I.
Introduction
New
Testament scholars generally agree that Jesus’ primary message was proclaiming the
Good News of the Kingdom of God.[1] In fact, Jesus primary
message encouraged everyone to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.[2] Jesus encouraged His
disciples to treasure and love the Kingdom of God beyond all else.[3] During His public
ministry, Jesus anointed and sent out His disciples with His power to proclaim
the message of the Good News of the Kingdom of God.[4] After Jesus’ death and
ascension to heaven, His disciples continued Jesus’ message of announcing the
Kingdom of God.[5]
Jesus taught the Good News of the Kingdom of God must be preached in the whole
world to all the nations before the end will come.[6]
However,
Jesus nowhere in the Gospel messages defined the meaning of the Kingdom of God.[7] Many scholars believe
Jesus’ original audience, who were first-century Jews, already understood Jesus’
meaning of the Kingdom of God.[8] Many first-century Jews
who heard Jesus’ teaching and witnessed His miracles were waiting for the
promised Son of David as predicted in the Old Testament prophets as well as the
restoration of Israel and the Kingdom of God.[9] Through Jesus’ life and
ministry, many first-century Jews began to believe He was in fact the long-anticipated
Son of God and Messiah promised from the Old Testament.[10] More than 400 years had
passed since the last Old Testament prophecies with Malachi, and Jews all over
the world were waiting for the Kingdom of God.
II.
The
Old Testament and the Kingdom of God
The
basic definition of the Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God.[11] The Kingdom of God as a
theme does not really develop in Old Testament Judaism. In the Old Testament,
Jews simply affirmed that God is King, and He was omnipotent, omnipresent, and
omniscient.[12]
The expression “Kingdom of God” does not occur in the Old Testament.[13] However, the idea of the
Kingdom of God is found throughout the Old Testament prophets.[14]
At
the Exodus of Egypt, the Israelites saw firsthand the living LORD God Almighty
enter human history and established His rule and reign as King of the world. The
Exodus from ancient Egypt became the central event of the life of Judaism and
celebrated each year at Passover.[15] For the Jews, the Exodus
of Egypt was not only a deliverance from slavery and bondage. Importantly, the
Exodus from ancient Egypt represented for the Jewish people a concrete point in
world history when the living LORD God Almighty visibly established His rule
and reign over the Egyptian people and the entire world. In the Exodus, the
rule of God was visibly seen when God came in concrete historical circumstances
and overruled Pharaoh and Egypt.[16] Thus, during this period,
the Jewish people believed that the Kingdom of God was God’s intervention into
human history to accomplish His divine purposes.[17]
Since the Old Testament, Israel accepted the living
LORD God as their ruling and reigning King. However, Israel desired to become
like other nations and demanded a human king.[18] The
living God had previously made predictions and provisions in the Law for the
appointment of a king.[19] Thus,
the LORD God accepted Israel’s demand, and He gave Israel its first king, Saul
son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul ruled Israel for forty years.[20] Then
the LORD God removed Saul because of Saul’s repeated disobedience, and He made
David from the tribe of Judah Israel’s second king.[21] King
David was Israel’s greatest king, and he became the standard for all other kings.
God testified concerning David: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after My
own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’[22] From
King David’s descendants God has brought to Israel His Son, Jesus the Messiah
(Christ).[23] The Lord Jesus Christ has
become our Great and Perfect King and Savior not only of Israel but the whole world.[24]
Some
people in Israel saw the reign of David and his son Solomon as the rule of God.
In ancient Judaism, the king was a representative of God, particularly as
illustrated in the book of Psalms.[25] In the Psalms, kings were
appointed by God and declared as a son of God. Clearly, these Jewish kings were
not actual sons of God nor divine as the Lord Jesus, God’s unique and only
begotten Son.[26]
But in many Jewish eyes, the king was an observable representative of God, and
the king ruled the affairs of the nation on the throne. During the times of Old
Testament kings, the Jews saw a visible Kingdom of God with Israel, a robust
economy with a Temple, and their land.
However,
the Old Testament revealed that these Jewish kings never acted like the true
and living God. Often, these Jewish kings did not rule with justice, fairness,
and honesty and drove God’s people into utter wickedness and evil.[27] As time proceeded, these
Jewish kings became more corrupt and wicked and the Israel nation spilt –
Israel in the north and Judah in the south.[28] During the divided
kingdom, many Jews found it difficult to identify the rule of God with a
particular political regime, whether David, Solomon, or others because many of
Israel and Judah’s kings were unjust and evil.[29] Eventually, the Jews went
to Exile and were banished from the promised land of Israel because of the Jews
continued wickedness and disobedience to the covenant.[30]
Then,
the Exile occurred during the Assyrian and the Babylonian invasions. With these
invasions, Israel lost their land, their visible kingship, and the Temple. The
Exile created a problem in ancient Judaism as revealed in such Scripture passages
as Psalm 139. In the Old Testament Judaism, the Jewish people identified the
land as their kingdom where God was King.
With
the loss of their land, the Jewish people began looking for a future time in
this world and life when God would restore the land to Israel. With this future
restoration, the Jewish people identified their restoration with the coming of
the Messiah.[31]
In the early views, many Jews believed the Messiah would be a good king and not
a divine man coming.
As
time progressed, Israel’s leadership was less than honest and ideal. Then, the
idea of the Kingdom of God largely under Jewish apocalyptic literature became
an event God would bring at the end of the age through a Messiah or a messianic
figure.
Because
of this division and the Jewish exile, many Jews no longer saw the rule of God
as a present-day event but a future reality.[32] Initially, the Jewish people
look for an ideal earthly king that would restore Israel back to the day of
greatness and rule Israel with honest, justice, and integrity. Initially, this
person was a messianic figure, but this person was viewed as an earthly king
who would appear in history and restore Israel. So, the Kingdom of God would
come in the future when God would finally raise up a good and righteous earthly
king. As time progressed, this hope of a righteous messianic king becomes more
and more remote into the future.
III.
