will happen imminently? The views vary wildly and widely.
\n3. Mark 9:1 says the kingdom of God will come with power. Some see this as:
\nThe Transfiguration (which happens six days later in Mark 9:2-13): this view is at least contextual if it is also a rather immediate event when one would have thought Jesus was predicting something a little further down the road.
\nThe Resurrection
\nThe Destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD (here \u201cwith power\u201d would be close to \u201cin judgment\u201d or \u201cin vindication\u201d and \u201cin enthronement\u201d).
\nThe Parousia
\n4. Also in context: these words assure the disciples that, like Jesus, suffering will eventually be swallowed up in victory. Thus from Mark 8: 34 \u201cThen he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: \u201cIf anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father\u2019s glory with the holy angels.\u201d
\nMatthew\u2019s parallel is very much along the same line of thinking: Son of Man coming and kingdom coming with power are connected.
\n5. If one follows the contextual flow from chp 8, the kingdom coming with power is connected to the Son of Man coming in his Father\u2019s glory with the angels.
\n6. I draw this tentative conclusion (tentative because this is a complex saying and it would take pages and pages to work out any resolution): kingdom here refers to the act of God in judgment in 70AD which, as I understand \u201cSon of Man coming,\u201d refers to the inaugural enthronement of Jesus before the Ancient of Days. (I have my doubts that this text refers only to the Transfiguration and there were no angels at the Transfiguration. There is perhaps here an elasticity to \u201ckingdom with power\u201d that could include any significant display of God\u2019s saving and judging power at work \u2014 transfiguration, cross, resurrection, Pentecost, 70AD and Parousia.)
\n7. Kingdom and Church? It does not appear to me that anything is said unless we see in \u201cSon of Man\u201d not only Jesus but all the saints with him. In which case then Mark 9:1 would indicate also the vindication of the Saints of the Most High. The themes here are judgment, power, enthronement, rule, dominion, glory, etc.. And it is imminent.
\n8. What then does kingdom mean here? A decisive, significant act of God in saving and judging and enthroning. Whatever it means, it happened in the lifetime of some of his disciples. Therefore, before 90 AD at the latest. I think it is best to see it referring to the act of God in judgment and vindication at 70AD.
\n7
\nMark 9:47, our 9th reference to kingdom, reads as follows in context: \u201c42 \u201cAnd if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where\u201c \u2018their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.\u2019 49 Everyone will be salted with fire.\u201d
\n1. Here kingdom refers to a place or a condition into which someone enters. (This could be a \u201crelationship\u201d but this is probably not enough.)
\n2. The kingdom in this text, by being connected to Gehenna (the symbol of final condemnation), probably refers to something in the future. (E.g., Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God )
\n3. Entering into that kingdom is the most important thing in life and anything in one\u2019s way must be hurdled and any load to heavy to shoulder must be discarded.
\n4. Treatment of children is the moral issue that gives rise to this saying.
\n5. Kingdom here is nearly synonymous with \u201clife.\u201d So, life and kingdom are in contrast with Gehenna and hell. Hell is a place of unquenchable fire.
\n6. Now, is this Eternity or Kingdom on earth? The context is not entirely clear. Since \u201chell\u201d is normally taken to be an eternal condition, many take this to refer to the kingdom of eternity. In which case it would be either millennial earthly manifestation type of condition or an eternal condition.
\n7. Regardless, whether earthly or eternal (they are in continuity with one another), that kingdom is a society where God\u2019s rule is established. Kingdom here seems to refer to a place or a condition where God\u2019s will is supremely established and practiced.
\nI cannot think the expression \u201ckingdom of God\u201d can ever mean anything other than a set of conditions in which God\u2019s rule is carried out among his people. Kings need people (kingdom) and that involves a society where God is king and God\u2019s people are God\u2019s subjects.
\n8. Still, the focus of this text is moral: nothing must stand in the way.
\n8
\nOur next text is actually two texts: Mark 10:14-15. Here it is: \u201c13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, \u201cLet the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.\u201d 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.\u201d
\n1. Jesus says that the kingdom belongs to children who respond to him.
\n2. Jesus says one receives the kingdom.
\n3. Those who \u201creceive\u201d the kingdom also \u201center\u201d the kingdom.
\n4. The \u201cfuturity\u201d of the kingdom, so it seems from this text, is Everyone\u2019s Future: when one responds to Jesus one enters into the kingdom; when one receives the kingdom one enters the kingdom.
\n5. Is this futurity the eternal kingdom? It is possible to read these two texts as promising a place in the (yet future) kingdom into which no one had yet entered as Jesus was speaking, but I think this view places too much emphasis on time.
\n6. The emphasis here again is moral: respond as you are supposed to and you enter into the kingdom of God.
\n7. Hence, the kingdom here is God\u2019s saving grace, God\u2019s holy grace, God\u2019s will \u2014 however one wants to summarize it \u2014 into which individuals enter. Thus, kingdom is connected to a people that populates it.
\n8. Hence, also, the kingdom is experienced (only) by those who receive it, who respond to Jesus as the children responded to him. That is, who respond to Jesus by receiving him or by trusting him or by following him.
\n9
\nMark 10:23-25, three more references to kingdom, say about the rich young ruler\u2019s response to Jesus: 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, \u201cHow hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!\u201d 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, \u201cChildren, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.\u201d.
\n1. From the young ruler\u2019s question (v. 17), we can infer that \u201ceternal life\u201d and \u201ckingdom\u201d are connected terms. This does not mean \u201ckingdom\u201d means \u201cheaven\u201d since \u201ceternal life\u201d is a dynamic expression of the life of God at work in Jesus and his people that carries into eternity. Still, the question the rich young man asked was about inheriting eternal life. I doubt the man was asking about a better life on earth; I doubt he was asking about a relationship with God; I doubt he was asking about a dynamic in the now. I suspect, in other words, he was asking about entrance into life with God beyond the grave. This is the implication at the end of this passage for sure.
\n2. Or, perhaps, he is inquiring about Jesus\u2019 well-known message about the coming kingdom of God, which he may have understood as earthly\/millennial type of thing, and he was asking about that. I take that to be just as likely. Still, the man\u2019s question is about the future manifestation of God\u2019s kingdom.
\n3. Jesus said it was difficult, very difficult, nearly impossible, perhaps impossible, for the rich to enter into the kingdom because their riches were an obstacle. For Jesus, since he thinks anything too heavy must be discarded, the singular call for this rich man was to give up his riches to the poor if he wanted to enter into the kingdom (when it arrived).
\n4. For Jesus entrance into the kingdom required a moral rigor or a level of commitment or a deep discipleship \u2026 I know of no other way to say what Jesus is getting at here. He says it is very difficult to enter the kingdom and the only ones who do are those who have given up all to follow him. The disciples of Jesus are even taken aback by Jesus\u2019 words.
\n5. Once again, kingdom is future in some sense and it is also entered only by those who do what Jesus says. This is a gift from God (v. 27). Jesus reveals that those who are giving up things for Jesus will be blessed by God both now and, in the future, with eternal life.
\n6. Here kingdom refers to eternal life, to salvation, carried forward into the present and flowing into eternity. Kingdom refers to that society wherein God\u2019s will holds sway and those who do what Jesus teaches enter into that kingdom. King, will, society.
\n10
\nOur 15th reference to kingdom is found in Mark 11:10 but we need the immediate context too: 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, \u201cWhat are you doing, untying that colt?\u201d 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, \u201cHosanna!\u201d \u201cBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!\u201d 10 \u201cBlessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!\u201d \u201cHosanna in the highest!\u201d 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve..
\n1. The anticipation of the crowds, including the disciples according to Luke 19:37, is eschatological: they see in Jesus the arrival of the one who comes in the name of the Lord. This is messianic and it is Davidic \u2014 it is the arrival of royalty.
\n2. Jerusalem is the center of this expectation; the expectation is ruggedly earthly. It concerns peace in the Lukan parallel (19:38).
\n3. The one who comes in the name of the Lord is the one who brings what? \u201cThe coming kingdom of our father David.\u201d This, my friends, is the very heart of anything and everything said about kingdom in the Gospels. The expectation of David\u2019s kingdom frames everything the disciples around Jesus expect and Jesus gives them that \u2026 but not as they expect.
\n4. Yet, at some level, they are mistaken for the kind of kingdom expected is not quite what Jesus brings. Instead, the kind of kingdom he brings will not be by way of the sword or the throne, but by way of the cross and a church and a coming kingdom.
\nHere are some themes that arise this week out of the texts we have examined:
\nThe kingdom is the long sought-after kingdom of David as it was expected to come at the close of the Age. That kingdom will come with power by the end of the lifetime of his disciples.
\nThe kingdom is intimately connected to Jesus.
\nThe kingdom is populated by those who are attached to Jesus; by those who receive the kingdom and who enter the kingdom. These people discard anything that hinders their entrance into that kingdom.
\nThe kingdom is connected to the eternal life of eternity.
