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February 20, 2008
The Kingdom of God
This is a teaching I hope to give to the Midtown Vineyard congregation in April. It is an analysis of the phrase "the Kingdom of God" in the New Testament.
I have three reasons for studying this phrase. First, judging from the synoptic gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - it was the primary topic of Jesus' teaching and describes the primary purpose of Jesus' ministry. Since in Jesus' own mind the Kingdom of God was what his ministry was all about, we definitely want to understand it.
Second, the Kingdom of God as Jesus described it is very similar to the goals of our pastor, Rob Stiles. He wants us to have a greater sense of God's presence in our lives, and to receive the kinds of things Jesus brought to people, such as healing, emotional wholeness, dealing with problems in life, coping with evil and so on.
Pastor Stiles is following a Vineyard tradition. John Wimber, one of the founders of Vineyard, was converted by reading the Bible, and when he first went to church he asked "When do we get to do the stuff?" By "the stuff" he meant healings, "signs" and "miracles" - the kind of stuff Jesus did. In the Vineyard we pray for healing, not only physical but emotional, and for the healing of relationships. Pastor Stiles wants to do that. Per Matthew, Mark and Luke, "the stuff" is an outward demonstration of the rule of God.
A third reason to study the Kingdom is that the phrase has lost much of its meaning since Jesus' time. Some of this can be seen in the Epistles, when Christianity spread to gentiles in the Roman Empire. The Romans were a touch sensitive about other kingdoms which might rival their own, and to avoid confusion missionaries to Roman territory primarily talked about the lordship of Jesus Christ.
In the modern church, "the Kingdom of God" seems to be an orphan phrase. We don't remember the power and content it had when Jesus spoke about it. As a result people can get away with appropriating the phrase for their purposes, which may be primarily secular. For example Christians on the left like to use the phrase to imply God's endorsement of their political agenda. By reviewing the New Testament usage, we can see what the kingdom is really about.
As best I can find, the phrase "kingdom of God" does not appear in the Old Testament, and appears rarely if at all in the intertestamental literature. When Jesus used it, the phrase was new. Yet when Jesus used it, no one thought it particularly odd and everyone felt they knew what it meant. After all, the kingdom of David and his dynasty was under God. David's subservience to God was at the core of his legitimacy and popularity. In Jesus' time Romans governed Israel as conquerors, but the high priests in the Jerusalem temple exercised authority in religious and civil matters. In theory, they ruled in God's name. "Kingdom of God" instantly had meaning to Jewish listeners, the challenge was to understand exactly what meaning Jesus had for the phrase.
The earliest texts of the New Testament are written in Greek. The Greek word translated kingdom is basileia which can mean kingdom, kingship, royal power, royal rule, or reign. It would be just as appropriate to translate Jesus' words as "reign of God" or "rule of God".
The gospel of Matthew uses the phrase "kingdom of God" just three times (Matt 6:33, 21:3 & 43), but uses "kingdom of heaven" much more frequently, perhaps 50 times. The gospel was written for an ethnically Jewish community of Christians. Because the Ten Commandments forbid taking the Lord's name in vain, some Jews felt it was best not to even use the word "God" in their conversation. We see this kind of thing at Jesus' trial as described in the gospel of Mark, where the priests ask Jesus if he is the son of the blessed. It's clear "the blessed" is a reference to God. In Matthew, if you look at the three verses, along with those where kingdom of heaven is used, I think you'll agree the two phrases are interchangeable.
Mark, a much shorter book, still uses the phrase 16 times, and Luke is like Matthew using "kingdom of God" about 50 times. John only uses it twice, and I will discuss that. In the balance of the New Testament the phrase continues to be used, but much less frequently than in the first three gospels.
So what does the New Testament say?
Let's look first at Mark. Even though it comes second, most scholars regard it as the oldest or earliest gospel. Things happen fast in Mark's narrative. We learn a bit about John the Baptist, then Jesus is baptized not only by John but by the Holy Spirit. Two verses describe Jesus tempted in the wilderness, then he begins his ministry. Look at Mark 1:14 & 15:
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the gospel.
Jesus' very first sentence , the initiation of his entire ministry, proclaims the Kingdom of God is now present, and, essentially that is good news for those who repent and believe.
In Mark Jesus doesn't do much talking or explaining; he demonstrates, he acts. While still in chapter 1 he calls disciples, casts out a demon, heals many at Peter's house and casts out many demons, proclaims the message in other towns, and cleanses a leper. Mark points out, in the very first exorcism, that these acts are demonstrations of Jesus' authority.
So I conclude just from chapter 1, Jesus is God's agent, his role / the purpose of his ministry is to usher in the rule of God, and the nature of that rule is to break the power of forces of evil and bless repentant, believing people with freedom from all manner of oppression and disability. Furthermore, this is a reign that will spread. Jesus very first act, after proclaiming his mission, is to call disciples.