Intertestamental
Understanding of the Kingdom of God
After
the Jewish Exile and between the intertestamental period, Jewish apocalyptic
literature flourished. During this period, many Jews believed the rule and
reign of God was now a future event at the end of the age. In the apocalyptic movement,
many Jews believed the rule of God would occur at the end of the age where God
will accomplish His purposes. Thus, the idea of the rule of God changed between
the Jewish Exodus and the intertestamental period.
Nonetheless,
during this development, there was a mixture of the presence of the Kingdom and
the future Kingdom. Many Jewish writers had
many different views on the Kingdom of God. Some Jews saw the Kingdom of God in
history while other writers eliminated human history and only viewed the Kingdom
of God as coming at the end of the age. Despite the various views of the
Kingdom, the Jews unanimously believed that living LORD God would rule alone
and not a human rule. This view became important with the Gospel as taught by
Jesus.
IV.
Problems and
Issues on the Kingdom of God
The
sources for discovering and understanding the Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus
is the four New Testament Gospels, particularly the
Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark,
and Luke – are the three major sources on the Kingdom of God, and these Gospels
essentially tell the earthly ministry of Jesus in the same order.
The
creation of the Gospels is speculative. Based upon the best evidence available,
many scholars believe the Gospels were created from the end beginning with Jesus’
Passion – His suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Many scholars
believe the stories of Jesus circulated in oral form for approximately 40
years. The Gospels were a long process of early Christians telling and
retelling the story of Jesus’ orally.
In
approximately AD 70, the written Gospels began to appear. Many scholars believe
Mark’s Gospel was the first Gospel written around AD 70 and John’s Gospel was
the last Gospel written between AD 90 and 100. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke
were written between Mark and John. Unfortunately, the four Gospels are not
self-explanatory and do not define the Kingdom of God.
Jesus’
favorite way of teaching about the Kingdom of God was through parables.
However, parables were not unique to Jesus. Parables were used in ancient Judaism
but not as frequently. Also, the Jewish rabbis during Jesus’ day used parables
in their teachings. The basic meaning of a parable is a comparison, where you
compare one thing to another. The rabbis in using parables used parables to
explain the finer point of the Law of Moses like an illustration in a sermon
that embodied the truth. However, the parables of Jesus were very simple stories
He took from the common aspect in first-century Palestine, such as life like
fields planted, a woman finding treasure, and seed planted. Unlike the Jewish
rabbis, Jesus never used the parables to explain a finer point of the Law.
Jesus used parables typically to draw a picture such as the “Kingdom of God is
like ….”[33]
V.
Various
Expectations of Kingdom in First-century Palestine
In
the first-century world that Jesus lived, the Jewish people had many varying expectations
of the Kingdom of God. Not all Jews shared the same definition of the Kingdom
of God. These expectations can be divided into five parts by five separate
group of people who lived during Jesus’ day. These five groups probably heard Jesus’
teaching on the Kingdom God in first-century Palestine where Jesus lived,
walked, and performed His ministry.
The
first group of Jews was the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a middle-class set of
Jews whose primary concern was staying in a state of ritual purity. The
Pharisees frequently encountered Jesus during His public ministry. The
Pharisees accepted the written Law of the Old Testament that was binding as
well as the oral interpretations of the Law, which had accumulated throughout
the centuries to explain the written Law, such as the Sabbath laws.[34]
The
Pharisees mainly saw the coming Kingdom as apocalyptic. Pharisees believed that
the coming Kingdom of God would be a time when the Jewish people would be restored
to their fortunes as the people of God. The Pharisees were not concerned about
politics and political issues. However, the Pharisees were primarily concerned
about religious freedom and their place of worship, the Jewish synagogue. At
the synagogue, Pharisees practiced their religion, attended schools, and their
central government. Pharisees lived at a time where Israel was governed by
countries that did not allow the Jews to practice their religion freely such as
during the Maccabean period, when Judaism was outlawed.
Significantly,
the Pharisees viewed the Kingdom of God as mainly a restoration of David,
whether in this age or the age to come. Also, the Pharisees believed God would
destroy the Gentiles (non-Jews) and other evil people in the future Kingdom of
God. Pharisees tolerated this world, but the Pharisees believed they would not
live in a secure and free society until God brings His Kingdom in the future. Moreover,
the Pharisees believed in a future military ruler such as David as their coming
Messiah to restore Israel’s fortunes. Until God established His Kingdom, the
Pharisees tried to maintain ritual purity in this world by careful observation
of the Law. However, the Pharisees did not withdraw from society to wait for
the end to come. Instead, the Pharisees consistently engaged in society, but they
kept themselves ritually clean and pure.[35] The Pharisees looked
forward to a pure Kingdom and a restoration of the kingdom of David.
The
second first-century audience that heard Jesus’ teaching was the Sadducees. The
Sadducees were priestly people, and they descended from Aaron, the priestly
tribe of Levi. By the first-century, the Sadducees were the wealthy landowners,
the monied people, and they based their operation in the Jerusalem Temple. The
Sadducees were removed from the common people whereas the Pharisees mingled
with the common people. In first-century Palestine, the Roman authorities generally
dealt with the Sadducees and the high priest, who was the chief Sadducees,
regarding any Jewish affairs.[36]
As
to the Kingdom of God, the Sadducees had no notion of a future Kingdom and were
mostly concerned about this world in the present day. The Sadducees only
accepted the first five books of the Bible (the Torah) as authoritative, and
they rejected the oral interpretations of the Law, such as the Mishnah, and the
rest of the Old Testament teaching and intertestamental writings. Moreover, the
Sadducees rejected any notion of an afterlife, as well as angels and punishment
that the Pharisees believed.[37] Because they were the
wealthy Jewish elite, the Sadducees had no concept of an end of time nor the
coming future Kingdom.