\n11
\nMark 12:34, in context, reads: \u201c28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, \u201cOf all the commandments, which is the most important?\u201d 29 \u201cThe most important one,\u201d answered Jesus, \u201cis this: \u2018Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.\u2019 31 The second is this: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 There is no commandment greater than these.\u201d
\n32 \u201cWell said, teacher,\u201d the man replied. \u201cYou are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.\u201d
\n34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, \u201cYou are not far from the kingdom of God.\u201d And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
\n1. The scribe\u2019s question appears to be a genuine one \u2014 he wants to know how to put all of the Law into one bundle of clarity. Jesus\u2019 clarity is what I call the Jesus Creed : love God and love others.
\n2. The scribe\u2019s attempt not only to restate Jesus\u2019 point but also extend it lead us, so I think, to his heart: he gets it. Yes, Love of God and love of others is the heart of the Torah and they \u201cmore important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.\u201d This puts the scribe with some of the prophets who also called Israel to the heart inside the ritual.
\n3. Jesus\u2019 response touches on kingdom of God: this man\u2019s response reveals that he is not far from the kingdom \u2014 and it is not hard to see that \u201cnot far from\u201d might be a litote (deliberate understatement) to say this: \u201cYou are in, brother.\u201d
\n4. I infer that \u201centrance\u201d into the kingdom involves perception of the essence of God\u2019s will as taught by Jesus and commitment to that Jesus.
\n5. Some see the \u201cnot far\u201d to be descriptive only (not a litote). That is, this response reveals the scribe is close \u2014 very close \u2014 to entrance into the kingdom of God. He gets it; he\u2019s on his way \u2026 that sort of thing. (There is no reason to be dogmatic about this for we can\u2019t tell from this grammar if it is a litote or a description; furthermore, both views are consistent with things Jesus teaches.)
\n12
\nWhile \u201ckingdom\u201d is found twice in Mark 13:8 \u2014 \u201ckingdom will rise against kingdom\u201d \u2014 and neither of those is about Jesus\u2019 kingdom, the usage here is part and parcel of what the word \u201ckingdom\u201d means because they are what \u201ckingdom\u201d has to mean: namely, kingdom refers to a society with a king, king\u2019s will, king\u2019s people, and some kind of land boundary. And so when Jesus refers to \u201ckingdom of God\u201d that meaning carries over to some degree. But our concern today is with Mark\u2019s 19th reference, found in Mark 14:25. In context:
\n22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, \u201cTake it; this is my body.\u201d 23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 \u201cThis is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,\u201d he said to them. 25 \u201cI tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.\u201d 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives..
\n1. Here clearly kingdom is a state of affairs or a set of conditions that is yet future to the last supper: \u201cI will not drink again \u2026 until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.\u201d
\n2. The apostle Paul expounds this expression in 1 Corinthians 11:26 with these words: \u201cFor whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord\u2019s death until he comes.\u201d That is, for Paul the \u201cdrink anew in the kingdom\u201d refers to the coming of the Lord. Whether Paul had a \u201cNear\u201d Expectation for such a coming or a \u201cFar\u201d Expectation is not really at issue for understanding Jesus \u2014 what matters is that Jesus\u2019 expectation for the coming kingdom was very early connected to the expectation for his coming.
\n3. That future kingdom can be \u201csymboled\u201d with the image of a Great Banquet. You know probably the many times Jesus \u201csymboled\u201d or \u201cimaged\u201d the future kingdom as a banquet. I discuss that image in my book, A New Vision for Israel .
\n4. The future kingdom is the resumption of former fellowship.
\n5. All Lord\u2019s supper occasions are anticipations of the future Banquet.
\n6. The kingdom here is future \u2014 a future set of conditions in which God\u2019s will is established for God\u2019s society \u2014 and participation in the Lord\u2019s supper is a present expression of faith in that kingdom and a present participation in that kingdom.
\nThis last point, to be honest, could be drawn out into all kinds of points \u2026 if Lord\u2019s supper anticipates kingdom, what does that tell us about kingdom? It\u2019s a good question; I shall imagine today many of you chatting about this over coffee or with friends somewhere.
\n13
\nThe final reference in kingdom in our earliest source, the Gospel of Mark, is found in Mark 15:43 and it ties back to Mark 12:34 (Monday\u2019s post). Here is the reference in context: 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus\u2019 body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid..
\n1. Joseph of Arimathea is portrayed here as a pious Jew, not unlike Simeon of Luke 2. Both Matthew 27:57 and John 19:38 state that this man is a \u201cdisciple\u201d of Jesus. He is connected to Nicodemus in John\u2019s Gospel, connecting him at some level then to John 3 and the nighttime interview of Jesus by a secret would-be disciple, and he is also part of the inner religious establishment in Jerusalem. Joseph is well off. His action here is risky.
\n2. We can infer that \u201cwaiting for the kingdom\u201d is not simply a nice way of describing the pious among those who did not actually follow Jesus but is instead a short-hand expression for disciple. So, when it says he was \u201cwaiting for the kingdom\u201d we can infer he was a disciple of Jesus. Disciples await God\u2019s kingdom. As RT France (Mark ) puts it: kingdom \u201cis intimately bound up with the mission of Jesus, so that [he] must be on Jesus\u2019 side.\u201d
\n3. Again, as with Mark 14:25, the kingdom here is a set of conditions \u2014 king, will, society, land, etc \u2014 in the future for which disciples wait in hope. Hope for the future manifestation of God\u2019s will (upon earth?) is inherent to genuine discipleship.
\n14
\nWe looked at the references to kingdom in Mark; we now turn to the passages found in both Matthew and Luke but not in Mark. Many Gospel scholars call these passages in Matthew and Luke (but not in Mark) \u201cQ\u201d \u2014 a letter beginning the German word \u201cQuelle\u201d meaning \u201cSource.\u201d That is, the Source both Matthew and Luke used in addition to using Mark. Whether you agree or not doesn\u2019t concern me \u2014 the first passage is another one of those that are not \u201cJesus\u2019 kingdom\u201d but we should pause briefly with it.
\nIn Matthew 4:8 (par. Luke 4:5) we read: \u201cAgain, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 \u201cAll this I will give you,\u201d he said, \u201cif you will bow down and worship me.\u201d Here we have kingdom meaning the reign of a king, over a kingdom of subjects where his\/her will rules and where there are boundaries to the land \u2014 expanding or shrinking as they might be. It is my belief that we make a momentous mistake if we don\u2019t factor in this simple sense of kingdom into all our discussion of what Jesus means by kingdom of God.
\nNow to Q:
\nMatthew 5:3 (par Luke 6:20): \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\u201d Luke is different, and his difference is more than a meaningless distinction: Blessed are the poor.\u201d Full stop.
\n1. Jesus promises kingdom of God to those who are poor \u2014 now \u2014 those who are poor in spirit \u2014 now. Every good Gospel teacher will tell you that Jesus probably used the Hebrew word (or Aramaic equivalent) \u201cAnawim\u201d \u2014 meaning the pious poor who, like Simeon and Anna and Mary, his mother, were socially destitute and who waited for the Messiah to come to liberate them, restore Israel to its proper place, end poverty, end oppression, and establish God\u2019s will and kingdom. Jesus jumps into that Israelite expectation and says, \u201cI agree.\u201d
\n2. The kingdom here is probably future \u2014 at least it is future to the poverty of the poor right now.
\n3. But, many say the present tense of \u201cis\u201d \u2014 in \u201ctheirs is the kingdom of heaven\u201d \u2014 indicates they\u2019ve got the kingdom now as they follow Jesus and enjoy the community of Jesus that cares for the poor. I don\u2019t know that one can decide from the evidence in the Beatitudes which of these is the right one with certainty, but the focus of the rest of the beatitudes is futurity. I\u2019m inclined to think this is promise, but even if that is accurate, the point is not \u201chold off, hang on, for good days are coming\u201d but \u201cit\u2019s now being set in motion.\u201d
\n4. Which means this \u2026 very important \u2026 the future kingdom where God\u2019s society will be established in love, peace, and justice, is now making its way into the present in those who follow Jesus. No one can promise a future kingdom to the poor who doesn\u2019t work for those poor in the here and now to instantiate that kingdom now.
\n5. A theme here and elsewhere: for Jesus kingdom reverses everything observable now in this world. Hope, then, rules among those who follow Jesus. Hope for a future of God\u2019s kingdom. A hope that simultaneously motivates behaviors and vision now.
\n15
\nWe now come to a second \u201cQ\u201d text: Matthew 6:10. If Jesus ever defines kingdom of God it is here:
\n\u201c \u2018Our Father in heaven,
\nhallowed be your name,
\n10 your kingdom come,
\nyour will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
\n1. Since this is classic Hebrew parallelism, one can infer that kingdom coming and God\u2019s will being done are complements to one another. So much so that in this case one might say \u201ckingdom\u201d is \u201cGod\u2019s will being done.\u201d
\n2. Anyone who takes the time to compare Matthew\u2019s version of the Lord\u2019s Prayer with Luke\u2019s version of the same knows that only Matthew has the lines about \u201cyour will be one on earth as it is in heaven.\u201d Some think Matthew \u201credacted\u201d the Q saying; most think that extra bit is inherent to the first bit so that is genuinely historical at some level even if it is not verbatim.
