THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE
I believe the people of Jesus' day had different views of what the kingdom of God was, nevertheless, there were several areas of agreement among the views.
1. The promised kingdom was earthly in nature.
2. Israel would be delivered from foreign oppression.
3. Israel would be ruled by justice.
4. Israel would be on top of the nations as the wealth of the world would flow into Israel's dominance.
5. The promised kingdom would look very much like the days of Solomon.
6. The kingdom would bring peace and prosperity to Israel.
7. The kingdom would last forever with a King in charge at all times from the line of David.
People had different opinions about certain things:
1. Some thought the kingdom would swiftly come as a result of God's miraculous intervention; in other words through a huge act of God, the armies of the world will surrender to the armies of Isreal. Some thought it would have to be built under the direction of the messiah, a prophet, or a king who would lead them into victories over the Roman armies.
2. Some groups believed that they alone were to receive the blessings of the coming kingdom, or that they alone would rule above the rest of Israel and the nations.
WHAT JESUS TAUGHT ABOUT THE KINGDOM
1. The Kingom of God was already beginning to be established through the ministry of Jesus.
2. The Kingdom of God would not come all at once, but gradually grow.
3. There would be a final completion to his kingdom when this end of the world would take place.
4. The kingdom would be established through his ministry and the ministry of his disciples.
5. Jesus taught that the Old Testament prophecies about the end time kingdom pointed toward his kingdom.
CONCLUSION
1. The Kingdom of God began with the ministry of Jesus and will come to completion when Jesus returns.
2. The Kingdom of God grows as the Word of God is spread and people enter into the kingdom through repentance.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
What Types of People Are in the Kingdom of God?
There were two types of people in the Kingdom of God - the good and the bad which are metaphorically described as the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares, and the mustard seed and the leaven (Matthew 13:24-33). Through parables, Jesus let us know that both should be allowed to grow together in the Kingdom of God until the last day when God would divide the wheat from the tares. This does not mean churches should not be without discipline (that's another issue for another forum). It just means that there will be both good and bad in the Church and that it is not for us to be spending all our time trying to purify the Church. Besides, when people spend their lives focused on purging the Church, it isn't too long before somebody else tries to purge them from the Church.
Although different authors in the New Testament have different answers for what kinds of people are in the Kingdom of God, Matthew, Mark, and Luke share one thing in common: For all 3 of them, people in the Kingdom have heard the word of God and have allowed the word to grow strong despite persecution, trials, temptation, worry and daily life issues (Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8). In all of these Gospels the sick, sinners and outcasts are also part of the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, despite these similarities, there are differences as well.
For Matthew, the Kingdom of God is populated with the broken, the meek, and those who are persecuted because they belong to the Kingdom.
For Mark, the Kingdom is for those who recognize not only that Jesus is the Christ, but that his mission, as ours, is mixed with suffering as well as with victory.
For Luke, the Kingdom is for the poor, the hungry, those who sorrow and those who are hated because they belong to the Kingdom.
For John, the Kingdom is for those who have been "born again," who love others, walk in the truth, who follow Jesus, who see and walk in the light, who believe in Jesus, and hear from and obey God .
For Paul, the Kingom belongs to the foolish, the weak, the despised, the nobodies, and the lower classes (1 Corinthians 1;26-29).
For James it is for the poor of this world (James 2:5).
And for the Book of Revelation, the Kingdom of God belongs to those who overcome and endure.
The common theme throughout the New Testament is this: The Kingdom of God belongs to the world's low class outcasts, misfits who decide to follow Jesus and stick with him no matter what may come.
Although different authors in the New Testament have different answers for what kinds of people are in the Kingdom of God, Matthew, Mark, and Luke share one thing in common: For all 3 of them, people in the Kingdom have heard the word of God and have allowed the word to grow strong despite persecution, trials, temptation, worry and daily life issues (Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8). In all of these Gospels the sick, sinners and outcasts are also part of the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, despite these similarities, there are differences as well.
For Matthew, the Kingdom of God is populated with the broken, the meek, and those who are persecuted because they belong to the Kingdom.
For Mark, the Kingdom is for those who recognize not only that Jesus is the Christ, but that his mission, as ours, is mixed with suffering as well as with victory.
For Luke, the Kingdom is for the poor, the hungry, those who sorrow and those who are hated because they belong to the Kingdom.
For John, the Kingdom is for those who have been "born again," who love others, walk in the truth, who follow Jesus, who see and walk in the light, who believe in Jesus, and hear from and obey God .
For Paul, the Kingom belongs to the foolish, the weak, the despised, the nobodies, and the lower classes (1 Corinthians 1;26-29).
For James it is for the poor of this world (James 2:5).