In
the New Testament Gospels, Jesus mostly did not interact with the Sadducees
until the final week of His earthly life in Jerusalem.[38] The Synoptic Gospels
reveal Jesus’ life culminated at the Jerusalem Temple, which was the Sadducee’s
base of operation. Because the Gospels say very little of the Sadducees during Jesus’
public ministry, the Sadducees probably did not hear Jesus’ teaching on the
Kingdom of God. Even if the Sadducees did hear Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom,
the Sadducees probably would have rejected Jesus’ teaching. When Jesus’
discussed the Kingdom as a present-day reality as a here and now, likely the
Sadducees would have been confused. The Sadducees saw the Kingdom here and now
in terms of money, status, and possessions and not Jesus’ teaching of healing,
deliverance from evil, and restoration as the Kingdom of God being in one’s
presence now.[39]
The
third first-century Jewish audience that heard Jesus’ teaching were the Zealots.
The Zealots were dangerous political revolutionaries and were apocalyptic minded.
The Zealots had one dominant purpose in the first-century and that purpose was
to overthrow foreign domination and raid the Jews of any foreign rulers. The Zealots
hated the Roman government and Roman taxation. They were not an official
religious and political party. A Zealots was a Jewish mindset and way of
thinking. However, the Zealot’s mindset and mentality were faulty and bankrupt.
For
the Zealots, the Kingdom of God existed when foreign domination was overthrown,
and the Jews were restored to power. The Zealots associated the Kingdom of God
with a great and dramatic battle and cataclysmic event by God that overthrew the
Jewish oppressors and gave freedom to the Jews. For the Zealots, this freedom
would only come with a violate overthrown of Roman and other foreign powers.
Like
the Pharisees, the Zealots viewed the Kingdom of God as a future event, and
they also viewed the Kingdom as a restoration of Israel’s fortune as in the day
of King David. However, the Pharisees were willing to wait for God’s timing for
the future Kingdom of God and Israel’s restoration. Unlike the Pharisees, the
Zealots were not patient and wanted to force God’s bring of the His Kingdom to
earth to overthrow Israel’s enemies and restore the Jewish power on earth. The
Zealots believed they could force God to bring His Kingdom onto earth through
war and revolts lead by the Jewish people.
Possibly,
some historians believe the Zealot’s political mindset was the movement and
reasoning for the Jewish War. The Jewish War started in AD 66 and ended in AD
70. Throughout much of the first-century, there was tension between the Jews
and Romans. The Romans occupied and governed the Jewish people in
Palestine. In 66 AD, this tension
reached a boiling point and the Roman army laid siege in Jerusalem that existed
for four years as noted by Josephus, an eyewitness to the Jewish War.
Sadly,
the Jewish people were outnumbered by the strong and powerful Roman army.
However, the Jewish people were encouraged by the Zealots to instigate a war
against the Romans. The Zealots believed the Jews could call the living God into
bringing His future Kingdom if the Jewish people went to war against the
Romans. Moreover, the Zealots believed that if the Jews were destroyed by their
enemies, which did happen by Roman in AD 70, then they could force the living God
to bring in the Messiah and restore Israel back to the fortunes. Because of the
Zealot’s faulty and bankrupt mentality, the Jewish nation was destroyed by the
Romans in the first-century. At the end of the Jewish War in 70 AD, many Jews
were killed, and Jerusalem and the Temple were demolished.
Interestingly,
one of Jesus’ disciples was identified as a Zealot.[40] Moreover, some first-century
Jews also saw Jesus was a criminal and revolutionary when they arrested Him
during His final week on His life.[41] Many first-century Jews
believed that Jesus was the Messiah that would finally overthrow Roman and
restore Israel and David’s kingdom.[42] In first-century
Palestine, many Jews were waiting for the arrival of the Kingdom of God.[43] Possibly, the Zealots
heard of Jesus’ teaching that the Kingdom of God was at hand and upon you and
believed that God was finally bringing His Kingdom to overthrow the Romans. However,
the Zealots possibly ignored the Old Testament and Jesus’ teaching on the
Kingdom of God as peace and not as an insult to the powers of Romans.[44] In fact, Jesus chose a Jewish
tax collector, Matthew. Matthew worked for the Roman government in Palestine as
a tax collector.[45]
Even more, the Zealots may have seen Jesus as weak as He taught on God’s
present as well as the future Kingdom of God. Jesus was not aligned with any
political movement or party. In summary, the Zealots probably rejected Jesus’
view of the coming Kingdom of God.
The fourth first-century Jewish audience that heard
Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God were the Essenes. The
Essenes were never part of mainstream of Judaism in the first-century. The Holy
Scriptures does not mention the Essenes. The Essenes lived by the Dead Sea and
collectively have been known as the Qumran community. The Essenes were devout Jews. Many historians believe the Essenes
originated in 2 century BC during the Maccabean Revolt and the outlaw of
Judaism as a religion. The Essenes eventually withdraw from Jerusalem and went
to the Dead Sea. Thus, the Essenes were never mentioned in the Gospel story.
However, the Essenes became known and popular in 1947 with the Dead Sea Scrolls
discovery.
The
Essenes were concerned for religious purity, even more so than the Pharisees. Also,
the Essenes reinterpreted the Temple as the people of God who remained pure and
faithful to God. Most important, the Essenes were very apocalyptic minded, and they
believed that the Kingdom of God would come as a cataclysmic event with a
radical in-breaking of God at the end of human history. The Essenes were not actively engaged in
political affairs as the Sadducees, and they remained faithful and pure before
God and waited for God’s Kingdom. The Essenes believed that everyone who was
pure and faithful to God would enter the Kingdom.
Many
scholars believe because of the Essenes’ withdrawal to the Dead Sea they
probably never heard Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God. If the Essenes did
hear Jesus’ teaching, they would have been offended by Jesus’ teaching that God
loves and welcomes ALL people – inclusive of publicans, sinners, and tax
collectors through faith in His Son and the Kingdom of God not exclusive for
select Jewish people.[46] Jesus came to seek and to
save EVERYONE and bring the Kingdom of God to those who accept and believe in
Him.[47]
Moreover,
some scholars have linked John the Baptist to the Essene community. John the
Baptist had some similarities to the Essene community. John the Baptist lived a
withdrawn and discipline life like the Essenes in the Judean desert.[48] Yet, John the Baptist’s
life and preaching were contrary to the Essenes community. The Essenes were
like an exclusive club and had completely given up on this world. Also, the
Essenes saw everyone including the Pharisees as compromising with the world and
Judaism. However, John the Baptist was very much in the world. He preached
about the Kingdom to come and the need for repentance.[49] John the Baptist did not
see repentance as living separated from the world or ritual cleanliness. Instead,
John the Baptist preached repentance in the life of the world and obedience to
God.