\n3. The crucial element here is not if Matthew added it or if Jesus said it this way on another occasion but this: kingdom, if defined by the \u201cyour will be done\u201d line, is about God\u2019s will being \u201cdone on earth as it is in heaven.\u201d
\n4. Kingdom then is future in some sense but it is a future that will be manifest on earth. Kingdom is the earthly manifestation of God\u2019s will. This fits with the Jewish Qaddish prayer that forms the background to the Lord\u2019s Prayer: \u201cMay he establish his kingdom in your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of all the house of Israel, even speedily and at a near time.\u201d
\n5. Jesus\u2019 vision is kingdom vision.
\n6. That coming kingdom would mean:
\nJustice, peace, love, righteousness, etc.
\nEnd of oppression
\nJudgment on the enemies of God
\nVindication for the oppressed friends of God
\nSociety encircling Jesus
\n7. \u201cBrief as it is, no more comprehensive prayer than this can be prayed.\u201d GR Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God , 151.
\n8. This prayer shows that kingdom coming on earth is an act of God.
\n16
\nA favorite text for man is Matthew 6:33 (Q par. at Luke 12:31). Here it is in context: 25 \u201cTherefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
\n28 \u201cAnd why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, \u2018What shall we eat?\u2019 or \u2018What shall we drink?\u2019 or \u2018What shall we wear?\u2019 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own..
\nWhat can we learn here?
\n1. Seeking the kingdom puts one in a position to participate in God\u2019s blessing of provision. How does God provide? Since manna doesn\u2019t appear to be the norm, one would have to say that the provision of God looks more often like Matt 10:9-13 than anything else. Namely, the provision is made through the gracious giving of kingdom people.
\n2. Is the kingdom present or future? Hard to tell; one might say that seeking it ushers one into or one could say, and this seems more likely to me, one orients herself or himself toward the kingdom and, by orienting oneself toward that kingdom, one finds oneself in company with others of the same hopeful orientation.
\n3. Those who seek the kingdom like this are not like the Gentiles; and Gentile here is defined stereotypically as those who live for materiality, pleasure, and things.
\n4. Kingdom is here intimately tied to \u201crighteousness\u201d and this word means \u201cthe behaviors God expects of Eikons and his people.\u201d So, yes, \u201cjustice\u201d is a good translation, but so is \u201crighteousness.\u201d What is behind both is a King who clarifies his will through Jesus (Matt 5:17-48 is the pristine example). So, to seek righteousness is to do what Jesus teaches. Justice \u2014 I say this all the time \u2014 is not defined by the US Constitution or the Enlightenment sense of rights and duties but by God\u2019s will as taught by Jesus.
\nIt seems to me that kingdom here is the future kingdom, the kingdom where God will reign through Christ over the kingdom society in which God\u2019s will is established.
\n17
\nYet another \u201ckingdom\u201d reference (from Q) can be found in Matthew 8:11 (par. Lk 13:29). Again, the full account: When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 \u201cLord,\u201d he said, \u201cmy servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.\u201d
\n7 Jesus said to him, \u201cI will go and heal him.\u201d
\n8 The centurion replied, \u201cLord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, \u2018Go,\u2019 and he goes; and that one, \u2018Come,\u2019 and he comes. I say to my servant, \u2018Do this,\u2019 and he does it.\u201d
\n10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, \u201cI tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\u201d
\n13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, \u201cGo! It will be done just as you believed it would.\u201d And his servant was healed at that very hour..
\n1. Kingdom is future. How far into the future? Is this imminent or is this the Eschaton, the End of History? Many, of course, naturally take this one to be those who will sit with Jesus in the kingdom, ie heaven. There are reasons for this, not the least of which are that the Old Testament and the Gospels connect Eternity (in some sense) with the Great Banquet.
\n2. But this text isn\u2019t so compliant on this score. Why? The idea of v. 12 is that there are some \u2014 namely, the \u201csubjects of the kingdom\u201d \u2014 who will be tossed out. What does \u201ctossed out\u201d mean?
\n3. My suggestion, not one I\u2019m willing to die on a hill for, is that this text might well be referring to 70AD. That is, Jesus predicts that the day is soon coming when the kingdom\u2019s natural inhabitants will be turned out while the followers of Jesus, Jew or Gentile, will be ushered into the kingdom. Now it is not hard to connect 70AD with a full-blown Gentile mission, as can be seen in Matthew 22. So, whether you agree or not, the point is worthy of serious consideration.
\n4. Now to our issue: What is the kingdom here? Once again it is hard to know: it all rests on the meaning of the word \u201ckingdom\u201d and the images connected to it in this context.
\n5. Faith, or human response, is about one\u2019s relation to Jesus.
\n6. The \u201ceast and west\u201d probably refers to Gentiles coming into the kingdom at some level, though some have suggested this is the Diaspora Jews returning to Zion.
\n7. Clearly, some are in and some are out.
\n18
\nHere are the words of Jesus from Matthew 10, our next reference to kingdom in the Gospels: 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: \u201cDo not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: \u2018The kingdom of heaven is near.\u2019 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep..
\n1. The message the twelve missionaries are to preach is summed up in these words: \u201cthe kingdom of heaven is near.\u201d The same is found at Luke 9:2 where it is connected as well with healing.
\n2. This message is the same message John (Matthew 3:2) and Jesus (4:17) preached. Thus, part of this point is continuity: from John to Jesus to the Twelve we have one message; that message is that the kingdom has drawn near.
\n3. The terms \u201cis near\u201d means future, perhaps imminently future, but still future. This term does not mean \u201calready here\u201d but \u201cnear, very near, so near its presence is being felt.\u201d
\n4. Alongside this \u201cmessage\u201d (kerygma) is act: healing, raising dead, cleansing lepers, exorcising demons, living by faith in God\u2019s provision.
\n5. Do we look back too? Is the kingdom Jesus preaches and tells his disciples to preach the kingdom that gathers in the \u201clost sheep of the house of Israel\u201d? If so, this kingdom is not concerned with Gentiles or Samaritans, but the \u201clost sheep\u201d \u2014 whoever they might be.
\n6. The praxis of missioners is to enter a community, find someone worthy \u2014 someone who responds to this kingdom message and actions \u2014 and settle there. So, there is community formation involved in this missional work. (Opposition too!)
\nIt seems to me we are back to two things: (1) what the word \u201ckingdom\u201d meant in the Jewish world (esp here) and (2) how Jesus has used this term up to this point. My contention is that we thrust back on these themes: God as King, Davidic kingdom expectations (think Magnificat, Benedictus, Nunc Dimittis), God\u2019s will, God\u2019s society, God\u2019s society doing God\u2019s will, etc.. Land is involved in such expectation.
\nYour thoughts?
\n19
\nOK, now stepping up to the plate in the kingdom game is a notoriously disputed text. Here it is in context: 11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears, let him hear..
\nThe Lukan version of this is slightly different and here it is: 16 \u201cThe Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law..
\n1. Unquestionably, the kingdom is present in this text.
\n2. A timeline makes this clear: \u201cfrom the days of John Baptist until now, the kingdom has been forcefully advancing.\u201d That means it has been storming its way along since the days of John. But this means John was not really part of the kingdom since Jesus says that those who are \u201cleast\u201d in the kingdom are \u201cgreater than he.\u201d There is a definite time change, not so much with John \u2014 who is the hinge \u2014 with Jesus. It is with Jesus that kingdom arrives in some sense. (How? we\u2019ll get to this below.)
\n3. Kingdom\u2019s arrival means kingdom\u2019s opposition. The forceful men, so I think, are best typified by Herod Antipas who put John to death. These folks are trying to stop the kingdom. This means we have a clear shot at Roman empire and complicity with Jewish leaders.
\n4. Now Luke\u2019s Gospel adjusts this slightly \u2014 and speculating here what the original Q looked like probably will win no converts \u2014 but it is clear that Luke\u2019s Gospel presents the advancing of the gospel under the image of evangelizing and preaching the good news.
\n5. Then Luke changes the response from one of opposition to one of aggressive penetration into that kingdom circle.
\n6. The kingdom of God here describes the circle around Jesus who are right now responding to his good news (evangelism), following him, growing with him, and adding one person at a time to his circle of followers.
\n20
\nMatthew 12:26 is yet one more non-Jesus kingdom. \u201cIf Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?\u201d So we move to Matthew 12:28, one of the most popularly quoted statements of Jesus: 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, \u201cEvery kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you..
\nLuke\u2019s version varies only slightly: But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you..
\n1. Here the kingdom of God is present. The verb ephthasen\/has come upon refers to a present experience in the here and now.
\n2. The indicator of the kingdom\u2019s presence is exorcism; better yet, liberation as a result of exorcism.
\n3. It is Jesus who brings this liberation; kingdom\u2019s liberation comes through Jesus.
\n4. Does this mean that wherever there is liberation there is kingdom? No. Wherever there is liberation as a result of Jesus\u2019 liberating power there is kingdom.
\n5. Are the exorcisms tokens of the final? eschatological signs that kingdom is coming? manifestations of what things will be like?
\n21
\nHere is a word of Jesus from Matthew 13: \u201c33 He told them still another parable: \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.\u201d
\nThis parable is attached to the parable of the mustard seed, and the big issue has to do with whether or not these parables are parables of \u201cgrowth\u201d (describing how the kingdom will grow and eventually take over the world) or parables of \u201ccontrast\u201d (describing humble beginnings as contrasted with great endings).
