I've heard the phrase that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God.
There are also parables that Jesus told that describe what the Kingdom of God is like....
So I'm guessing that this phrase doesn't mean 'Heaven' as such, but something else, or is saying something more.
Would you please explain what the Kingdom of God is?
Would you explain why Jesus explained the Kingdom of God through parables and what he was getting at?
What is the significance of Jesus preaching this?
Thank you ❤️
It is unfortunate that the word "kingdom" tends to get the association that it does in English, it's certainly not a bad translation from the Greek (basileia) but it is misleading. The word basileia refers to the dominion, the royal authority and power of a ruler or king (basileus in Greek). So when Jesus speaks of God's kingdom He doesn't mean "that place God rules", but rather He means what it looks like for God to be King, what God's kingly power is like, and what it means.
It's why the central prayer of Christianity, the One Jesus Himself taught us, says, "Your kingdom come". The prayer is for the coming of God's kingdom, the Lord continues, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". The kingdom is the reality of God's rulership manifest, and its being established here.
What kind of kingdom is God's kingdom? In what way is God King? What does it mean when God is the King? That's why Jesus says what He does about the kingdom. God's way of being King is completely different than what power and rule look like here. Jesus says that in God's kingdom the least are greatest, the last are first, it is the lowly, the slaves, the weak who have "status".
Jesus doesn't just speak about God's kingdom, but rather
does God's kingdom. His entire ministry, His miracles and healings are about the inbreaking of God's kingdom into the world through the Messiah, through Jesus. And this reaches its climax when Jesus is arrested, tried, handed over to Pilate, and is crucified, dead, buried, and then on the third day rises again.
What does it look like for God to be King? It looks like Jesus hanging on the cross, the One who suffers for the sake of the world, the Self-offering of God in humility and death for a world of violent sinners. And it looks like the empty tomb, for the death of Christ is not the end. And so bursting forth from death is life, victory over death, in the Person of Jesus. And so through Him the kingdom has come, the inauguration (as it were) of God's reign.
This is why Jesus says to His interrogators, "The kingdom does not come with observation, no one can say, 'Look, over there!' or 'See! Over here!', rather the kingdom is in the midst of you." By which He means the kingdom is standing in their midst, that is Himself.
Christ after His resurrection ascends, and we speak of Him being "seated at the right hand of God the Father", this is the language of enthronement. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, seated on a throne as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Victim and the Victor, or as St. Augustine says, Christ is
victor quia victima, "Victor because a Victim".
The reign of God, the kingdom of God, is present in part here through the Church. Not through political power of any kind, but through the preaching of the Gospel, the grace of God working through Word and Sacrament which Christ has given the Church in its purpose as His Mystical Body in the world. Announcing forgiveness of sins in His name, proclaiming peace with God, ministering to both the spiritual and bodily needs of the world through its faithful mission of proclaiming Christ the Lord and following Him in humble discipleship, washing the feet of others, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, loving others, serving, giving, showing compassion, etc. That is the Church's purpose, and is how Christ rules as King and Lord through His Church.
We also confess that the day is coming, when the kingdom comes in its fullness; what is now known in part shall be seen in full ("
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12). Christ's return, the resurrection of the body, and the renewal of all creation, when God is all-in-all. Or as the ancient Prophets spoke, "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the seas." (Habakkuk 2:14).
Where Christ is present and active, there the kingdom is. It is here in the preaching of the Gospel, the administering of the Sacraments, in the love of God for all creatures, in the healing and reconciliation of the world, in the outpouring of love and grace toward the world. It is in loving service toward others that God's kingdom is present; it is never in power, violence, or "glory"; but humility, service, selfless giving. Of God to us, and the invitation of us to join with Him in giving ourselves away also in love and sacrifice toward others.
-CryptoLutheran