The
fifth first-century Jewish audience that heard Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom
of God were the common people of the land. The common people of the Jewish land
were also known as the “am ha aretz.” Most of the Jews in the first-century
Palestine were “am ha aretz” or the people of the land. These ordinary Jewish people
worked hard and lived with a constant threat of injustice, unfairness,
taxation, corruption, and oppression. For the most part, the “am ha aretz” were
not very religious people. These people of the land knew God, but they did not
understand the interworking of the Law like the Pharisees and Sadducees. In the
Gospels, these people of the land welcomed Jesus and His teaching.[50] Jesus interacted with the
people of the land because they were mainly hopeless, deprived, oppressed, and accustomed
to the harshness of life.[51]
Most
likely, the people of the land heard Jesus’ repeated teaching on the Kingdom of
God.[52] When the people of the
land witnessed Jesus’ miracles and His teaching, Jesus’ teaching gave them
hope. Jesus taught that the last will be first and the first will be last and
God’s welcomes and gives ALL PEOPLE His Kingdom as a gift through faith in Him.[53] Jesus’ teaching on the
Kingdom of God had an utter reversal of values as reflected in Matthew 5 and
the great Sermon on the Mount.[54] Even more, Jesus taught
that even the lowest, poorest, and weakness are invited into the Kingdom of God
through humble faith in Him.[55]
Yet,
Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God probably confused the people of land
because Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God was much different from the
religious teaching of first-century Palestine.[56] Like today, the wealthy, powerful and
prominent were valued and considered important. No value was placed on
meekness, peacemaker, forgiveness nor poverty, but Jesus taught God’s Kingdom is
reserved for the nobodies.[57]
VI.
Age of Jesus
The
Lord Jesus arrived and lived during the age of first-century Palestine. During this period, Israel was governed by
the Romans.[58]
Various political and religious tensions existed amongst the Jewish people with
the Roman governance. The environment of first-century Palestine was unstable,
and many Jews despised and hated Roman occupation and governance of their land promised
from God.[59]
Biblical and non-biblical sources reveal messianic upraising and revolts the
days of Jesus. There were many revolts by alleged God’s chosen messiahs, and many
people followed these false leaders.[60] Jesus specifically warned
His disciples not to be lead astray by so-called “messiahs” and false prophets.[61]
The
land of Palestine is very small but has a history of instability. Palestine is
the bridge between two continents – Asia in the north and Africa in the south. All
our major trade routes passed through Palestine. All the major superpowers of
the biblical days – Egypt, Assyria, Babylonian, Persians, Greek, and Roman
Empires – wanted control of Palestine throughout the Old Testament, the
intertestamental period, and the New Testament.
During
the first-century, most Jews were very poor and most of the wealth were
possessed by the Sadducees. Even the Pharisees were common day labors and lived
a fairly modest life. Essentially, first-century Palestine was a two-class
society – the wealth and the poor. These classes of society differed
significantly on their understanding of the Kingdom of God. Most people during
the first-century lived in fearful times with threats of wars, diseases, aging,
and destruction.
VII.
Kingdom
of God as Present and Future Reality
Significantly,
Jesus taught the Kingdom of God was both a present reality and a future reality.[62] However, during first-century
Palestine, the typical expectations of the Jews was that the Kingdom of God would
occur in the future as a dramatic and cataclysmic inbreaking of God at the end
of the age when God’s ways will be triumphant in human history.
Jewish
apocalyptic literature frequently used various metaphors to mostly describe the
Kingdom of God as a triumphant future event. In Jewish apocalyptic literature,
the Kingdom of God was normally not described as a present-day reality.
Normally, Jewish apocalyptic literature characterized the present as evil, unjust,
and ungodly. Jewish apocalyptic literature believed the future coming Kingdom
of God will eliminate the present-day injustice and evil.
In
Jewish apocalyptic literature, the future aspect of
the Kingdom is central to the apocalyptic description. Jewish apocalyptic
literature described the future Kingdom with a renewed Jerusalem with Israel as
a United Kingdom, the marvelous fertility of the soil, and the reign of peace,
justice and mercy in the world.[63] Overall, the Jews
believed including the writer of Revelation that the Kingdom of the Lord and
His Messiah will become the Kingdom of the world as a future event in time and
God’s sovereignty will be made known to all the nation of the world.[64] Thus, many first-century-
listeners of Jesus who listened to Jesus’ parables on the Kingdom of God probably
believed a notion of a future manifestation of the rule of God at the end of
the age. Amazingly, Jesus affirmed that the Kingdom of God is a present reality
dawning in human experience and already present in Him.[65]
Particularly,
with the first coming of Jesus, the Kingdom of God arrived presently in human
history. Such parables as Mark 4:26-29 and Mark 4:30-32 reveal the dawning of
the presence the Kingdom with Jesus. However, these parables illustrated
present the Kingdom of God in a very ordinary, quiet, and non-dramatic fashion.
Nonetheless, Jesus' parables gave the promised assurance of a future glorious
Kingdom will come that the birds of heaven nests and the chaff will be
separated from the wheat at the harvest.[66] There is an assurance
that God will answer our prayers as we pray for God’s Kingdom to come.[67]
Equally,
Jesus discussed the future coming of the Kingdom of God in such passages as
Luke 13:28-29. In many ways, Luke 13:28-29 is a typical saying amongst in
Jewish apocalyptic literature. The Jewish apocalyptic literature described the
Kingdom of God in the future as a great wedding feast or banquet with an
abundance of food and drink at the wedding feast. Similar to ancient
Babylonians myths, Jewish apocalyptic literature believed the chaos monster would
be defeated by God and the Jewish apocalyptic literature connected the chaos
monster to the Messianic feast and the power of evil in the monsters will be
forever destroyed by the Messiah. Then the meat of the chaos monsters will
become the abundance of food for the feast.