\nNew book: Klyne Snodgrass has for twenty some years been working on a handbook on the parables of Jesus and it is now out (Stories with Intent ). It\u2019s a must-have for students and pastors. I\u2019ll be posting on it later.
\n1. To compare kingdom of God to leaven is an oddity. Leaven (not yeast; leaven is fermented dough, a patch left to be used in the next batch) is not only unclean but it is also so insignificant, and this seems to be a major point of Jesus: it looks small, it looks humble, it looks insignificant.
\n2. To what would Jesus have been referring to, if we think concretely? The kinds of followers around him, the kind of background he had, the kind of ministry he carried out, the kind of response he was getting, and the kind of death he would die.
\n3. Leaven permeates, so the parable must also be referring to the permeative potency of the kingdom of God Jesus embodies and spreads.
\n4. There is here an organic growth as well \u2014 slow, painless, inevitable, keeps on working.
\nTo what does the kingdom refer here? The power of affects and effects by Jesus and his kingdom message on those around him. Which means, there is also a growing number of followers around him \u2014 growth is about growth
\n22
\nWe have now finished the references to kingdom in Mark (and parallels) and Q. Now we turn to references to kingdom found only in Matthew. We begin with Matthew 3:2: In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.\u201d 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
\n\u201cA voice of one calling in the desert,
\nPrepare the way for the Lord,
\nmake straight paths for him.\u2019 \u201d .
\n1. John the Baptist preaches the same message we have seen of Jesus. Is this a way of drawing John into Jesus\u2019 orbit or a way of showing continuity? Is is a summary capsule, in Jesus\u2019 words, or more of the wording of John? We\u2019ll probably not know.
\n2. Proximity in time (and in a sense space) creates urgency for response: since the kingdom\u2019s arrival is imminent, it is time to respond by repentance.
\n3. Which means sin and the system have got to go if one wants to participate in the kingdom.
\n4. John is the figure announced in Isaiah, which means John\u2019s message anticipates the message of Jesus \u2026 which puts back in the old observation we have been making routinely about kingdom: kingdom and Jesus are inseparable.
\n5. What John is announcing is not just a cute metaphor but, as Isaiah\u2019s sweeping announcement shows, the Return of the glorious one, of God, to Zion. (Think about that one for a bit.)
\n6. Isaiah also tells us that the whole world will see this happen.
\n23
\nOur next reference, the 33d separable reference to kingdom, is Matthew 4:23 (and I\u2019ll tie this with #40, 9:35). Very important little sketch of Jesus\u2019 ministry by Matthew: Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
\n.
\n1. This passage finds its complement in 9:35. The two of them together surround the Sermon on the Mount and chps 8-9 (miracles, discipleship) to make this section into one grand presentation: \u201cHere is Jesus.\u201d
\n2. The news going around everywhere might \u2014 just might \u2014 be an allusion to all flesh of Isaiah 40 hinted at in Matthew 3:2.
\n3. Most importantly, Jesus\u2019 ministry is three-fold:
\na. Teaching
\nb. Preaching kingdom
\nc. Healing one and all.
\n4. Kingdom, so it seems to me, refers to the power of God at work in Jesus in this ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing. Kingdom may only refer to the preaching part, in which case we are not given clues.
\n5. At the minimum, we have to see kingdom in its word-sense: it refers to a King, to a King\u2019s will, and to a King\u2019s society. Now present in some sense, or at least now being announced.
\n6. I think #4 may be a fuller sense but I think one has to connect kingdom to healing and to this massive attraction to Jesus \u2014 showing again the christological focus of anything close to kingdom.
\n24
\nThe beatitudes, Jesus\u2019 blessing of specific kinds of people, twice promise the kingdom: I include them all, since the first and last beatitude are kingdom:
\n3 \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
\n4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
\n5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
\n6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
\n7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
\n8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
\n9 Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called sons of God.
\n10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
\n1. Both the poor in spirit and the persecuted for righteousness are promised the kingdom.
\n2. The promise in each beatitude is not so much a present benefit but a future benefit that promotes hope in the person. Which is not to say the hope doesn\u2019t make a difference in the now, but it is still future.
\n3. This kingdom is future \u2026 how far off we can\u2019t tell, but it is future.
\n4. \u201cFor righteousness\u201d refers to those who suffer at the hands of others because they live righteous lives \u2014 that is, they are people whose character and behaviors conform to the will of the king (as taught by Jesus). (Notice again that Jesus and kingdom are inseparable.)
\n5. What is that kingdom? Let me take a stab: God\u2019s society where the injustices of this world will be undone. Is it heavenly or earthly? I would say \u201cearthly\u201d but \u201cideal.\u201d
\n25
\nOne of the most noteworthy references to kingdom can be found in context at Matthew 5:19: 17 \u201cDo not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven..
\n1. Jesus is being accused of breaking the Torah; Jesus says that, actually if truth be told, he is not breaking but fulfilling the Torah \u2014 bringing it to its divinely-intended goal. (He sees the Torah as the preliminary glimpse of God\u2019s will and he is the fullness of it.) Notice again how central Jesus is.
\n2. Those who follow and teach Jesus\u2019 teachings will be great in the kingdom; those who don\u2019t will be \u201cleast\u201d (which is a gentle way of saying \u201cnot at all\u201d).
\n3. Kingdom is future; kingdom is entered in that future by following Jesus in the now.
\n4. To enter that kingdom one must not follow the Pharisees and scribes, or at least not behave as they behave.
\nWhat is kingdom here? Evidently, God\u2019s society: king, king\u2019s will as taught by Jesus, king\u2019s people who follow Jesus, future society where it will all be right.
\n26
\nThe following text puts the kingdom into the future: Matt 7:21 \u201cNot everyone who says to me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, \u2018Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?\u2019 23 Then I will tell them plainly, \u2018I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!\u2019.
\nThe passage comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount and functions as the ground for the warning to respond by doing what Jesus has taught in chps 5\u20137. The text following this one supports the thrust of this passage.
\n1. As with other references, \u201ckingdom\u201d is not overtly defined so we are left to the meaning of the term \u2014 and here one falls to the default position: Davidic kingdom and its future, final manifestation.
\n2. Entrance into that kingdom is the focus of this passage: entrance is limited to those \u201cdoes the will of my Father who is in heaven\u201d \u2014 and one can assume the will of God as revealed by Jesus since doing his teachings is the focus of the next passage.
\n3. Some will be banned from that kingdom. Jesus is no universalist.
\n4. Some banned will call Jesus \u201cLord, Lord\u201d \u2014 they at least know Jesus\u2019 role in history.
\n5. Some banned will appeal to their charismatic deeds \u2014 prophesying, exorcising demons and doing miracles.
\n6. Those banned will be told by Jesus that he has never known them and that they were evildoers.
\nOK, the words of this text teach that entrance into the kingdom is based on doing God\u2019s will.
\n27
\nHere is a most interesting text in our consideration of what Jesus means by \u201ckingdom.\u201d It is interesting because, though it is not strictly a Jesus\/kingdom text, it sheds light: Matt 8: 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, \u201cI tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\u201d.
\n1. The Q parallel at Luke 13:28 does not have \u201csons\/subjects of the kingdom.\u201d It is probable, though never close to certain, that Matthew has added this expression. So, we gain a clue to what Matthew (at least) means by the expression \u201ckingdom.\u201d
\n2. The point of this text is that Gentiles respond and fellow Israelites do not respond to Jesus.
\n3. The \u201csubjects of the kingdom\u201d are most likely, then, Jewish contemporaries of Jesus who are not responding to him. (Very consistent stance on Jesus\u2019 part here.)
\n4. But this means that kingdom subjects can be banned from the future kingdom.
\n5. Which means in some sense that Jews are subjects of the kingdom (of some kind) but may in the end not be in Jesus\u2019 kingdom.
\n28
\nOur next text, #41, is from a parable of Jesus: 18 \u201cListen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.\u201d.
\n1. Kingdom is something about which Jesus preaches \u2014 so it has content. One can infer, in general, that \u201ckingdom\u201d is the overall message of Jesus \u2014 about God, about himself, about God\u2019s work through him, about the cross, about his vindication, about discipleship, etc..
\n2. The Evil One opposes Jesus\u2019 kingdom message by snatching perceptions from those who hear it but do not comprehend it. Cosmic conflict is inherent to kingdom theology.
\n3. Jesus\u2019 preaching of the kingdom is like sowing seeds \u2026 this refers to his routine preaching of that message.
\n4. Response to Jesus\u2019 kingdom\/seed message requires reception and production; those who respond properly persevere and live in accordance with Jesus\u2019 teachings about wealth (v. 22).
\n29
\nHere\u2019s yet another interesting parable about Jesus\u2019 teaching on the kingdom: Matthew 13:36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, \u201cExplain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.\u201d 37 He answered, \u201cThe one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 \u201cAs the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear..
\n1. Jesus sows the seed of the kingdom of God by preaching and creating followers.
\n2. In the world \u2014 the field represents the world \u2014 there are two kinds of people: kingdom people and non-kingdom people (\u201dsons of the evil one\u201d). This is apocalyptic language designed to draw boundaries.