And for the Book of Revelation, the Kingdom of God belongs to those who overcome and endure.
The common theme throughout the New Testament is this: The Kingdom of God belongs to the world's low class outcasts, misfits who decide to follow Jesus and stick with him no matter what may come.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Entering Into the New Community
BAPTISM OF REPENTENCE
For the Apostle Paul, baptism was a rite of passage that stated there was a total break from one's identity and life to a new identity and life in Christ. Baptism said that a person was leaving one's national, political, and religious identity and placing one's identity soley with the risen Jesus Christ.
For John the Baptist and for Jesus, however, the break was not so absolute. For John the Baptist and Jesus, the break was not away from, but a returning to the Law of Moses - from disobedience (doing one's own thing) to obedience (obeying the Law).
Baptism was also a statement of rejecting the established leaders' interpretation of the Law (which focused on the finer details in behavior toward God) in favor of a new interpretation (focusing less on God's personal needs and focusing more on community). According to Jesus and John the Baptist, this new direction of focus was what God wanted all along.
For John the Baptist and for Jesus, however, the break was not so absolute. For John the Baptist and Jesus, the break was not away from, but a returning to the Law of Moses - from disobedience (doing one's own thing) to obedience (obeying the Law).
Baptism was also a statement of rejecting the established leaders' interpretation of the Law (which focused on the finer details in behavior toward God) in favor of a new interpretation (focusing less on God's personal needs and focusing more on community). According to Jesus and John the Baptist, this new direction of focus was what God wanted all along.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
How the Kingdom Begins - Social Necessities
MOVEMENT IMPERATIVES
The first generation of any movement is unusual. No other time in the movement's history will there be such expectation, such hope, and such promise. No other time in its life as a group will it have such excitement, vision, and promised answers to any number of problems.
The beginnings of a movement also includes a certain pride, possibly even arrogance, that suggests that the movement is superior to all other movements and because the movement is superior, the people in that movement have a special place in history, because they are a part of something incredibly important.
For a new movement to begin, there are several factors that must happen.
1. People who are not yet followers of the movement have to be very dissatisfied with the life and the solutions they are given.
2. The new movement must promise to give a great deal more of what people want.
So if people are unhappy with the government, they may be open for a better one; and if people are unhappy with their church or religion they may be open for a new one. Even so, people don't trust or like too much change, so the dissatisfaction of the old must be very strong, and the promises of the new must be very powerful and idealistic.
Sometimes change may be drastic, such as a Western Catholic becoming a Hare Krishna, or a Capitalist becoming Communist - but these are not common. More commonly, people make smaller changes such as, a Catholic becoming Protestant, or a Republican becoming a Democrat.
THE FIRST CENTURY SETTING
In Jesus day people were tired of poverty, losing houses and land, and scrounging for food. People were also tired of a religion that served the religious elite at the cost of the poor who were the vast majority (90%), through tithes and offerings.
People were also looking for dignity and pride they weren't getting from the political and religious leaders of their day. People need a sense of pride in who they are and what they do. Instead, religious and political leaders became arrogant and took dignity from the masses while looking down on them as is clearly seen by the words of the Pharisees in John 7:49:
This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God's curse is on them!"
Although people were ripe for change, most did not want to leave their roots in Judaism. People weren't ready to leave their identity as it related to the stories of the past - Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah and Isaiah, but they were ripe for messiahs and self-proclaimed prophets who promised freedom from the political and religious elite through the hand of God.
The prophets and promised messiahs provided direction for those who joined them. The stories and speeches that could be used to find followers were easy to get. They were everywhere. People grew up on the stories of God's work in the past - stories that told of great feats of the past - times when God took people out of bondage and into freedom. Those stories gave followers identity and direction. The stories were easy to find, however, people need more than words to propel them into following and into action. They need leaders who can use those same stories and words to bring people into their cause and propel them into action.
There were many such leaders in Jesus' day - messiahs and prophets who drew people into groups. But most of those messiahs and groups died before they were able to get out of the First Century. For some strange reason, the group called Christians who followed a messiah called Jesus, not only broke free from the First Century but endured until this day.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE JESUS' MOVEMENT
People began following Jesus for different reasons, most of which were probably self-centered. While Jesus healed to show that he had power over sin, over the world of the clean vs. the unclean, or over nature, people simply saw that their personal needs were being met. Jesus' healings and miracles said something about who he was, but people only saw his works as deeds that served national and personal interests. John spells this out very clearly after Jesus fed the 5,000 when the people wanted to make Jesus a king, so he could feed them regularly like Moses fed the people in the wilderness.
In Mark 8, Peter came to realize that Jesus was the messiah. But after being told by Jesus that he understood this because the Holy Spirit revealed it to him, Peter showed us all that his understanding was centered on the interests of himself and his nation and not on God's interests.