However,
many liberal Old Testament and New Testament scholars have tried to link Jesus
to the prophetic movement and not the apocalyptic movement. The Old Testament prophets
primarily linked the Kingdom of God as a present-day reality. In the Old Testament, the prophets looked at
Israel’s present-day society such as injustice, idolatry and address that
situation from the vantage point of God. Therefore, the overall focus of prophets
was present reigning and working in the present human history. During their
prophecy, the Old Testament prophets addressed present-day but sometimes they
proclaimed an element of future predictions and Kingdom of God.
Scholars
such as Albert Schweitzer stressed the apocalyptic element of Jesus’ teaching
on the Kingdom of God and God’s radical inbreaking at the end of human history.
The work of Albert Schweitzer in 1906 and his book The Quest for the Historical Jesus brought an end to the 1900
century liberal thinking, and Albert Schweitzer argued that the apocalyptic
element was a central teaching of Jesus that cannot be discounted. Nevertheless,
Albert Schweitzer took an extreme view that the Kingdom of God was never
present and solely in the future. Many scholars have not accepted Albert
Schweitzer’s view. Nonetheless, Albert Schweitzer made it impossible for
scholars to discount the apocalyptic element in Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom
of God. In fact, Jesus equally saw God’s Kingdom activity in the present but
also God’s future cataclysmic and dramatic inbreaking at the end of the age –
the Eschaton.
Today,
there are four prominent scholars on the apocalyptic teaching of Jesus. On one
side is C. H. Dodd and Rudolf Bultmann on the side who reinterpret or reject
the apocalyptic element of Jesus’ teaching. Then scholars as George Eldon Ladd
and J.R. Beasley Murray are on the opposite side that take seriously the
apocalyptic element of Jesus. There are many scholars that fall in between
these two extremes. In summary, the apocalyptic element of the teaching of
Jesus is central and equally Jesus described the Kingdom of God as a present
reality.
Notably,
Joachim Jeremias in his book New
Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus described the signs of the
presence of the Kingdom of God in Jesus’ ministry. The first sign was the
visible return of the Spirit of God in the teaching and life of Jesus.[68] Jesus life and ministry
were filled with the Spirit of God.[69] At Jesus’ baptism, Jesus
is given authority by the Spirit to live His life as the Son of God.[70] The heavens opened, and
the living LORD God spoke with approval of His Son, Jesus.[71] For the Jewish
apocalyptist, the opening of the heavens is a common theme and the outpouring
of the Spirit upon Jesus was a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy and
the Messianic Age. Moreover, the Jewish apocalyptist believe God’s speaking
about His Son was a regular feature of Jewish apocalyptic literature. The wild
beast in Mark 1 is connected in Jewish apocalyptist as a personification of
evil.[72]
In
first-century Judaism orthodoxy, there was a belief that God removed His Spirit
because of Israel’s repeated sins and disobedience to His covenant, and the
living LORD God would return His Spirit in the future to the faith Israel.[73] During the Exile, the Jewish people fully acknowledged
their Exile and foreign control because of their heart hardiness, sins, and
disobedience against the living LORD God and His covenant.[74] One of the signs of the
Messianic age was the return of God’s Spirit as predicted by Joel 2:28-29. When
John the Baptism appeared, John preached with authority and was directed by the
Spirit and the Jewish people went into the wilderness to see John’s anointed
preaching and teaching.[75] Interestingly, Jesus’ own
prophetic ministry is tied to the Spirit of God.[76] Jesus claims is
explicitly at Matthew 5:17 that He is the eschatology Messenger of God promised
by the Old Testament prophets like Moses.[77] The Jews believed that
the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses, and Jesus identified Himself as the
Prophetic Messenger who has been sent by God with His Spirit. Thus, the presence
of the Kingdom of God is tied to Jesus Himself. Jesus is more than One who
announced the coming rule of God. Jesus is also the Bearer of the Kingdom of
God, and He embodies the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ life is the ultimate sign of
the presence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the Good News![78]
Nevertheless,
Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God was so common and ordinary, yet He
was the dramatic revelation of the Kingdom of God. Jesus declared that the
Kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of the living LORD God dynamically
active NOW to establish His present rule and reign among all people, races,
creed, and nationalities.[79] Also, the Kingdom of God,
which will also appear as an apocalyptic act at the end of the age, came into
human history in the Person and mission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to defeat
evil, to deliver humanity from its power, and to bring humanity into the
blessings of God’ reign. The Kingdom of God involves two great moments:
fulfillment within history and also consummation at the end of history. The
parables of Jesus Christ give insight into both the present and future nature
of the Kingdom of God.[80]
The
mere fact that God proposes to bring His Kingdom to all people is no secret nor
mystery. The Jewish apocalyptic writings and orthodox Jewish theology reflect
that expectation in one form or another. During Jesus’ public ministry, Jesus
equally taught on the future coming Kingdom of God, but He normally discussed
the future Kingdom in restrains terms, and He did not give detail programs of
the future like the Jewish apocalyptist.[81] The apocalyptic movement
was world defying and gave up on the world. For the most part, the Jewish
apocalyptic literature is world defying and speculate about the coming future.
However,
the Lord Jesus Christ has taught a new disclosure or new truth to all humanity.
In the Person and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God which is
to come finally in apocalyptic power, as foreseen by the prophet Daniel, has in
fact entered into the world in advance in a hidden and in veiled form working
secretly within and among humanity.[82]
Even
amongst Jesus’ enemies, they could recognize the Spirit of God and God’s
Kingdom.[83]
When Jesus was casting out demons in His ministry, Jesus was not just healing
like counselors and doctors. Jesus’ early Galilean ministry was dominated by
the casting out of demons, particularly in Mark’s Gospel, to destroy the very
personality of Satan in the world and Satan’s presence in human experience.[84] When demons were present,
they caused destruction of human life, and Jesus came to plunder Satan’s house.