\n3. Cosmic conflict theme: Satan sows weeds among the kingdom people (in the world).
\n4. The final judgment will separate the two \u2014 kingdom from non-kingdom people.
\n5. The kingdom comprises both kingdom people and non-kingdom people. The non-kingdom people, though, have been surreptitiously sneaked into the kingdom.
\n6. The only kingdom happening, though, pertains to the kingdom people.
\n7. I\u2019d be careful here but this needs to be considered: there is world here (=field) and world is not the same as \u201ckingdom.\u201d Kingdom is in the world.
\n8. The sons of the evil one are cast away, those surreptitiously sneaked in, and the \u201crighteous\u201d (followers of Jesus? those who respond to the seed\/kingdom message?) will shine in the Father\u2019s kingdom. Future, clearly. After judgment (of some kind).
\n30
\nA short one: 44 \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field..
\nBut full of ideas. We will begin Feb 22 a series on the parables of Jesus by going week by week through Klyne Snodgrass\u2019s big ole book on the parables (Stories with Intent ). (So, some thoughts will be postponed until then.)
\n1. Kingdom is like a treasure.
\n2. Kingdom is like a treasure that is buried in a field.
\n3. Discovery of this treasure generates joy in the finder.
\n4. This treasure is so valuable he sold everything he had \u2014 an allusion perhaps to surrendering one\u2019s possessions or materialism as a disciple.
\n5. The kingdom is worth everything one has.
\n31
\nAnother parable opens up kingdom discussion: 45 \u201cAgain, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. What do we learn about the kingdom?
\n1. The point of this parable seems to be the inestimable worth of the kingdom, and therefore
\n2. The rightness of giving up everything for it.
\n3. If one begins with \u201csold everything,\u201d one could then suggest the kingdom is the community or society wherein one finds a total reversal of socio-economic conditions.
\n4. If one begins with \u201cgreat value,\u201d then one would be led to see the kingdom as something like the presence of God\u2019s salvation and the need to abandon everything in order to enter it.
\n5. The kingdom here is neither clearly present nor future, but instead is something available for those who turn toward it.
\n32
\nThe next parable about the kingdom of God is found in Matthew 13:47-50: 47 \u201cOnce again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth..
\n1. The kingdom is compared with the experience of fishing with net and how the fishing operation works: dropping down, hoisting up full of fishes, dragging to shore, and separating.
\n2. The focus of the parable is not on fishing nor on the mixture of folks the kingdom fishing attracts, but on the judgment at the end of the age.
\n3. Those who do not respond to the kingdom will be judged \u2014 and here I see the primary focus to be the experience folks have with 70AD when Jerusalem was sacked but the secondary (and larger) context to be the inevitability of consequences for one\u2019s respond to kingdom. In other words, the point of the parable is that all will be judged.
\n4. The intense anguish spoken of parabolically here intends to communicate regret and the impossibility of returning to undo one\u2019s non-response.
\n33
\nOur next kingdom text (#49 if you are counting) is found in Matthew 13:52. In context: 51 \u201cHave you understood all these things?\u201d Jesus asked.\u201cYes,\u201d they replied. 52 He said to them, \u201cTherefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.\u201d.
\n1. I\u2019m not convinced the disciples did understand Jesus but they said they did. There\u2019s not much in the parables of Mark 4 or Matthew 13 that leads one to think they really did comprehend what Jesus was saying. Still, whether they did or not, Jesus builds on their \u201cyes.\u201d
\n2. Those who comprehend the kingdom are like a teacher of the Torah. (The \u201clike\u201d element is assumed.)
\n3. Those who comprehend kingdom have the capacity to bring out \u201cnew\u201d and \u201cold.\u201d
\n4. The storeroom is either the Bible (Hebrew Bible for the disciples) or Israel\u2019s history (Bible plus events since then).
\n5. The \u201cboth\u201d is important: followers of Jesus both adhere to the ways of God in the past and strike forward into new territories.
\n6. Unlike the sacred tradition folks, Jesus advocates newness (and this was probably controversial focus of the parable).
\n34
\nToday we enter a text that has been a source of controversy. So, let me quote it in full and offer just a few brief remarks:
\n.
\n13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, \u201cWho do people say the Son of Man is?\u201d 14 They replied, \u201cSome say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.\u201d 15 \u201cBut what about you?\u201d he asked. \u201cWho do you say I am?\u201d 16 Simon Peter answered, \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.\u201d 17 Jesus replied, \u201cBlessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.\u201d 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
\n1. Jesus evokes a confession from Peter. Jesus responds \u2014 and most of this is only in Matthew\u2019s Gospel \u2014 and uses kingdom.
\n2. I consider this important, but not all agree: church and kingdom are laid side by side in this text: \u201cAnd I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.\u201d
\n3. Does this equate the two? Not at all. Does it distinguish the two? Perhaps. But what it clearly does is connect the two: Jesus is building his Church and Peter is given the keys to the kingdom. I cannot but think kingdom and church overlap in some sense.
\n4. The Church, since it is Jesus\u2019 work, will not be thwarted by the Enemy or by Death.
\n5. Peter, somehow, has keys; keys are used to lock and unlock doors and gates; Peter is the one given the charge to open and shut doors or gates.
\n6. What are these keys for? It says to bind and loosen \u2014 and keys and binding\/loosing, like church and kingdom, are laid side by side as if they are nearly the same thing \u2014 and this has a variety of meanings, the most popular of which seems to be the capacity to render judgment for the church on what to believe and how to practice discipleship.
\n7. The future perfects \u2014 \u201cwill be bound\/will be loosed\u201d \u2014 shows that when Peter renders judgment, and this is passed on to the other disciples in 18:18, he will be rendering a judgment already decided in the heavens. Thus, the passage says Peter will be guided by God\u2019s Spirit to render divine decisions.
\n8. You can\u2019t get away from it: here is considerable authority to the apostles (which extends for us to the NT) and to God\u2019s Spirit guiding the church. This text does not endorse the Eastern Orthodox or the Roman Catholic; instead, it promises guidance to the apostolic community. That guidance, as extended into our day, will have to be rooted into that apostolic guidance in what I prefer to call the \u201cprimacy\u201d of Scripture.
\n35
\nAnother kingdom text can be found at Matthew 16:24-28: 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father\u2019s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.\u201d.
\n1. If the Messiah suffers, those who are connected to him will also suffer; discipleship takes its cues from Christology.
\n2. Losing with Jesus is winning with God.
\n3. The Son of Man will come into his Father\u2019s glory (this does not say \u201creturn\u201d to earth as many assume) with angels and hand out rewards to his followers. This text assumes Daniel 7.
\n4. The warning is this: some standing with Jesus \u2014 at that point \u2014 will not die before something huge happens.
\n5. That \u201chuge\u201d is seeing the \u201cSon of Man coming in his kingdom.\u201d Again, \u201ccoming\u201d does not mean \u201cdescend,\u201d though it could; it could also mean \u201cascend.\u201d Inasmuch as Son of Man is the principle figure, and since Dan 7 is the background, the motion of that Son of Man should be our first inclination. That would mean the Son of Man\u2019s \u201ccoming\u201d is an \u201cascent\u201d into the presence of the Ancient of Days in order to receive glory and kingdoms. It\u2019s in your Bible, go ahead and look up the motion of the Son of Man in Daniel 7.
\n6. Within 30 or so years the disciples will see this happen. What happened in that time? The most likely interpretation (for me) is 70 AD as an event that demonstrates the Messianic status of Jesus and which establishes Jesus as Lord. The sacking of Jerusalem vindicates Jesus and those attached to him.
\n36
\nMatthew 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, \u201cWho is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?\u201d 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: \u201cI tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 \u201cAnd whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 \u201cWoe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell..
\n1. To understand the meaning of \u201ckingdom\u201d in Matthew 18:1 (and vv. 3, 4), we need to consider in its context of 18:1-9.
\n2. Here \u201ckingdom\u201d has some kind of substantive relationship with the words \u201center life\u201d and \u201ceternal fire\u201d and \u201cfire of hell.\u201d
\n3. The focus is on entering into the kingdom; and that means kingdom is in some sense not entered into for those persons to whom he is speaking. Thus, in some sense it is future. But, an emphasis here is on the conditions needed in order to enter: those who enter are those who are humble and those who discard what impedes entry.
\n4. With the near parallel thoughts in 18:8-9, futurity seems clinched. Even those who are followers are not guaranteed spots without the necessary conditions met. Jesus gives a rather terse response to his followers who inquire about greatness.
\n5. Still, as one orients one\u2019s life toward this Jesus who leads into the kingdom, that kingdom begins to make itself manifest in the here and now.
\n6. The kingdom in this passage, again not clearly defined, seems to me to be the eschatological conditions of promise.