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (Mark 8:33)."
When Jesus knowingly or unknowingly began his movement, people were expecting to find in him, a leader who would solve their own problems and meet their own interests and needs. According to Mark, even the closest disciples fell into the same ideological trap.
John tells us that several times, Jesus pared down his own following by what he said, in order to strip away many of those who were following for reasons of self survival, self interest, or national self interest.
CONCLUSIONS
Jesus gained a following from those who were unsettled in life, looking for something better, looking for better chances of survival. Even though Jesus' miracles and healings were designed to say something about who he was, people followed him only because Jesus met their own needs and interests. The disciples themselves were also guilty of this.
It took the cross to bring people closer to understanding the real Jesus.
The first generation of any movement is unusual. No other time in the movement's history will there be such expectation, such hope, and such promise. No other time in its life as a group will it have such excitement, vision, and promised answers to any number of problems.
The beginnings of a movement also includes a certain pride, possibly even arrogance, that suggests that the movement is superior to all other movements and because the movement is superior, the people in that movement have a special place in history, because they are a part of something incredibly important.
For a new movement to begin, there are several factors that must happen.
1. People who are not yet followers of the movement have to be very dissatisfied with the life and the solutions they are given.
2. The new movement must promise to give a great deal more of what people want.
So if people are unhappy with the government, they may be open for a better one; and if people are unhappy with their church or religion they may be open for a new one. Even so, people don't trust or like too much change, so the dissatisfaction of the old must be very strong, and the promises of the new must be very powerful and idealistic.
Sometimes change may be drastic, such as a Western Catholic becoming a Hare Krishna, or a Capitalist becoming Communist - but these are not common. More commonly, people make smaller changes such as, a Catholic becoming Protestant, or a Republican becoming a Democrat.
THE FIRST CENTURY SETTING
In Jesus day people were tired of poverty, losing houses and land, and scrounging for food. People were also tired of a religion that served the religious elite at the cost of the poor who were the vast majority (90%), through tithes and offerings.
People were also looking for dignity and pride they weren't getting from the political and religious leaders of their day. People need a sense of pride in who they are and what they do. Instead, religious and political leaders became arrogant and took dignity from the masses while looking down on them as is clearly seen by the words of the Pharisees in John 7:49:
This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God's curse is on them!"
Although people were ripe for change, most did not want to leave their roots in Judaism. People weren't ready to leave their identity as it related to the stories of the past - Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah and Isaiah, but they were ripe for messiahs and self-proclaimed prophets who promised freedom from the political and religious elite through the hand of God.
The prophets and promised messiahs provided direction for those who joined them. The stories and speeches that could be used to find followers were easy to get. They were everywhere. People grew up on the stories of God's work in the past - stories that told of great feats of the past - times when God took people out of bondage and into freedom. Those stories gave followers identity and direction. The stories were easy to find, however, people need more than words to propel them into following and into action. They need leaders who can use those same stories and words to bring people into their cause and propel them into action.
There were many such leaders in Jesus' day - messiahs and prophets who drew people into groups. But most of those messiahs and groups died before they were able to get out of the First Century. For some strange reason, the group called Christians who followed a messiah called Jesus, not only broke free from the First Century but endured until this day.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE JESUS' MOVEMENT
People began following Jesus for different reasons, most of which were probably self-centered. While Jesus healed to show that he had power over sin, over the world of the clean vs. the unclean, or over nature, people simply saw that their personal needs were being met. Jesus' healings and miracles said something about who he was, but people only saw his works as deeds that served national and personal interests. John spells this out very clearly after Jesus fed the 5,000 when the people wanted to make Jesus a king, so he could feed them regularly like Moses fed the people in the wilderness.
In Mark 8, Peter came to realize that Jesus was the messiah. But after being told by Jesus that he understood this because the Holy Spirit revealed it to him, Peter showed us all that his understanding was centered on the interests of himself and his nation and not on God's interests.
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (Mark 8:33)."
When Jesus knowingly or unknowingly began his movement, people were expecting to find in him, a leader who would solve their own problems and meet their own interests and needs. According to Mark, even the closest disciples fell into the same ideological trap.
John tells us that several times, Jesus pared down his own following by what he said, in order to strip away many of those who were following for reasons of self survival, self interest, or national self interest.
CONCLUSIONS
Jesus gained a following from those who were unsettled in life, looking for something better, looking for better chances of survival. Even though Jesus' miracles and healings were designed to say something about who he was, people followed him only because Jesus met their own needs and interests. The disciples themselves were also guilty of this.
It took the cross to bring people closer to understanding the real Jesus.
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