The present arrival of the Kingdom of God brings conflict and opposition.[85] Jesus declared that the
present reality of the Kingdom of God brings deliverance, freedom, healing,
redemption, and restoration from the strongman – Satan.[86] With Jesus’ teaching and
preaching, Jesus proclaimed the urgent time to REPENT for the Kingdom of God
was HERE![87]
VIII.
When Will Kingdom
Come
Some
Jews, particularly the Pharisees spent significant time thinking about and
speculating on the future coming Kingdom of God. The Pharisees had two notions
on the Kingdom of God. The first notion was the typical Jewish understanding of
the Kingdom of God as future reality coming at the end of the age. These Jews
believed the coming Kingdom of God would bring a restoration of Israel,
punishment of Israel’s enemies, and return of the glorious days of David and
Solomon.[88]
Also, many Jews believed the Kingdom of God would be a dramatic inbreaking God at
the end of the age.
For
the most part, there was not a single view of the Kingdom of God in Jewish
apocalyptic literature. Jewish
apocalyptic literature held various views on the Kingdom of God. But the common
ground is dramatic ending of history along with a restoration of Israel and a
vindication of God’s people. Also, there will be a public and universal
declaration that the Jews as God’s covenant people will be favored. Although
the Jews were persecuted in the past, they believed they would be declared
God’s covenant people in the world. At the end with the coming of the Kingdom,
God would restore the earth to its original intention.
Moreover,
the Pharisees believed that the Kingdom of God was a present reality when they
submitted themselves in obedience to the Law of Moses. The Pharisees did see a
present reality of the Kingdom and spent time speculating on the Kingdom of God
as seen in such Scripture passages as Luke 17:20-21. The Pharisees looked at
signs like many Christians today, that the end of the age was coming. They were
aware of the evils including the evils of the Roman Empire, the suffering, and
many expressions of evil. The Pharisees believed that society was getting worse
and God was about to bring an end to human history with the coming Kingdom of
God. But the Pharisees spent significant time calculating when the end of the
age would arrive while reading the signs of the times. Unfortunately, this sign
watching lead to a disengagement as to God’s present working in His world.
Yet,
Jesus warned against looking at the present as a sign of what God is about to do
because such sign watching prevents one from engaging the present. During His
public ministry, Jesus did not engage into apocalyptic expectations and time
setting as characterized Jewish apocalyptic literature. Jesus taught that the
Kingdom of God is active now and not just at the end of the age. Such
disengagement lead to no more morality and justice but tend to be concerned
about the present age of the Kingdom of God.[89]
Mark
13 with Jesus’s parallel teaching in Luke 21 and Matthew 24 affirmed the future
coming Kingdom of God.[90] Jesus promised the coming
future Kingdom of God that will bring God’s future judgment with the separation
of the sheep and the goats, a gathering together of God’s people, punishment of
the wicked. Jesus’ teaching in Mark 13 with parallel teaching in Luke 21 and
Matthew 24 is common themes in Jewish apocalyptic literature.
Unlike
the Jewish apocalyptic literature, Jesus never predicted when the future Kingdom
of God would occur. In the New Testament Gospels, Jesus did not engage in
speculating, setting a timetable or a sequence of events of the coming end of
the age like Jewish apocalyptic literature. Albert Schweitzer established that
Jesus was apocalyptic but not like the Jewish apocalyptist. Nevertheless, Jesus
believed and taught about the radical ending of history and a radical
inbreaking of the Kingdom of God.
The
critical issue of Mark 13 with Jesus’ parallel teaching in Matthew 24 and Luke
21 was whether these words were actually spoken by Jesus or placed on the lips
of Jesus by the early church, who was very apocalyptic. The form critics have argued
that possibly the early church, during the period of oral traditions before the
first written Gospel in approximately AD 70, placed these words on Jesus’ lips.
In Mark 13 with Jesus parallel teaching in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus does
establish a timetable and provides signs of the coming of the Kingdom like Jewish
apocalyptist. But the controversy is whether or not Jesus spoke these words or
did the church place upon Jesus’ lips these apocalyptic words on coming Kingdom
and signs of the times. Jesus typically did not discuss the Kingdom of God in
this fashion like Mark 13. The general conclusion by the scholars including J.
Murray and George Ladd is that these passages returned back to Jesus. Possibly
as the writers composed their Gospel message, the church did shape this
passage.
In
Mark 13 with Jesus parallel teaching in Matthew 24 passages and Luke 21, Jesus
does not engage in speculation like many Jewish apocalypists with numerology,
bizarre symbols, and beasts. Jesus believed the future Kingdom of God was a
cumulation of God’s perfect purpose for the human race, does consist of
judgment, separation, gathering together the people of God. However, Jesus did
not engage in many speculations, as many Jewish apocalyptist.
Moreover,
Mark 13 with Jesus’ parallel teaching in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 is complicated.
These Gospel passages speak of two events and not a singular event. Some parts
of Mark 13 only make sense with the coming end of the age. Jesus discusses the
cosmic signs and the signs in the star, the signs that precede the coming end
of the age with wars, famine, earthquakes like Jewish apocalyptist. However,
Mark 13 with Jesus’ parallel teaching in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 also discuss
such matters that one’s flight not being in winter and the desolation
sacrilegious in anticipation of the coming Jewish War that occurred in 66 AD
and ended 70 AD.[91]
Therefore, some details in Mark 13 with Jesus parallel teaching in Luke 21 and
Matthew 24 only apply to the coming end of the age while other elements of His
teaching do not apply to the coming end of the age.
Thus,
some biblical scholars note that Mark 13 with Jesus’ parallel teaching in Luke
21 and Matthew 24 have “tensions.” There is tension with historical events that
occurred beginning in AD 66 through AD 70, but also tension with the coming
Kingdom of God at end of the age. Also, there is a tension of historical perspective
and a note of urgency with His need the Gospel must be preached in all the
nations. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was a foreshadowing event the
consummation of the age.