\n37
\nA parable describing kingdom: Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, \u201cLord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?\u201d22 Jesus answered, \u201cI tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 \u201cTherefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt\u2026\u2026
\n26 \u201cThe servant fell on his knees before him. \u2018Be patient with me,\u2019 he begged, \u2018and I will pay back everything.\u2019 27 The servant\u2019s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 \u201cBut when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. \u2018Pay back what you owe me!\u2019 he demanded. 29 \u201cHis fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, \u2018Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.\u2019 30 \u201cBut he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 \u201cThen the master called the servant in. \u2018You wicked servant,\u2019 he said, \u2018I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn\u2019t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?\u2019 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 \u201cThis is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.\u201d
\n1. The kingdom is like this parabolic world of debt and forgiveness and unforgiveness.
\n2. Entrance into the kingdom correlates with one\u2019s being forgiven and that forgivenness generating forgivingness on the part of the one forgiven. Much like Matt 6:9-15.
\n3. Final forgiveness, which is where the parable concludes, correlates with forgiving others.
\n4. The kingdom is inhabited by persons who are forgiven and who forgive.
\n38
\nMatthew 19:10 The disciples said to him, \u201cIf this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.\u201d 11 Jesus replied, \u201cNot everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.\u201d.
\n1. This statement about becoming eunuchs \u2014 renouncing sex and living an ascetic lifestyle \u2014 \u201cbecause of the kingdom of heaven\u201d needs to be set alongside the pearl of great price and the treasure buried in the field. In other words, what this saying tells us is that the kingdom is so valuable some choose to renounce life\u2019s normal pleasures and relations.
\n2. It is hard to know if the kingdom is present or future here; since it isn\u2019t clear, we should probably avoid thinking we can know.
\n3. The kingdom, impending or present, impinges so much on one\u2019s life that one directs all of one\u2019s passions toward it.
\n4. Asceticism is a choice; a desirable choice according to Jesus in Matthew 19:12 end.
\n39
\nOur 50th kingdom text is found in Matthew 20:1: 1 \u201cFor the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 \u201cAbout the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, \u2018You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.\u2019 5 So they went. \u201cHe went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, \u2018Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?\u2019
\n7 \u201d \u2018Because no one has hired us,\u2019 they answered. \u201cHe said to them, \u2018You also go and work in my vineyard.\u2019 8 \u201cWhen evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, \u2018Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.\u2019 9 \u201cThe workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 \u2018These men who were hired last worked only one hour,\u2019 they said, \u2018and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.\u2019 13 \u201cBut he answered one of them, \u2018Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn\u2019t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don\u2019t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?\u2019
\n16 \u201cSo the last will be first, and the first will be last.\u201d.
\n1. Again, kingdom is parabolized: it is like the situation of a man hiring workers at different times and calling them all into the office for pay at the end of the day where each person gets the same pay. Some grumble; some are thrilled. The owner replies rather pointedly that he had lived up to his bargain and so had they. Further, he has the right to pay what he wants. And he calls attention to his generosity (NIV). And the last line shows that the point of it all is that the last are first and the first last \u2014 a kind of turning of the tide.
\n2. The parable is much disputed; we\u2019ll look at it later this year when we proceed through Klyne Snodgrass\u2019 new book on parables (beginning tomorrow: Stories with Intent ).
\n3. We are concerned with kingdom: the kingdom is like this situation somehow. How so? It is like a generous owner handing out more to some than to others, though each gets both what he\/she deserves and the same as others. Or, it is not like one thinks \u201cjustice\u201d is for this owner isn\u2019t concerned with quid pro quo. Or, since God is generous, the focus is on the inclusion of those who are presently excluded from kingdom realities.
\nMy own view is that this parable critiques a justice system based on merit \u2014 that one gets, and should get, what one has earned. Jesus teaches that God\u2019s grace deconstructs the simplistic justice system (without denying the justice system as having value).
\n40
\n20 Then the mother of Zebedee\u2019s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 \u201cWhat is it you want?\u201d he asked. She said, \u201cGrant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.\u201d.
\n1. Overall, this statement is simple: Salome (traditonal) wants her sons to sit next to Jesus in the kingdom. That kingdom is the Davidic kingdom of Jewish hope.
\n2. This kingdom suggests an earthly reign where there are thrones, etc..
\n3. The desire provokes consternation on the part of the other disciples and piercing words by Jesus \u2014 words even James and John don\u2019t quite comprehend. Those who seek the kingdom, Jesus says, are not those who seek to dominate, rule and wield power. Instead, kingdom seekers serve one another in love.
\n4. Jesus\u2019, the Son of Man\u2019s, self-sacrifice on the cross embodies the proper stance of those seeking the kingdom of God.
\n41
\nOur next text is Matthew 21:31. In context: 28 \u201cWhat do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, \u2018Son, go and work today in the vineyard.\u2019 29 \u201d \u2018I will not,\u2019 he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 \u201cThen the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, \u2018I will, sir,\u2019 but he did not go. 31 \u201cWhich of the two did what his father wanted?\u201d \u201cThe first,\u201d they answered. Jesus said to them, \u201cI tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him..
\n1. In a context about \u201cwho\u2019s in and who\u2019s out?\u201d, Jesus tells a parable to dramatize the situation.
\n2. The parable essentially teaches what can be found in the Sermon on the Mount, and esp what comes to a head in Matthew 7:13-27: it\u2019s about doing what Jesus says. It\u2019s about righteousness.
\n3. The parable is also consistent with the essential response required by Jesus: repent and believe (Mark 1:15) \u2014 that is what Jesus critiques a group (Pharisees?) for not repenting and believing in him.
\n4. Entrance into the kingdom is by way of (1) repenting and (2) believing in Jesus.
\n5. Entrance is not secured by simply confessing Jesus or by intention or by claim (21:28-30).
\n42
\nOur next text is in the middle of a parable, found at Matthew 21:31-45: 43 \u201cTherefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.\u201d.
\n1. The parable is about response to the Son; thus, the parable has a christological focus.
\n2. The \u201ckingdom\u201d here is something that Israel\u2019s leaders or Israel presently possesses. This reminds me of Matthew 8:5-13 where the \u201csons of the kingdom\u201d will be kicked out of the kingdom at the End.
\n3. The kingdom the leaders\/Israel presently possesses will be taken from the leaders\/Israel and given to others.
\n4. Who are the others? It could be Gentiles (\u201da people\u201d is translation for ethnos) or the \u201ccollective people\u201d who do the fruit \u2014 an image for doing what Jesus teaches. The kingdom will be given to them \u2014 there is here an church-focus to the kingdom. Kingdom is here connected to the people of Jesus.
\n5. V. 44 brings back into view the christological focus again: the stone is Jesus and that stone will be the Final Judge.
\n43
\nWe now look at another kingdom text, this from Matthew 22:1ff: 1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come..
\n1. This parable is about the wedding invitations; they invite a bundle of folks who choose not to come; so they invite the marginalized.
\n2. The parable has striking similarities to the workers in the vineyard with the abuse of the messengers.
\n3. Here are the crucial words of the parable:
\n\u201c8 \u201cThen he said to his servants, \u2018The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.\u2019 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.\u201d
\n4. The wedding was filled with folks \u2014 some good and some bad.
\n5. One man who was not properly attired was expelled.
\n6. Those who will enjoy the banquet are the chosen; many are invited but few are chosen.
\nIn this parable, the kingdom is like a big banquet \u2014 and this image evokes the final kingdom of God. The parable focuses on who will be in and who will be out. The \u201cin\u201d group is the chosen. Theology shapes who it is that wears the proper wedding attire. In my view, those who have followed Jesus, who are related to Jesus, who repent and believe \u2026 that sort of thing. It smacks of fanciful to see this as being attired in the righteousness of Christ since that sort of language is not found in the Gospels.
\n44
\nMatthew 23: 13 \u201cWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men\u2019s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to..
\n1. The Pharisees think they are helping people enter the kingdom; they are not.
\n2. The kingdom here is seemingly future and it is a \u201cplace\u201d into which folks enter \u2014 like entering into a building.
\n3. Pharisees \u2014 those who oppose Jesus and those he opposes \u2014 will not enter into the kingdom; they block others from entering into the kingdom.
\n4. Those who follow the Pharisees also will not enter.
\n5. The kingdom here could also be presently realized to some degree \u2014 maybe those who are not following the Pharisees are in and they are not in.
\nWhat is kingdom here? Let me take a stab: it is that state of affairs (salvation state of affairs?) into which Jesus ushers people, about which he preaches, and into which he calls those who are interested in following him.
\n45
\n14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come..
\n1. \u201cThis gospel of the kingdom\u201d assumes meaning from reading Gospels. So, one must simply fill in the lines: I believe it is the message of Jesus about the society of God being established, a society marked by justice, peace, and love; it is a society surrounding Jesus.
\n2. The gospel is the gospel about the kingdom; this gospel is being preached and it will be preached throughout the world to Gentiles.
\n3. The End comes when the kingdom has been preached throughout the world.
\n46
\nMatt 25:1 \u201cAt that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep \u2026..
\nHere again\u2026 parable \u2026 we anticipate fuller discussion when we get to Klyne Snodgrass\u2019 treatment of this parable.
\n1. The kingdom is compared to a wedding at which five virgins were ready to see it all and five were not.
\n2. The overriding theme here is judgment and being ready for the event.
\n3. I\u2019m not so sure it does much good to speculate what \u201coil\u201d means \u2014 it means they were ready \u2014 but whether or not it refers to Spirit or something like that is speculative.
