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the kingdom of god
Mark, Matthew, and Luke all stress that Jesus the ‘prophet–teacher’
referred to the kingdom of God frequently. The opening verses of Mark’s
gospel are terse but dramatic. Mark’s account of John the baptizer, of the
baptism of Jesus, and of the temptation of Jesus by Satan pave the way for
the first words of Jesus himself: ‘Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to
Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the
good news” ’ (Mark 1: 14–15). For Mark the evangelist the central theme of
the preaching of Jesus is “the kingdom of God has come near”.
In his much expanded version of that summary Matthew includes his
characteristic phrase ‘the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 4: 12–17). Matthew’s
phrase (which is never found in the other gospels) reflects a Jewish writer’s
avoidance of direct reference to ‘God’, though Matthew does in fact use the
phrase ‘the kingdom of God’ four times (12: 28; 19: 24; 21: 31, 43). In two
important passages Matthew summarizes the ministry of Jesus in Galilee
as ‘proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease
and every sickness among the people’ (4: 23 and 9: 35). Matthew stresses
that the disciples are sent out by Jesus with exactly the same message: they
are to heal and to proclaim the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 11: 1, 7–8); Luke
makes the same point, but uses ‘kingdom of God’ (Luke 9: 2; cf. 10: 9).
In three summary passages Luke also emphasizes that the kingdom of
God was central in the proclamation of Jesus (4: 43; 8: 1; 9: 11). In the
important opening scene in Luke’s account of the ministry of Jesus (Luke
4: 16–30, see above, pp. 86–90) the evangelist stresses that the coming of
Jesus marked the fulfilment of the promises of Isa. 61: 1–2. The word
‘kingdom’ is not used, though many of the main points of this passage are
related to ‘kingdom’ sayings which Luke includes elsewhere. In the very
last verse of Acts (28: 31) Luke summarizes the preaching of Paul as
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‘proclaiming the kingdom of God’; in this way he draws attention to the
continuity between the message of Jesus and the preaching of the early
church. (See also Acts 8: 12; 14: 22; 19: 8; 20: 25; 28: 23.)
In John’s gospel, however, matters are very different, as they are in so
many other respects. Whereas the synoptic gospels contain numerous references of various kinds to the kingdom of God, in John ‘kingdom’ occurs
in only two passages. In his reply to Nicodemus Jesus says, ‘Unless one is
born anew, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’ (3: 5; cf. also 3: 3). This
saying is closely related to Matt. 18: 3 and to other ‘entering the kingdom’
sayings in the synoptic gospels to which we shall refer in a moment. In the
other passage, which is quite unrelated to the synoptic ‘kingdom’ sayings,
Jesus explains to Pilate that his kingdom (or, better, ‘kingship’) is not of
this world (18: 36); in the synoptic gospels the kingdom or kingship belongs
to God, not Jesus. It has sometimes been suggested that the fourth evangelist has transposed the ‘kingdom’ sayings of the synoptic gospels into
another key and has used as an equivalent phrase his own favourite term
‘eternal life’. This is only partly true; the differences in the ways these two
phrases are used are more striking than the similarities.
The synoptic evangelists not only use the term ‘kingdom of God’ (or ‘of
heaven’) in their summaries of the proclamation of Jesus, they reinterpret
‘kingdom’ sayings of Jesus partly by setting them in particular contexts and
partly by rewording them in their attempts to clarify them. In so doing
they have made it very difficult for the modern student of the gospels to
reconstruct with confidence this central strand in the teaching of Jesus.
Later in this chapter we shall consider in some detail two striking
examples.
Jesus and the kingdom
There is almost universal agreement that Jesus taught frequently about the
kingdom of God. Most scholars would go further and claim that the ‘kingdom’ sayings give us vital clues to the overall intention of Jesus. But at that
point unanimity stops. The teaching of Jesus on the kingdom of God has
been understood in a wide variety of ways.
Why has there been such diversity of scholarly opinion? There are two
main reasons. First, Jesus left no clear explanation of his precise meaning.
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And even if we assume that his listeners would have known immediately
just what Jesus meant when he referred to the ‘kingdom of God’, we are no
further ahead, for it is not at all easy to work out how villagers in Galilee
would have understood the phrase. And secondly, as we shall see, Jesus
seems to have used ‘kingdom of God’ in several different senses. For more
than a hundred years now, individual scholars have tended to fasten onto
one strand of the sayings as ‘central’ or ‘dominant’ and then either ignore
the other strands or claim that they go back to the early church, not Jesus.
In many cases it is possible to see that theological concerns have won out
over careful attention to the evidence in all its variety.