IX.
Son of Man
Notably,
Jesus routinely identified Himself as the Son of Man throughout the Gospels
involving the coming Kingdom of God.[92] In the Gospels, the title
Son of Man only occurs on the lips of Jesus and only Jesus uses the designation
Son of Man for Himself. No disciples, nor the crowds, the religious officials,
nor other places throughout the New Testament and Gospels identify Jesus as the
Son of Man. Only Stephen identifies Jesus as the Son of Man in Acts 7 just
before Stephen’s death.[93]
With
the exception of Ezekiel and Daniel, the term son of man appears in the Old
Testament as a synonym for “man,” “humankind.”[94] In the Aramaic language
spoken in Palestine in Jesus’ day, the expression son of man was similarly used
to mean “the man,” “a man,” or simply “someone.” The Old Testament book of
Ezekiel uses the term “son of man” over 90 times to address the prophet
Ezekiel.[95]
The most distinctive Old Testament use of “Son of Man” is found Daniel 7:13-14
with the reference of the Son of Man coming in the clouds of glory.
In
Jewish apocalyptic literature, the “Son of Man” is
a Messianic reference such as Enoch and 2 Esdras as well as the rabbinic
writings. Jewish apocalyptic literature references a coming apocalyptic figure.
Usually the Son of Man is a warrior figure that would come to earth and prepare
for the coming Messiah and the Kingdom of God. In some rabbinic writings, the
Son of Man is designated as the Messiah. Usually the Son of Man is a third
party. According to Jewish apocalyptic literature, the Son of Man defeats the
powers and forces of evil who opposes God’s purposes in the world. Once the Son
of Man destroys the forces of evil, then the Messiah arrives and brings God’s Kingdom.
Importantly, the Son of Man is a warrior figure who destroys the forces and
reign of evil through military power. Moreover, the Son of Man is a heavenly
figure sent from God and not an earthly figure not an earthly prophet.
Ironically
in Mark 8, when Jesus makes His first announcement of trip to Jerusalem to
suffer to bring salvation, He designates Himself as the Son of Man that be will
be rejected, die and be raised.[96] Jesus describes Himself as
the Son of Man, who is the apocalyptic figure that comes to destroy the forces
of evil. Thus, Jesus took the popular Jewish apocalyptic literature notion of
Son of Man who was sent into the world by God to destroy the forces of evil and
combined with Isaiah’s prophecy on the Suffering Servant.[97] Thus, Jesus combined
together the Son of Man that comes to destroy the forces of evil with Isaiah
references to the Suffering Servant. In essence, Jesus announced His
destruction of evil not by military force as predicted in the Jewish
apocalyptic literature but by submitting to the power of evil and soaking up
evil within Himself.[98] This is the supreme
paradox of the Gospels.
In
Matthew 25, Jesus describes the future Kingdom of God and this passage gives the
only detail account of the judgment at the end of the age.[99] Jesus promises that the
Son of Man will come in His glory with all His angels, and He will sit upon the
throne of glory as our great and perfect King and the Judge.[100] Matthew is a clear
affirmation that the end is coming and Jesus’ assurance that God will complete
His purposes, reign, and judgment at the end of the age. At the end of the age,
all the nations will be gather and He will separate the goats from the sheep.[101]
X.
Conclusion
In
conclusion, the Old Testament as well as the intertestamental writings and the
New Testament teachings affirmed the future Kingdom of God. Also, the Old
Testament writings of the prophets saw the present reign and rule of the LORD
God and His Kingdom in human history and the future reign of the Kingdom of God
at the end of the age. As time progressed, the Jewish writings moved away from
the Kingdom of God as present now but wholly as a future of event at the end of
the age.
The
first coming of Jesus declared that the Kingdom of God was present here and now
in His mission, person, and teaching. Yet, Jesus also assured His listeners of
the assurance of the future Kingdom of God with His return in power and glory
at the end of the age! As believers build for the future generations, we all
continue praying with fervency: They
Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Even so, come
quickly, Lord Jesus!
REFERENCES
Ladd, George Eldon. Presence of the Future: The Eschatology of
Biblical Realism
(Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974).
Melton, Loyd, Senior Professor
of New Testament (Due West Campus, SC: Erskine Theological
Seminary,
2018).
[1] See
Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15.
[2] E.g.,
see Matthew 6:10, 33.
[3]
E.g., see Matthew 13:44-46.
[4] E.g.,
see Matthew 10:7-8; Luke 10:8-11
[5] E.g.,
see Acts 8:12; Acts 19:8; Acts 20:25; Acts 26:15-18; Acts 28:23, 31.
[6] E.g.,
see Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:19; Mark 13:10
[7]
Dr. Loyd Melton, Ph.D., Senior Professor of the New Testament (Due West, SC:
Erskine Theological Seminary, Summer 2018).
[8]
Ibid.
[9]
E.g., see Mark 15:43; Luke 2:25, 38; Luke 23:51.
[10] E.g.,
see Matthew 12:23; Matthew 20:30-31; Luke 3:15; John 4:29; John 7:26-27, 31.
[11] The
author acknowledges this paper is derived the teaching lecture of Dr. Loyd
Melton, Ph.D., Senior Professor of New Testament, Erskine Theological Seminary,
Summer 2018.
[12]
E.g., see Psalm 139:1-7, 23-24; Jeremiah 23:20-24.
[13]
Ladd at 46.
[14]
E.g., see Exodus 15:18; Numbers 23:21; Deuteronomy 33:5; 2 Kings 19:15; Psalm
29:10; Psalm 47:2; Psalm 93; Psalm 96:10; Psalm 97:1; Psalm 145:11; Isaiah 6:5;
Isaiah 43:15.
[15]
E.g., see Exodus 12:1-50; Leviticus 23:5-9.
[16]
E.g., see Deuteronomy 4:32-34; 1 Samuel 10:17-18.
[17]
E.g. see Exodus 19:5-6, 16-20; 1 Samuel 10:19.
[18]
E.g., see 1 Samuel 8:5, 19-20.