For me to prove all this would take hours of discussion about the whole book of Mark. Let me quote a seminary professor who wrote a book entitled "Mark As Story An Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel" Even though he was a believer, for the purpose of his book the author, David Rhoads, examined Mark simply as literature. He found a coherent narrative, and said, "Mark's story is unified around one overall goal: Jesus struggles to establish the rule of God in the face of obstacles and opposition."
You know the opposition - spiritual forces, scribes and pharisees, high priests, even Judas. Some of the obstacles were misunderstanding by the disciples, the disciples seeking political or military power, or simple lack of faith. Often people supporting or following Jesus saw in him the hope for fulfillment of their own political or social objectives, especially throwing off Roman rule and establishing a Jewish theocracy. That was not Jesus' ministry and not what he meant by the kingdom of God.
Matthew is where we find the Lord's Prayer (6:9-13). It is also in Luke but the version in Matthew is used most. We all know the words, but how much do we think about the meaning?
Our father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name
Thy kingdom come, they will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven...
The very first thing Jesus prays for, and teaches us to pray for, is for the kingdom of God to come. This is completely consistent with Mark's story, where Jesus is working to establish the rule of God.
The statement of purpose as Jesus launches his ministry is consistent as well. Matthew gives us more information than Mark, such as a birth narrative, the wise men, escape to Egypt... but chapter 4 picks up the story of John the Baptist, the anointing of the spirit, and the temptation of Jesus. Verse 17 has Jesus stating the purpose of his ministry,
From that time Jesus began to preach saying,
"Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Similarly when Jesus sends out the disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, disease and sickness, then gave the following instructions:
Go nowhere among the gentiles, and enter no town of the samaritans.
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, proclaim the good news, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons... (10:5-8)
There is an equivalence between the kingdom of heaven and miracles Jesus, and his disciples, perform.
Most of the parables, too, are about the kingdom of heaven. Many parables start with the phrase, "For the kingdom of heaven is like..."
Chapter 13 is rich with the parable of the sower, of weeds among the grain, of the mustard seed, of yeast leavening the flower. Let's look at the parable of weeds among grain. You know the story; an enemy sows weeds in a wheat field. The workers ask if they should go pull them out, but the owner says, no, wait until harvest. Jesus explains the parable to his disciples (13:37-43):
The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world,
and the good seed are the children of the kingdom,
the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
The son of man will send his angels and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin
and all evildoers, and
they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun, in the kingdom of their father.
There is a lot going on in the gospel of Matthew. One thing is Matthew presents Jesus as a prophet, not so much as someone foretelling the future - although Jesus certainly does that - but as a spokesman for God, expressing God's viewpoint. The sermon on the mount is about righteousness and all that it takes to be fully in harmony with God's will. In this sense Jesus is portrayed as the greatest prophet, fulfilling the law by explaining how it involves not only right conduct, but the right attitude of your heart.
Nevertheless, the overall theme, the core narrative of the gospel, is the inauguration of the rule of God.
Luke is a gospel addressed to gentiles. In the first 4 verses of chapter 1 the book is dedicated to "Theophilus" which is a Greek name meaning "lover of God". Whether that's a real person or an idealized name, we don't know. But unlike Mark and Matthew, which were written for ethnically Jewish communities, the gospel of Luke is for gentiles.
That creates challenges. The intended readers (or hearers) don't know Jewish scriptures, traditions, practices, or Jewish culture. When they hear "kingdom" their first thought will be that it's about politics - or war. They will not immediately think about the heritage of David, or the priests ruling from Jerusalem over religious matters, ostensibly as God's representatives. Let's look at how Luke overcomes the problem.
The launch of Jesus' ministry is in 4:14-15
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country
He began to teach in their synagogue, and was praised by everyone
But there is not the familiar quote (yet) of Jesus stating his purpose. Instead, Jesus' first public statement is the quotation from Isaiah that Pastor Stiles pointed out in one of his first sermons on the kingdom of God:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (4:18-19)
The people of his home town reject him (4:20-30). Next he performs an exorcism (4:31-37), many healings at Simon's house (4:38-41), and only after these things does Luke give the quotation we are familiar with (4:42-44):
At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place, and the crowds were looking for him, and when they reached him they wanted to prevent him from leaving them,
But he said to them, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose."
So he continued, proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke presents Jesus to his gentile readers as a prince of peace (the word peace appears more often in Luke than any other New Testament book). He does tell his readers that Jesus' ministry is about the kingdom of God, but only in a side comment (not a formal speech), and only to avoid misunderstanding, after making it clear to the readers that the kingdom is about good news, helping the poor, bringing release to captives and the oppressed, and healing - not politics or insurrection.
The gospel of John differs from the first three. John does not quote Jesus' statement of purpose. The phrase "kingdom of God" only appears twice, both in this passage:
Now there was a pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs apart from the presence of God."
Jesus answered him, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again."
Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can anyone enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit... " ( John 3:1-5)
John selects different themes, images, and metaphors from the first three gospels. Jesus is presented as the word made flesh, the son who makes God known. There are powerful images, such as the lamb of God. In general, John chooses biological phrases like "new birth", "eternal life", and "abundant life". Is John historically accurate or are the other three? Jesus' ministry spanned well over a year so he could have said a lot of things and used a lot of phrases and examples. Certainly there is a different emphasis in the four gospels, and John is the most unique.
John was written years after the other three gospels, and he may have wanted to provide additional information and a different perspective. He was also tailoring the message to the needs of his community. As best we can tell, his community was almost "under siege" at least socially and emotionally. The second coming had not happened, decades had passed, and people were falling away. The larger Jewish community regarded John's community as heretics and exerted constant pressure to pull members back.
John aims more at the heart than at the head. He makes the most powerful emotional argument he can for people to maintain their allegiance to Christ.
Acts, a history of the early church beginning with Jesus' appearance after his resurrection, has 7 references to the kingdom of God (at least that I found) and, as I will discuss below, shows a change of emphasis as time passes. The first reference is particularly interesting (Acts 1:3-8):
After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking to them about the kingdom of God.
While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me;
for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
So when they had come together they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the father has set by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
When I saw the question about restoring the kingdom to Israel I thought "there they go again;" the disciples confusing what was primarily spiritual with military and political objectives. However on reflection, there is a political / sovereignty dimension to the kingdom. Ultimately Jesus will rule over all things, including government, whatever characteristics that may have after Jesus triumphs over all. The resurrection was an awesome demonstration of God's power in Christ. The disciples were logical in thinking that the final day of the Lord had come.
Jesus' answer was in essence "no". The Holy Spirit would soon come to his followers and, thus empowered, they would have plenty of work to do expanding the kingdom of God before the end came.
In the rest of Acts and the epistles I see three general categories of meaning or usage for the phrase "the kingdom of God." Jesus had died, and risen, and ascended to heaven, leaving the church to do his work. In spite of miracles, as reported in Acts, it wasn't the same. Even great leaders like Peter and Paul did not regularly match the force and effectiveness of Jesus during his ministry.
Not only leadership had changed. The context of scripture, the circumstances of communities for whom it was originally written, was different as well. The epistles were written to churches outside the Jewish homeland, in the Greek or Latin speaking Roman empire. "The kingdom of God" was an unusual phrase to most of them, and it could be easily misunderstood. Followers of Christ could easily be accused of fomenting an insurrection. So the phrase was used sparingly, on average maybe once per book, and the meaning subtly changed.
One category of usage is for the phrase to become a reference to, a shorthand phrase for the general message of salvation. In Acts 8:12 Jesus' followers have been scattered and Philip is in Samaria.
But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
We don't know exactly what was said, but it was a message with compelling content more so than a demonstration of a powerful and godly way of life. The association of the phrase "kingdom of God" with verbal presentation about Jesus is even more clear in Acts 28:23. Paul is in prison in Rome, but is allowed to talk with visitors. He calls Jewish leaders to him:
After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.
Other verses where the kingdom of God is a phrase for the gospel message are Acts 19:8, 20:25, 28:31 and Colossians 4:11.
A second category of usage is to use the phrase as a reference to the future, when Christ would return in triumph and Christ's followers would enjoy the perfect life. Often but not always, the hope for this future was used to encourage right conduct in the present. Listen to Paul in I Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolators, adulterers...
The idea of the kingdom of God as an inheritance also appears in I Cor 15:50, Gal 5:21, Eph 5:5, 2 Thess 1:5, 2 Tim 4:18, Jas 2:5, and 2 Peter 1:11. As more and more decades passed since the resurrection, the church was looking forward to, and expecting its reward in the future.
A third, and the final category I see, refers to the present as Paul was speaking and writing his epistles.
Perhaps it can be described as a state of mind, a way of living, or a description of the state of relationship with God. Let me quote the four verses:
There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, "It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22
... urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. 1 Thess 2:12
For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Rom 14:17
For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power. I Cor 4:20
Finally, to me the best example of how we are to live out our lives right now embodying the kingdom of God is in Colossians 1:13
He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his dear son.
This tracks with the beginning, the launch of Jesus' ministry, when he cast out demons, healed the sick, and freed people from all manner of need and oppression. This is the reality we need to live in today.
So in conclusion, the kingdom of God is what Jesus' ministry was about; we need to keep that in mind if we are to read Matthew, Mark and Luke with understanding; for various reasons the phrase was de-emphasized in the epistles and early church, but we are able to recapture its meaning and importance; and welcoming God's rule into our lives and our church communities is the best way to live today just as it was during Jesus' earthly ministry.
Posted by rob at February 20, 2008 08:15 AM
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Posted by: Anonymous at February 20, 2008 08:15 AM