In the last two or three decades of the nineteenth century A. Ritschl’s
views were very influential: he saw the kingdom of God as human society
organized through action inspired by love. This approach, which
emphasizes human initiative and the gradual permeation of society by the
kingdom, is still reflected in phrases such as ‘extending’ or ‘building’ the
kingdom which are often used by Christians today. In 1892 J. Weiss vigorously repudiated such views. Weiss believed that Jesus was strongly influenced by the apocalyptic thought of his day. The kingdom was no moral
cause, but a reality to be initiated by God in the immediate future, ‘the
breaking out of an overpowering divine storm which erupts into history to
destroy and to renew, and which man can neither further nor influence’.
Was Jesus, as Weiss suggested, an apocalyptic prophet who expected
God to bring the present age to an end within his lifetime? Or was C. H.
Dodd correct in his insistence in his Parables of the Kingdom (1935) that for
Jesus the kingdom had actually come with his own actions and words?
Dodd claimed that in contrast to the speculations on the future found in
the apocalyptic writers, Jesus declared that ‘the eschaton [end-time] has
moved from the future to the present, from the sphere of expectation into
that of realized experience.’ Over the past fifty years some scholars have
rejected or modified radically both these approaches. Others have tried to
plot a middle path: Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom was in some ways
partly present in his actions and teaching (or was already making its
impact felt in the present), though its full and final disclosure still lay in the
future.
What did Jesus mean? We must start with the use of the phrase in the
Scriptures and in later Jewish writings. For this was the backdrop for both
Jesus himself and his listeners. Rather surprisingly, however, the precise
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phrase ‘the kingdom of God’ is not found in the Old Testament, and it is
not as prominent in later Jewish writings as one might have expected.
Nonetheless, the phrase encapsulates the declarations of God’s beneficent
kingship, and his sovereign, dynamic rule which are embedded in the Old
Testament—especially in some Psalms and in some passages in Isaiah. We
shall discuss briefly representative passages.
Psalm 145: 8–13 is one of many passages in the Psalms which provide the
backdrop to the message of Jesus concerning God’s kingly rule. The Psalmist speaks of God’s mercy, steadfast love, and compassion (vv. 8–9). He
then announces a threefold assignment for the Lord’s faithful people:
‘They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to
make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendour
of your kingdom’ (vv. 11–12). Here ‘kingdom’ and ‘power’ are almost synonymous. The Lord’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom (v. 13a); in the
passage as a whole it is both a present experience and a future hope.
Isaiah 52: 7 also announces God’s kingly rule, but in the more specific
context of a promise to the exiles. ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are
the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news,
who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns”.’ The four
tasks given to the messenger are closely related: they are intended to interpret one another. God is mercifully forgiving and redeeming his people,
and will bring them out of exile in a new exodus as they return to a
purified Jerusalem. There is no doubt that this and related passages
provided a script for Jesus.
Some later Jewish writings contain similar themes. Some of the Psalms
of Solomon express the hope that God will soon reverse the disaster
brought by the capture of Jerusalem by the Roman general Pompey in 63
bc. Several passages speak about God as king, and express the hope that his
kingly rule will be made manifest. Psalm of Solomon 17 opens and closes
with a declaration of the everlasting kingship of the Lord (v. 1 and v. 46),
and uses the phrase ‘kingdom of God’ in verse 3.
The central section of Psalm of Solomon 17 is even more significant,
though its theme has few parallels in Jewish writings from this period.
Here the Lord God is urged to raise up a king, ‘the son of David, to rule
over your servant Israel in the time known to you, O God’ (v. 21). The
hoped-for human, Davidic king will be the Lord Messiah (v. 32), who will
purge Jerusalem from the Gentiles who trample her to destruction (v. 22).
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The Messiah’s kingly role as the one who will put the Romans to flight is
clearly subordinate to the Lord God (v. 34).
Once again God’s kingly rule is a deep-seated hope, but for the Psalmist
in the middle of the first century bc it is not yet realized. In Psalms of
Solomon 17–18 there are unusually explicit references to the means God
will use to manifest his kingly rule: the Davidic Messiah will exercise a
political and military role on behalf of God’s hard-pressed people.
Although it was an option for Jesus to fulfil this particular expectation, it is
clear that he eschewed violence (Matt. 5: 38–9 = Luke 6: 29–30; cf. also Luke
22: 38) and urged his followers to love their enemies (Matt 5: 44 = Luke 6:
27). Did Jesus see himself as the Davidic Messiah, albeit with a very different role from the one set out in Psalms of Solomon 17–18? If so, Jesus was
reluctant to spell out the nature of his messiahship, but his actions and
words provided plenty of hints for his followers to reach this conclusion
for themselves. We shall return to this point in Chapter 15.