[19]
See Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:17; Deuteronomy 17:14-15.
[20]
E.g., see 1 Samuel 9:1-2; 1 Samuel 10:1; Acts 13:21.
[21]
E.g., see Acts 13:22.
[22]
E.g., see Acts 13:22.
[23]
E.g., see Matthew 1:1, 16-17.
[24]
E.g., see Matthew 1:18, 21, 23; Matthew 2:2.
[25]
E.g., see Psalm 18:50; Psalm 84:9; Psalm 132:17.
[26] E.g.,
see John 1:14, 18; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9.
[27] E.g.,
see 1 Kings 14:21-24; 1 Kings 16:29-33; 2 Chronicles 33:1-9.
[28] E.g.,
see 1 Kings 11:26-40; 1 Kings 12:1-20.
[29] E.g.,
see 2 Kings 14:23-27; 2 Kings 16:1-4.
[30] E.g.,
see 2 Kings 17:5-23, 32-41; 2 Kings 25:1-21.
[31]
E.g., see Luke 24:13-21.
[32]Ladd,
George Eldon. Presence of the Future: The
Eschatology of Biblical Realism (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1974), p. 53-54.
[33]
E.g., see Mark 4:26, 30-31; Luke 13:18.
[34]
E.g., see Mark 2:24; John 5:18.
[35] E.g.,
see Matthew 23:25-28; Mark 7:1-6; Luke 11:37-41; John 2:6.
[36]
E.g., see Acts 5:17.
[37]
E.g., see Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27; Acts 23:8.
[38]
E.g., see Matthew 22:23.
[39]
E.g., see Matthew 12:13, 15, 22; Luke 6:17, 19.
[40]
See Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13.
[41]
E.g., see Mark 14:48-49; Mark 15:26-27.
[42]
E.g., see Mark 11:9-10; Luke 24:19-21.
[43]
E.g., see Mark 15:43; Luke 2:25, 38; Luke 23:51.
[44]
E.g., see Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 14:41-42; Romans 14:17.
[45]
See Mark 2:14-15; Luke 5:27-29.
[46]
E.g., see Matthew 9:10-11; Matthew 21:31-32; Luke 4:14-30.
[47]
E.g., see Matthew 11:18-19; Luke 19:9-10; Mark 2:15-17; John 3:16-17.
[48]
E.g., see Matthew 3:1, 3; Matthew 11:7; Mark 1:4.
[49] E.g.,
see Luke 3:3, 7-8.
[50]
E.g., Matthew 5:1-2; Luke 4:42-44; Luke 6:17-19;
[51] E.g.,
see Matthew 4:23-25; Matthew 14:14; Matthew 15:29-32; Mark 1:32-34.
[52] E.g.,
see Matthew 9:35-38
[53] E.g.,
see Matthew 20:1-16; Mark 9:33-37.
[54]
E.g., see Matthew 5:3-20.
[55]
E.g., see Luke 18:9-14.
[56]
E.g., see Matthew 21:10-11; Mark 1:21-22, 27-28.
[57]
E.g., see Matthew 5:3-12.
[58]
See Luke 2:1-2.
[59]
E.g., see Luke 23:18-19; John 18:40.
[60]
E.g., see Acts 5:33-39; Acts 8:9.
[61]
E.g., see Matthew 24:3-8, 11, 23-24.
[62]
E.g., see Matthew 5:3-12; Matthew 13:44-46.
[63]
E.g., see Ezekiel 11:17-20; Ezekiel 34:23; Ezekiel 36:25-27.
[64]
E.g., see Revelation 11:15.
[65]
E.g., see Mark 1:14-15.
[66]
E.g., see Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.
[67]
E.g., see Mark 13:24-27.
[68]
E.g., see Mark 1:9-11, 22; Luke 4:18-19, 21; John 1:32-33.
[69]
E.g., see Matthew 12:18; John 3:34; Act 10:38.
[70]
E.g., see Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11, 22; John 1:32-33.
[71]
E.g., see Luke 3:21-22.
[72]
E.g., see Mark 1:12-13.
[73]
E.g., see Ezekiel 11:1-25.
[74]
E.g., see 2 Chronicles 36:15-21; Ezra 9:6-9; Nehemiah 9:26-38.
[75]
E.g., see Matthew 3:1-10.
[76]
E.g., see Matthew 3:11-12, 16; Luke 4:18-21, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2.
[77]
E.g., see Deuteronomy 18:15, 18.
[78]
E.g., see Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15.
[79]
E.g., see Matthew 8:5-12; Luke 13:22-30.
[80]
Ladd at 218.
[81]
E.g., see Mark 13:3-37.
[82]
Ladd, page 224-225.
[83]
E.g., see Mark 1:24-28, 34; Matthew 8:28-29.
[84]
E.g., see Matthew 4:23-25.
[85]
E.g., see Matthew 11:12.
[86]
E.g., see Matthew 11:2-6.
[87]
E.g. See Mark 1:14-15.
[88]
E.g., see Ezekiel 37:24-28; Mark 11:9-10.
[89]
E.g., see Luke 17:20-21.
[90]
See Matthew 24:1-51; Mark 13:1-37; and Luke 21:5-36. These Gospel passages are
often designated by scholars as the “Synoptic Apocalypse,” the “Little Apocalypse,”
or the “Olivet Discourse.”
[91]
E.g., see Mark 13:14-19.
[92]
E.g., see Mark 2:10, 28; Mark 8:31.
[93]
See Acts 7:55-57.
[94]
E.g., see Isaiah 56:2; Jeremiah 50:40; Psalm 8:4; Psalm 80:17; Job 25:6.
[95]
E.g., see Ezekiel 2:1; Ezekiel 3:1, 3-4, 17, 25.
[96]
Mark 8:31; see also Mark 9:30-31; Mark 10:33.
[97]
See Isaiah 52:13-53:12.
[98]
E.g., see 2 Corinthians 5:21.
[99] See
Matthew 25:31-46.
[100]
Matthew 25:31; see also Matthew 16:27-28.
[101]
Matthew 25:32; see also Matthew 24:31.