\n4. Kingdom is future; the point is to be ready for it when it comes.
\nHow is one ready? By having oil \u2014 which means\u2026 attitude, commitment to Jesus, and behavior consistent with such.
\n47
\nMatthew 25:31 \u201cWhen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 \u201cThen the King will say to those on his right, \u2018Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.\u2019.
\n1. We have here clearly a parable about the Eschaton, whenever one thinks it might begin.
\n2. That kingdom is the time when Jesus begins to reign.
\n3. That kingdom involves a final judgment of all.
\n4. That kingdom judgment separates sheep from goats.
\n5. The sheep will enter the kingdom.
\n6. They enter because they have identified with and shown compassion to \u201cthe least of these my brothers\u201d. Thus,
\nI tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
\nI do not think it is likely these \u201cbrothers\u201d are simply Jewish contemporaries of Jesus; I believe it refers to the missioners of Jesus, and a good solid parallel is Matthew 10:40-42:
\n40 \u201cHe who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet\u2019s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man\u2019s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.\u201d
\n48
\nWe now turn to Luke\u2019s Gospel\u2019s special uses of \u201ckingdom.\u201d Technically, this is the 64th reference to kingdom in the Gospels and it comes at Luke 1:33. This one is from Mary: 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, \u201cDo not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.\u201d.
\n1. This kind of text clarifies the whole expectation theme for the 1st Century Jew: the kingdom Mary anticipates is the Davidic kingdom; that means Israel; that means Land; that means Jerusalem; that means stuff that is very earthy.
\n2. Her son, Jesus, will occupy that throne.
\n3. His throne will be an eternal throne.
\n4. His kingdom is eternal.
\nWhile it is clear that Mary will \u201crevise\u201d what she says here as she sees her Son unfold his kingdom vision, not the least of which is the cross and a humble gathering of folks, the themes of this vision of Mary remain central: justice, peace, love, earthly kingdom manifestation \u2014 society in which God\u2019s will is finally established.
\n49
\nLuke 4:42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, \u201cI must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.\u201d 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea..
\n1. You must take into consideration Mary\u2019s vision to comprehend what Jesus is saying here; that Davidic expectation is what shaped everything about the word \u201ckingdom\u201d in Israel\u2019s prophetic expectations.
\n2. So, when Jesus starts preaching \u201ckingdom\u201d he\u2019s preaching the fulfillment of Davidic expectations.
\n3. Which means: earthy, Land, Jerusalem, society, Jesus at center, peace, justice, love.
\n50
\nLuke 8: 1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod\u2019s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means..
\nAgain, Jesus is preaching kingdom\u2026
\n1. Davidic kingdom expectations have to be factored in as that which shapes the mind of those who listen to him: society in which God\u2019s will is established and done.
\n2. Cosmic power is at work in Jesus as he preaches kingdom \u2014 Satan is being overthrown.
\n3. Political power shifts are at work.
\n4. Gender inclusion is at work.
\nDo you think vv. 2-3 are indicative of kingdom realities?
\n51
\n10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
\n12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, \u201cSend the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.\u201d 13 He replied, \u201cYou give them something to eat.\u201d They answered, \u201cWe have only five loaves of bread and two fish\u2013unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.\u201d 14 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, \u201cHave them sit down in groups of about fifty each.\u201d 15 The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over..
\nThere are plenty of things to say about this brief comment in Luke 9:11 about kingdom.
\n1. Kingdom is something Jesus talked about with everyone, including crowds of what appears to be total strangers.
\n2. Kingdom is here probably to be connected to healing \u2014 showing that kingdom is fulfillment of all those grand and glorious hopes in the Old Testament.
\n3. The feeding miracle is connected, at some level, with manna and provision by God. The evocations from this can be manifold.
\n4. Feeding the 5000 (males) shows that the kingdom is a meal, is a feast, and is feast to which all sorts are invited.
\n52
\nHere are some of Jesus\u2019 most demanding kingdom-words: 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, \u201cI will follow you wherever you go.\u201d 58 Jesus replied, \u201cFoxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.\u201d
\n59 He said to another man, \u201cFollow me.\u201d But the man replied, \u201cLord, first let me go and bury my father.\u201d 60 Jesus said to him, \u201cLet the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.\u201d
\n61 Still another said, \u201cI will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.\u201d 62 Jesus replied, \u201cNo one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.\u201d.
\n1. These specific commands to would-be followers are particular instances of the parables of the pearl of great price and the treasure found in the field.. In other words, the kingdom is so valuable it is worth giving up everything for.
\n2. Jesus is the kingdom\u2019s agent: he is the one who reveals and commands. Living like Jesus (v. 58) and following Jesus and proclaiming the kingdom are more important than other obligations in life. This is strong stuff.
\n3. Jesus\u2019 followers are expected to destroy anything that impedes the task \u2014 the relationship with Jesus and doing the work of the kingdom.
\nThe kingdom here, as it always is, derives from OT Davidic dynasty expectations. But, it is also here a claim on a person\u2019s life and a claim proclaimed to others. That claim penetrates so deeply one can have no other claim and remain faithful to the claim.
\n53
\nHere these words of Jesus about the kingdom from Luke 10: 8 \u201cWhen you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, \u2018The kingdom of God is near you.\u2019 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 \u2018Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.\u2019 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town..
\n1. Once again, as in Luke 9:11, kingdom is connected to the power of God at work to heal folks of physical diseases. This theme derives from the OT and from expectations that the kingdom of God, when it arrived, would end all suffering and disease \u2026 etc.. So, kingdom is naturally connected to healing.
\n2. Kingdom is not only something Jesus proclaims, embodies, and enacts for others, it is something he has given to his followers who also proclaim, embody and enact that kingdom.
\n3. Kingdom proclamation is both the announcement of redemptive relations and of warning of judgment \u2026 if the people don\u2019t turn, they will see bad days.
\n4. The kingdom of God \u201cis near\u201d most likely refers to Jesus\u2019 expectation, along the lines of Mark 9:1 and Matt 10:23, that something big-time will happen very, very soon. (I believe this comment refers to 70AD.) In other words, the work of God\u2019s special redemption is so imminent things are already being seen \u201cas if\u201d it is already here.
\n54
\nThe 72d separable kingdom text is found at Luke 12: 32 \u201cDo not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also..
\n1. Here the kingdom is something Jesus\u2019 followers are given by the Father God.
\n2. Because \u201ctreasure\u201d is virtually equivalent here with \u201ckingdom,\u201d we are probably wise to see kingdom as something in the future \u2014 a future state of affairs when God\u2019s will is perfectly established among his people and probably on earth. Jesus\u2019 followers will enter into that kingdom. I leave it as a possibility, though, that kingdom here is present. I doubt that view, but it is not at all impossible.
\n3. Those who enter the kingdom, so it appears from just this text, are those who have sacrificed for the poor. Kingdom is in some sense compensation for suffering in this world. (Do you think this is in this text?)
\n4. Kingdom value and one\u2019s possessions are connected \u2014 the latter reveals the former.
\n55
\nLuke 13:22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, \u201cLord, are only a few people going to be saved?\u201d He said to them, 24 \u201cMake every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, \u2018Sir, open the door for us.\u2019 \u201cBut he will answer, \u2018I don\u2019t know you or where you come from.\u2019 26 \u201cThen you will say, \u2018We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.\u2019 27 \u201cBut he will reply, \u2018I don\u2019t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!\u2019 28 \u201cThere will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.\u201d.
\n1. OK, there\u2019s no getting around this: those who are \u201cgoing to be saved\u201d and those who are \u201cin the kingdom\u201d are equivalents here.
\n2. OK, there also no getting around this: Jesus isn\u2019t a universalist; he\u2019s an exclusivist at some level. Only those who follow him, who are not evildoers, and who know Jesus and are known by Jesus will find entrance into the kingdom. This is a good approximation of what Jesus means by the \u201cnarrow door.\u201d
\n3. This means kingdom is for the followers of Jesus; kingdom is connected to discipleship and not to general, benevolent, universal good and justice.
\n4. Some who think they deserve entry \u2014 no doubt those who think they are saved or how have assurance etc \u2014 will discover they won\u2019t be permitted entry. Jesus says this to disrupt those who are listening.
\n5. Make sure you are one of those who enter into the kingdom. How? Turn to Jesus, listen to him, follow him.
\n56
\nWe are now heading around the corner into the homestretch in this series on kingdom. There are 85 discrete references to kingdom in the Synoptics and we have examined 73 of them. We are now at #74 and I anticipate 6 more posts on kingdom \u2014 which will go on simultaneously with our \u201cPreparing for Pentecost\u201d series. Ah, I say to myself, a little more Bible won\u2019t hurt us! Here\u2019s our text today: Luke 14:15 and I include the necessary context.