These three passages (and other similar ones) affirm God’s kingly rule
and express the hope that he will soon act powerfully on behalf of his
beleaguered people. The kingdom of God is his sovereign, dynamic rule.
More often than not, there is a clearly temporal sense: the kingdom is
referred to in the context of hope for the future.
The importance of this latter point becomes clear as soon as we turn to
Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God. Jesus uses such varied phraseology in his kingdom sayings that they cannot be readily analysed, though
they do fall into two main groups. Many sayings refer to the kingdom in
the temporal sense just mentioned. In some of these sayings Jesus
announces that the kingdom will come in the future; in others, the kingdom is near, or has already come. In the other main group there are a
number of sayings which have a spatial rather than a temporal reference:
the kingdom is a place (or realm) to be entered, to be inherited, to be
received, or to be ‘in’.
Is the kingdom temporal or spatial?
In the relevant passages in Old Testament and later Jewish writings, as well
as in the sayings of Jesus themselves, the temporal sense is not only more
common than the spatial, but primary. God’s kingdom is his dynamic,
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kingly rule, not a geographical location with boundaries. If the primary
sense is temporal, it is possible to explain the ‘spatial’ sayings as an implication of God’s kingly rule. God’s sovereign rule is not exercised in a
vacuum, but among his people: so, to ‘enter’, to ‘inherit’, or to be ‘in’
the kingdom means to be among the people who experience God’s kingly
rule. However, if the spatial sense is primary, it is not easy to explain
why so many sayings have a clearly temporal sense.
In Mark 10: 23–5, for example, the phrase ‘enter the kingdom of God’
occurs three times. Jesus says twice over, ‘How hard it is [for the wealthy] to
enter the kingdom’, and then illustrates his point with the graphic comparison: ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for
someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ The context concerns
discipleship, so the kingdom to be entered is not a realm with boundaries,
but the people among whom God exercises his kingly rule, whether now or
in the future.
Does Jesus claim that God’s kingly rule is being experienced ‘in the here
and now’ in his own message and miracles, or is the kingdom a wholly
future hope? There are a clutch of kingdom sayings which refer to a future
coming. Once again only a few representative passages can be noted. The
second petition of the Lord’s Prayer asks, ‘Your kingdom come’ (Matt. 6:
10 = Luke 11: 2); the coming of the kingdom is a future hope. A Q tradition
(Matt. 8: 11–12 = Luke 13: 28–9) declares that people will come from the east
and west and eat in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the
eschatological banquet in heaven Gentiles (or, perhaps, diaspora Jews) will
join the patriarchs, but in the final judgement, those who reject Jesus will
be rejected by God—and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Here
Jesus subverts the expectations of his listeners. He draws on graphic apocalyptic motifs, though in other sayings Jesus distances himself from the
apocalyptic traditions popular in some circles which spelt out detailed
timetables and scenarios for the future (Mark 13: 32–3; Luke 17: 20).
In the opening beatitudes the poor, the mourners, and the hungry are
declared to be ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’ (Matt. 5: 3–6 = Luke 6: 20b–21). Why?
Because the kingly rule of God reverses their present state. It is not often
noted that in the first beatitude the kingdom is a present reality, while in
the two following beatitudes the promise is that God will act on behalf of
those in need. A present and a future temporal sense are juxtaposed.
Several sayings express the presence or the nearness of the kingdom,
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though in each case their precise temporal sense is difficult to determine.
In Mark 1: 15, for example, is the sense, ‘the kingdom of God has come’ or,
‘is at hand’, or ‘is upon you’? Protracted discussion has led to the widely
accepted conclusion that this verse announces the nearness of the
kingdom: it is so near that a response is imperative.
The presence of the kingdom is clear in Matt. 12: 28 = Luke 11: 20, Jesus’
declaration that his exorcisms are confirmation of the presence of God’s
kingly rule. Luke 17: 20–1, which we shall discuss shortly, also states that the
kingdom is a present reality.
Several important sayings declare that God’s promises are being fulfilled
now in the words and actions of Jesus, even though the phrase ‘kingdom of
God’ is not used. When the imprisoned John the Baptist sent his disciples
to ask Jesus about his role and his intention, Jesus told them to tell John
what they had heard and what they had seen. He then elaborated by couching his reply with phrases taken from Isaiah which link together the message and miracles of Jesus: ‘The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have
good news brought to them’ (Matt. 11: 4–5 = Luke 7: 22–3; cf. Luke 4:
16–18).
A beatitude not included in the Sermon on the Mount runs as follows in
its original form: ‘Happy are the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you
that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see and did not see it,
and to hear what you hear and did not hear it’ (Matt. 13: 16–17 = Luke 10:
23–4). Jesus’ contemporaries are in a specially privileged position, for they
have heard the words and seen the actions which are in fulfilment of
ancient hopes. Once again message and miracles are inextricably linked.
And once again Jesus claims that his ministry is the fulfilment of Scripture’s promises and hopes.
Enough has been said to confirm that there are very varied emphases in
the kingdom of God sayings. They should not be squeezed into one mould.
Both the future and the present (or nearness) sayings have good claims to
authenticity, though their precise relationship to one another is unclear.
We turn now to discuss two kingdom sayings which are particularly
important and interesting; in both cases, however, they are difficult to
interpret.
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The kingdom of God is among you:
Luke 17: 20–1
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming,
and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be
observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the
kingdom of God is among you.’
This passage is found only in Luke’s gospel. As there is no direct link
with either the preceding or the following material, it is a detached saying.
It is possible that Luke himself has included the reference to the Pharisees’
question. The first saying about the kingdom raises few problems; ‘things
[or signs] that can be observed’ refers to careful observation of premonitions or other indications that the future kingdom is near. Jesus refuses to
speculate about the time or the place of the coming of the kingdom and
thus parts company with apocalyptic prophets who set out timetables for
the signs which would precede the end-time.
What did Jesus mean when he said that the kingdom was ‘among you’?
The traditional interpretation which was common in the early church is
reflected in the translation used in the Authorized or King James Version
(1611), and also the NIV (1978): the kingdom is ‘within you’; it is referred to
in a footnote in the NRSV as a possible alternative translation. On this view
the kingdom is an inward power or reality ‘within you’, ‘within your hearts’.
But Jesus can hardly have suggested to the Pharisees that the kingdom
was within them. So the scholars who defend this interpretation have to
assume that Luke has added the reference to the Pharisees rather awkwardly. Elsewhere in the gospels the kingdom is never ‘in the hearts’ of
individuals, so this is unlikely to be the correct interpretation of this saying, even though it has been prominent in Christian thought over many
centuries.
The NRSV (quoted above) reads ‘among you’. The REB also translates
‘the kingdom of God is among you’ (though the notes suggest three other
possibilities, including ‘within your grasp’). On this view the kingdom is
related to the things Jesus is saying and doing. If so, then this is a rare hint
from Jesus that although the kingdom is God’s, his own actions and words
are ‘signs’ of its presence among men. The Greek phrase entos humōn may
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possibly mean ‘among you’, but we have very few examples of the phrase.
But since there is a common phrase (en mesō) which could have been used
to express ‘among you’, its absence here is puzzling if this was the intended
meaning.
Several scholars have proposed a third possibility. The saying may mean
‘the kingdom of God is within your reach’, ‘it can be shared in by you, if
you want it’. Supporters of this interpretation appeal to several examples
of the rare phrase entos humōn found in recently discovered papyri in
everyday (i.e. non-literary) Greek from the first century. This interpretation makes excellent sense in the context: the Pharisees are invited by
Jesus to participate in God’s kingdom. But although this is an attractive
solution, it is no more than a good possibility since the precise sense of the
examples in the papyri is not clear!
Most exegetes and translators conclude that the second interpretation is
the most likely but readily admit that certainty is not possible. This saying
raises a further dilemma. One of the alternatives listed in the REB notes is,
‘for suddenly the kingdom of God will be among you’. On this view, the
kingdom is not present but future. Although this interpretation would
allow Luke 17: 20–1 to be linked closely to the verses which follow in verses
22–37, ‘suddenly’ is not found in the Greek at all. Hence most scholars
accept that although the precise sense of entos humōn must be left as an
open question, the saying confirms that in some sense the kingdom is
already a present reality.
The kingdom under attack? Matthew 11: 12–13 =
Luke 16: 16
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered
violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law
prophesied until John came. (Matthew)
The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good
news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by
force. (Luke)
This saying has teased scholars for a very long time. It raises immediately
the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. In Chapter 10 we tried
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to underline the importance of this question for our understanding of
Jesus. Luke’s version of this saying seems to separate Jesus and John, as was
the case generally in early Christianity: John belongs to the old order of law
and prophets. Matthew’s version, however, links John and Jesus closely
together, and in this respect at least it is almost certainly the more original
version of the saying.