\n12 Then Jesus said to his host, \u201cWhen you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.\u201d
\nThe Parable of the Great Banquet
\n15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, \u201cBlessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.\u201d 16 Jesus replied: \u201cA certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, \u2018Come, for everything is now ready.\u2019 18 \u201cBut they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, \u2018I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.\u2019 19 \u201cAnother said, \u2018I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I\u2019m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.\u2019 20 \u201cStill another said, \u2018I just got married, so I can\u2019t come.\u2019 21 \u201cThe servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, \u2018Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.\u2019 22 \u201d \u2018Sir,\u2019 the servant said, \u2018what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.\u2019 23 \u201cThen the master told his servant, \u2018Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.\u2019 \u201d
\n1. Here\u2019s something those who were with Jesus must have learned: Don\u2019t ask Jesus a question! or Watch what you say to Jesus! An innocent person \u2014 and the \u201cone of those at table\u201d most likely indicates someone who did not become a follower \u2014 says to Jesus after hearing him say that the kingdom will include many unlikely people, \u201cBlessed is the person who will eat at the feast in the kingdom God.\u201d
\n2. It is possible the person is saying this: \u201cNot only are those who invite the unlikely blessed, but blessed is anyone who gets to eat in the kingdom.\u201d Jesus\u2019 response then is to drill home the point that inclusion is the name of his kingdom game.
\n3. Which means exclusiveness needs to be seen for what it is at times: haughtiness or a sense of entitlement.
\n4. Those who think they are invited may discover, at the End of the Day, that they are not invited.
\n5. So, how does one know? Does not the next section in Luke give an insight for answering that question? The answer is this: those who will eat with Jesus in the kingdom are his followers.
\n25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 \u201cIf anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters\u2013yes, even his own life\u2013he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
\n28 \u201cSuppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, \u2018This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.\u2019
\n31 \u201cOr suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
\n34 \u201cSalt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
\n\u201cHe who has ears to hear, let him hear.\u201d
\n57
\nWe look today at three kingdom references (Luke 17:20, 20, 21) that are, in my estimation, some of the most misconstrued texts in Jesus\u2019 kingdom message. Here they are in context:
\n20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, \u201cThe kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, \u2018Here it is,\u2019 or \u2018There it is,\u2019 because the kingdom of God is within you.\u201d
\n22 Then he said to his disciples, \u201cThe time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 Men will tell you, \u2018There he is!\u2019 or \u2018Here he is!\u2019 Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 \u201cJust as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 \u201cIt was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 \u201cIt will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot\u2019s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.\u201d [37 \u201cWhere, Lord?\u201d they asked. He replied, \u201cWhere there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.\u201d
\n1. First off, this text does not say the kingdom of God is some kind of little divine spark in the soul of each person. It is not about the kingdom being \u201cin your heart\u201d or \u201cin your spirit\u201d. The expression is plural: \u201cthe kingdom is within you [plural].\u201d This view trotted its merry way among the 2d Century Gnostics and then was picked up in modern liberalism and in such folks as Elaine Pagels.
\n2. Second, \u201cwithin\u201d is an unusual expression and is most literally translated \u201camong\u201d rather than \u201cinside.\u201d
\n3. The context is a question about time and the supposed ability on the part of some to calculate its coming.
\n4. Jesus denies their capacity to calculate.
\n5. Instead, Jesus says, \u201cthe kingdom of God is among you [plural].\u201d
\nMany today render this expression as follows: The kingdom of God does not come according to your apocalyptic timetables and calculations; instead, though you don\u2019t see it, the kingdom is right now present among you [in Jesus] and\/or within your grasp [if you respond to me].
\n58
\nAt the end of the rich young ruler episode, after Jesus had explained to the man that he was to give up his wealth in order to enter the kingdom, we get this passage in Luke 18:26-30:
\n26 Those who heard this asked, \u201cWho then can be saved?\u201d 27 Jesus replied, \u201cWhat is impossible with men is possible with God.\u201d 28 Peter said to him, \u201cWe have left all we had to follow you!\u201d 29 \u201cI tell you the truth,\u201d Jesus said to them, \u201cno one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.\u201d
\nTwo major points:
\n1. Following Jesus entails surrender of all (heart, soul, mind, strength [resources, including possessions]) to Jesus.
\n2. Those who follow Jesus like this will be blessed both now and in the Age to Come.
\nNow a few more observations:
\n3. Kingdom here is connected to a future kingdom \u2014 I would see a connection to \u201cthe age to come, eternal life\u201d more than just to \u201cin this age.\u201d It is entirely reasonable, though, to see kingdom as referring to both the \u201cin this age\u201d and the \u201cAge to Come.\u201d
\n4. Surrender to Jesus leads to compensation in this world \u2014 in the company of Jesus\u2019 other followers.
\n5. This text must be connected to Mark 3:31-35, the reconstitution of God\u2019s people in a circle around Jesus, and it is reasonable then to connect the dots with Acts 2:42-47, Paul\u2019s pneumatic community, and John\u2019s fellowship, etc..
\n59
\nA sense of imminent arrival of the kingdom loomed over Jesus\u2019 ministry, and we are not fair to the Gospel texts if we ignore that looming. Here is a text (Luke 19:11) that illustrates the sense of anticipation:
\n11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
\n1. What was the \u201cthis\u201d they were \u201clistening to\u201d? The Zacchaeus episode and Jesus\u2019 teaching at his home. \u201cToday\u201d Jesus said that \u201csalvation\u201d had come to his house.
\n2. This excited his audience: \u201cWell, if such persons as Zacchaeus are entering into God\u2019s people then the kingdom of God must be round the corner.
\n3. Jesus\u2019 response to this point: the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:12-27).
\n4. The point of the parable? The king will be gone for awhile. During the time his true servants will develop what he gives them the responsibility to do. That is, they are to invest the money he gives them so that it makes money while he is gone.
\n5. So, Jesus excited a sense of imminence but the kingdom of God was (really) not imminent.
\nWhat did it mean?
\nI resort, as I always do, to the hope of the Davidic dynasty. That is what I think these folks thought was about to arrive. We see this in Luke 1 as well.
\n60
\nTalk about a hornet\u2019s nest of issues \u2026 our 82d kingdom text (Luke 21:31) is surrounded with them. Here is the text:
\n25 \u201cThere will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.\u201d 29 He told them this parable: \u201cLook at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 \u201cI tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 34 \u201cBe careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.\u201d
\n1. Jesus predicts \u201ccosmic\u201d disturbances, which I have said elsewhere is best understood to be apocalyptic language for the destruction of Jerusalem and the decentering of God\u2019s people: it will no longer be just a Jerusalem-centered people.
\n2. The Son of Man \u201ccoming\u201d, so I think, best refers to Jesus\u2019 vindication before the Ancient of Days.
\n3. When these things happen, Jesus says, know that \u201credemption\u201d is near.
\n4. That \u201credemption\u201d is then interpreted to mean the \u201ckingdom of God,\u201d showing that kingdom is future.
\n5. The moral implication of the coming kingdom is readiness.
\n6. The Son of Man figures prominently in that coming kingdom \u2014 that is, as judge Jesus will become manifest and present.
\nWhat do we learn about kingdom here?
\nIt is a future state of affairs, connected somehow to the Son of Man\u2019s vindication and exercise of judgment.
\n61
\nThere are 85 separable instances of \u201ckingdom\u201d in the Synoptic Gospels; we have three left and two of them are in our text today:
\n24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, \u201cThe kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
\n1. Kingdom ethics are not the same as Roman ethics: power and honor shape Roman ethics; service and love shape Jesus\u2019 ethics.
\n2. Jesus \u201cconfers\u201d on his followers a kingdom as his Father conferred one on him.
\n3. What Jesus seems to be conferring is two-fold:
\nHis followers are permitted at the table: fellowship with Christ
\nHis followers will rule alongside him over the twelve tribes of Israel: judgment
\n4. Again, kingdom is intimately \u2014 never more so in fact \u2014 connected to fellowship with Jesus and it is also clearly associated with Davidic expectation of an earthly rule of the Messiah; disciples are his viceregents.
\n62
\nDrumroll please. This is our last kingdom text: Luke 23:42. It comes with evocative connections:
\n42 Then he said, \u201cJesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. \u201d
\n43 Jesus answered him, \u201cI tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.\u201d
\n1. The good criminal on the cross petitions Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom, and the criminal clearly sees kingdom as eternity at some level \u2014 as Jesus\u2019 eternal kingdom.
\n2. Jesus promises that the man will be with Jesus \u201ctoday\u201d in Paradise. \u201cParadise\u201d is a typical Jewish term for new creation and the garden of delights opened to those who are God\u2019s people after death.
\n3. Jesus \u2014 no one else \u2014 promises this man Paradise because he recognizes Jesus as innocent, himself as guilty and in need of mercy, and he sees in Jesus the way into kingdom\u2019s paradise.
\n4. Notable here is that this all happens \u201ctoday\u201d \u2014 in that day at that time. In other words, if we connect Paradise to kingdom, then clearly this kingdom reference refers to a post-death eternal reality.
\nHas anyone turned this series into a Word document? Let me know if you have.
\nAfter our Preparing for Pentecost I will do a series on the meaning of \u201cwrath\u201d in the NT, but I may have to wait until we get back from South Africa to get it going.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here is a link to the whole our series on the keys to the kingdom. Thanks to Jim Baker for doing this and to Bob Robinson for hosting the link at his site. And below is the full text. KEYS TO THE KINGDOM SCOT McKNIGHT 1 We begin today a series on the relationship of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1743],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kingdom-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\n
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