Luke’s version is the more straightforward. ‘Everyone tries to enter the
kingdom by force’ must refer to the enthusiastic response to the preaching
of the good news; the REB translates, ‘everyone forces a way in’. The word
‘everyone’ may be something of an exaggeration; this part of the saying
may be referring to the response of tax collectors and sinners, the poor,
women, and others on the fringe of society who elbow their way into the
kingdom ahead of the Pharisees and scribes. Or, alternatively, the correct
translation may be ‘everyone is pressed to enter the kingdom’; the saying
would then refer to the urgent invitation of Jesus and would correspond to
Luke 14: 23: ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come
in.’
Matthew’s version of the saying bristles with difficulties. The NRSV
translation we have quoted suggests that the appearance of John has
sparked off opposition to God’s kingdom which has persisted up to Jesus’
day. Who are the violent people who are taking the kingdom by force? In
Matthew the saying follows shortly after a reference to the imprisonment
of John the Baptist (11: 2), so the evangelist may well envisage that Herod
Antipas (who imprisoned John) is the leading man of violence who has
taken the kingdom by force.
The Greek verb biazetai, which the NRSV translates as ‘has suffered
violence’, is found elsewhere in the New Testament only in Luke 16: 16. It
may be translated with an active sense: ‘the kingdom has been forcing its
way forward’. The related noun ‘the violent’ is then likely to have a ‘good’
sense: tax collectors and sinners storm the kingdom. If so, then the meaning of Matt. 11: 12–13 is similar to Luke 16: 16. Many scholars have supported
this general approach—though with differences in details.
However, careful attention to other examples of the three key words in
this saying (‘has suffered violence’, ‘the violent’, and ‘take it by force’) in
Greek writings from this period has recently tipped the scales in favour of
taking the whole saying in a ‘bad’ sense. ‘The kingdom of God is being
opposed with violence’. This is almost certainly the original sense intended
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by Jesus. If so, then we are in a world far removed from the ‘gentle Jesus,
meek and mild’ of much popular Christian piety.
Whether the original Q version of Matt. 11: 12–13 has a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’
sense, it links Jesus and John closely together. Both interpretations imply
that the kingdom is in some sense already present in the proclamation of
Jesus.
What did Jesus mean?
At this point we must sum up this discussion of the ‘kingdom’ sayings. The
primary intention of these sayings is to declare the reality and power of
God’s presence and the response this demands. It was as difficult to speak
meaningfully about God in the first century as it is today. Hence it is not
surprising to find that the sayings are very diverse: they may be seen as
varied ways of speaking about the ‘sphere’ of God’s kingly rule and power.
A careful comparison of the kingdom sayings in the gospels with references to the kingdom in Jewish writings which come from the first century
does not enable us to speak confidently about ways in which the proclamation of Jesus about God’s kingdom was unique. But such a comparison
does lead to a significant conclusion: the extent and diversity of the kingdom
sayings in the gospels is surprising. As far as we know (and our knowledge
is certainly far from complete), no other first-century prophet or teacher
spoke so frequently or in such diverse ways about God’s kingdom.
As we have seen, a number of sayings of Jesus declare that the kingdom
of God is now present in his own actions and proclamation. They are
undoubtedly among the most striking sayings in the gospels, but if they are
singled out for special attention the richness and diversity of all the kingdom sayings is missed. Since they are congenial to later Christian theology,
which claims that in the life (and death and resurrection) of Jesus God
intervened in a new way in human history, some scholars believe that they
may have been ‘shaped’ or even created in the early church. But there are
strong counter-arguments: many of them are so difficult to interpret with
precision that they are unlikely to have been created in the early church;
very few of them bear clear traces of later Christian thought. The two
sayings we have discussed in some detail provide good illustrations of this
important point.
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How may we sum up Jesus’ meaning? The following summary is not
intended to be a definition of the phrase ‘kingdom of God’, but it does
attempt to do justice to the diversity of the sayings and to the dominant
nuances which are found in the Old Testament and in Jewish writings from
the time of Jesus. The kingdom of God is God’s kingly rule, the time and place
where God’s power and will hold sway. Jesus is primarily concerned with
God’s initiative. We do not need to decide whether the ‘present’ or the
‘future’ sense is dominant.
In the sayings of Jesus ‘the kingdom of God’ is above all a series of ways
of speaking about the reality of God. Jewish thought rarely speculated on
the ‘nature’ of God (as did Greek thought); to speak about God was to
speak about his relationship to his people, and vice versa. In other words,
‘the kingdom of God’ always carried ethical implications. This is clearly
implied in the sayings which refer to the individual’s response—sayings
which refer to entry into the kingdom, or to the kingdom as something to
be possessed or sought after. Even in the sayings about the ‘reality of God’s
presence’ which stress God’s initiative, human response is expected. Mark
underlines this point in his summary verse in 1: 15: ‘the kingdom of God is
at hand, repent . . .’.
The kingdom is always God’s kingdom. Later Christian thought often
associated the kingdom with Jesus rather than with God. In the second
century Marcion claimed that the kingdom of God was ‘Christ himself’; in
the third century Origen wrote similarly. But Jesus did not link himself
explicitly with the kingdom. Only a very few sayings suggest this—and
they almost certainly do not go back to Jesus himself. For example, Matt.
16: 28, which refers to the Son of man’s kingdom, is Matthew’s redaction of
Mark’s ‘kingdom of God’ (Mark 9: 1). (See also Luke 23: 42; John 18: 36.)
The kingdom of God is yours
To whom did Jesus proclaim his distinctive message about the power and
presence of God? In the first of the beatitudes Jesus announces that the
poor are blessed, ‘for yours is the kingdom of God’ (Matt. 5: 3 = Luke 6: 20
(Q) ). The word translated ‘blessed’ has rich connotations: it means ‘God’s
favour now rests upon . . .’. But who are the poor to whom Jesus declares
God’s favour or blessing? Matthew modifies the first beatitude to ‘blessed
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the kingdom of god
| 215
are the poor in spirit’; the words are now addressed to the spiritually
poor—those who are poor before God. Luke has in mind those who live in
poverty (this is confirmed by the woe addressed in 6: 24 to those who are
rich and Luke’s emphasis elsewhere on those who are literally poor). So
Luke and Matthew have rather different understandings of ‘the poor’.
How did Jesus use the term? In Matt. 11: 5–6 = Luke 7: 22–3 ‘the poor’
have good news preached to them—and this causes offence. Who took
offence at Jesus and on what grounds? There are several passages in the
gospels which record criticism levelled at Jesus. In a Q saying Jesus refers to
the taunt thrown at him by his unspecified opponents: ‘Look, a glutton
and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Matt. 11: 19 = Luke
7: 34). Mark 2: 16–17 records the critical questioning of the scribes of the
Pharisees: ‘Why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ In Luke 7:
36–50 we read that Jesus accepted the devotion and faith of ‘a woman of
the city who was a sinner’ (v. 37); this also led to critical comment from a
Pharisee (v. 39). Luke 15: 1–2 (which in its present form comes from the
evangelist himself) also refers to the complaints Pharisees and scribes
levelled against Jesus as a result of his table fellowship with tax collectors
and sinners.
Jesus’ acceptance of tax collectors and sinners is well attested: the
examples just cited come from three strands of the gospel traditions: Q,
Mark, and ‘L’ (Luke’s special traditions), as well as from Luke the evangelist. A specific link between Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom and his
acceptance of tax collectors and sinners is made in Matt. 21: 31: ‘Truly I tell
you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of
God ahead of you.’ Hence we may be confident that ‘the poor’ to whom
the kingdom is promised include the tax collectors and sinners. In extending table fellowship to tax collectors and sinners Jesus acted out his
proclamation of the kingly rule of God; this is an example of a prophetic
action referred to in Chapter 11.
Sharing a meal with a friend today is often no more than a convenient
way of consuming food. In the Graeco-Roman and Jewish worlds of the
first century, however, eating food with another person was far more significant socially: it indicated that the invited person was being accepted
into a relationship in which the bonds were as close as in family relationships. One normally invited to meals only people whom one considered
social and religious equals.
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216
| jesus in gospel tradition
Some of the first-century conventions associated with table fellowship
are sketched vividly in Luke 14: 7–14. This passage concludes with a surprising reversal of the customary expectations of reciprocity in hospitality:
‘But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and
the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you
will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’ Followers of Jesus are
urged to do exactly what he himself did: to extend table fellowship to those
whom most would shun.
‘Why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ (Mark 2: 16). This
criticism is levelled at Jesus by the scribes of the Pharisees when they see
whom Jesus has invited to share meals with him. In his reply Jesus insists
that he has not come to invite to table fellowship those who consider
themselves to be law-abiding (‘righteous’) but ‘sinners’ (Mark 2: 17). In an
independent tradition, Luke records similar indignant criticism (15: 1–2)
and links to it the reply of Jesus in the form of the parables of the lost
sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son (15: 3–32).
The Q tradition in which Jesus himself quotes a jibe thrown at him is
even more important: ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax
collectors and sinners!’ (Matt. 11: 18–19 = Luke 7: 34). Jesus accepts the
legitimacy of this accusation, so his actions are quite deliberate. The accusation is the finale of a lengthy set of sayings of Jesus (Matt. 11: 2–19 = Luke
7: 18–35; 16: 16) in which one of the central issues is the coming of God’s
kingly rule. When the jibe is read in context it becomes clear that the
opponents of Jesus failed to see that his table fellowship with tax collectors
and sinners was an implication of the coming of the kingdom.
Who were the tax collectors and sinners? The tax collectors in Galilee
were despised not because they were colluding directly with the Romans
(though that would have been the case in Judaea), but because in their
abuse of a long-standing system of collecting tolls and duties they were
blatantly dishonest. Strictly speaking they were toll collectors or tax farmers; they were not collecting direct taxes. As E. P. Sanders (1985) has
stressed, the ‘sinners’ were not simply apathetic about religious observance, they were those who intentionally ignored God’s commandments.
So Jesus insisted on accepting openly in intimate table fellowship those
who were notorious for their dishonesty or their high-handed rejection of
the law.
Those who were physically disabled, lepers, and those possessed by
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the kingdom of god
| 217
demons were also considered to be on the fringe of society. In some circles
they were shunned because they were considered to be ritually impure.
Numerous traditions in the gospels confirm that Jesus took a special interest in such socially and religiously marginalized people. We shall return to
the miracle traditions in the next chapter, but for the moment we may note
that those who were sick in body or mind are closely related to ‘the poor’,
and to the tax collectors and sinners. To them all, both by actions and by
proclamation, Jesus declared, ‘the kingly rule of God is yours’.
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Instructions for assignment
The reference for “the Kingdom of God” is located on this first sheet.
Then you will have to use two other scholarly sources. I have the
rubric on the next pages.
Read "And Finally...the Kingdom of God Is Like This...." Observe how the
author encourages readers to find contemporary metaphors for the
kingdom of God.
Write an essay (1,000-1,250 words) analyzing a Jesus metaphor
describing the kingdom of God as well as creating your own metaphor.
Analyzing the Jesus metaphor,
1. Choose one parable used by Jesus to describe the kingdom of God.
2. Explain how this metaphor would have made sense to the 1st
century audience of Jesus.
3. Take into account the historical/cultural significance, theological
intent, and the impact of the parable or metaphor on the original
audience.
Create a contemporary parable for the kingdom of God:
1. Explain how this same meaning and impact might be
communicated in your contemporary context.
2. Explain how the changed metaphor is faithful to the teaching of
Jesus on the kingdom of God.
In addition to the Bible and the assigned article, you must use at least
two other scholarly sources.
Stanton, G. (2002). The Gospels and Jesus. Oxford: OUP Oxford.
("The Kingdom of God") in The Gospels and Jesus, by Stanton, from
the Oxford Bible Series (2002).
1
Unsatisfactory
0.00%
2
Less than
Satisfactory
65.00%
3
Satisfactory
75.00%
4
Good
85.00%
5
Excellent
100.00%
Essay logically
explains how
this metaphor
would have
made sense to
the 1st century
audience of
Jesus based on
the textbook,
Bible, and other
scholarly
resources.
Essay clearly
explains how
this metaphor
would have
made sense to
the 1st century
audience of
Jesus based on
the textbook,
Bible, and other
scholarly
resources.
Essay
thoroughly
explains how
this metaphor
would have
made sense to
the 1st century
audience of
Jesus based on
the textbook,
Bible, and other
scholarly
resources.
80.0 %Content
20.0 %First
Essay does not Essay
Century Audience provide an
inadequately
explanation of explains how
how this
this metaphor
metaphor would would have
have made sense made sense to
to the 1st
the 1st century
century
audience of
audience of
Jesus based on
Jesus based on the textbook,
the textbook,
Bible, and other
Bible, and other scholarly
scholarly
resources.
resources.
20.0
%Historical/Cultur
al Significance,
Meaning, and
Impact CoT 1.2
Essay does not Essay provides Essay provides a Essay clearly
Essay
provide an
an inadequate logical
explains and
thoroughly
explanation for explanation for explanation for provides
explains and
the
the
the
supportive
provides
historical/cultura historical/cultura historical/cultura references for relevant
l significance, l significance, l significance, the
supportive
theological
theological
theological
historical/cultura references for
intent, and
intent, and
intent, and
l significance, the
impact of the
impact of the
impact of the
theological
historical/cultura
original Jesus original Jesus original Jesus intent, and
l significance,
metaphor/parabl metaphor/parabl metaphor/parabl impact of the
theological
e.
e.
e.
original Jesus intent, and
metaphor/parabl impact of the
e.
original Jesus
metaphor/parabl
e.
20.0 %Meaning
Essay does not
and Impact of
explain how the
Changed Metaphor changed
metaphor/parabl
e would be
communicated
with the same
meaning and
Essay
Essay logically Essay clearly
Essay
inadequately
explains how the explains how the thoroughly
explains how the changed
changed
explains how the
changed
metaphor/parabl metaphor/parabl changed
metaphor/parabl e would be
e would be
metaphor/parabl
e would be
communicated communicated e would be
communicated with the same with the same communicated
with the same meaning and
meaning and
with the same
impact as the
original Jesus
metaphor in a
contemporary
context.
20.0 %Translation
of Metaphor for
Contemporary
Audience
meaning and
impact as the
original Jesus
metaphor in a
contemporary
context.
impact as the
original Jesus
metaphor in a
contemporary
context.
impact as the
original Jesus
metaphor in a
contemporary
context.
meaning and
impact as the
original Jesus
metaphor in a
contemporary
context.
Essay does not Essay
Essay broadly Essay clearly
Essay
provide an
insufficiently
explains how the explains how the thoroughly
explanation of explains how the changed
changed
explains how the
how the changed changed
metaphor/parabl metaphor/parabl changed
metaphor/parabl metaphor/parabl e is faithful to e is faithful to metaphor/parabl
e is faithful to e is faithful to the teachings of the teachings of e is faithful to
the teachings of the teachings of Jesus on the
Jesus on the
the teachings of
Jesus on the
Jesus on the
kingdom of
kingdom of
Jesus on the
kingdom of
kingdom of
God.
God.
kingdom of
God.
God.
God.
17.0
%Organization and
Effectiveness
6.0 %Thesis
Development and
Purpose
Paper lacks any
discernible
overall purpose
or organizing
claim.
Thesis is
insufficiently
developed or
vague. Purpose
is not clear.
Thesis is
apparent and
appropriate to
purpose.
Thesis is clear Thesis is
and forecasts the comprehensive
development of and contains the
the paper.
essence of the
Thesis is
paper. Thesis
descriptive and statement makes
reflective of the the purpose of
arguments and the paper clear.
appropriate to
the purpose.
Paragraphs are
generally
competent, but
ideas may show
some
inconsistency in
organization or
in their
relationship to
each other.
A logical
progression of
ideas between
paragraphs is
apparent.
Paragraphs
exhibit a unity,
coherence, and
cohesiveness.
Topic sentences
and concluding
remarks are
appropriate to
17.0
%Organization and
Effectiveness
6.0 %Paragraph
Development and
Transitions
Paragraphs and Some
transitions
paragraphs and
consistently lack transitions may
unity and
lack logical
coherence. No progression of
apparent
ideas, unity,
connections
coherence, or
between
cohesiveness.
paragraphs are Some degree of
established.
organization is
Transitions are evident.
inappropriate to
purpose and
There is a
sophisticated
construction of
paragraphs and
transitions. Ideas
progress and
relate to each
other. Paragraph
and transition
construction
guide the reader.
Paragraph
structure is
scope.
Organization is
disjointed.
purpose.
seamless.
17.0
%Organization and
Effectiveness
5.0 %Mechanics of
Writing (includes
spelling,
punctuation,
grammar, language
use)
Surface errors Frequent and
are pervasive
repetitive
enough that they mechanical
impede
errors distract
communication the reader.
of meaning.
Inconsistencies
Inappropriate
in language
word choice or choice (register)
sentence
or word choice
construction is are present.
used.
Sentence
structure is
correct but not
varied.
Some
Prose is largely
mechanical
free of
errors or typos mechanical
are present, but errors, although
they are not
a few may be
overly
present. The
distracting to the writer uses a
reader. Correct variety of
and varied
effective
sentence
sentence
structure and
structures and
audiencefigures of
appropriate
speech.
language are
employed.
Writer is clearly
in command of
standard,
written,
academic
English.
3.0 %Format
1.0 %Paper Format Appropriate
(use of appropriate template is not
style for the major used
and assignment)
appropriately or
documentation
format is rarely
followed
correctly.
Appropriate
Appropriate
Appropriate
All format
template is used, template is used, template is fully elements are
but some
and formatting used; There are correct.
elements are
is correct,
virtually no
missing or
although some errors in
mistaken; lack minor errors
formatting style.
of control with may be present.
formatting is
apparent.
2.0
Sources are not
%Documentation documented.
of Sources
(citations, footnotes,
references,
bibliography, etc.,
as appropriate to
assignment and
style)
Documentation
of sources is
inconsistent or
incorrect, as
appropriate to
assignment and
style, with
numerous
formatting
errors.
100 %Total
Weightage
Sources are
documented, as
appropriate to
assignment and
style, although
some formatting
errors may be
present.
Sources are
Sources are
documented, as completely and
appropriate to correctly
assignment and documented, as
style, and format appropriate to
is mostly
assignment and
correct.
style, and format
is free of error.
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