An immediate thought is that the kingdom of God is the rulership of God. However, a first-century Jew might think: has God forgotten us and is God still in charge? Thus, when the Gospels speak of the kingdom of God, a more specific idea than the unfathomable sovereignty of God must be in play.[i] As such, when Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 4:17, Mk. 1:15), the more specific idea of God’s reigning in the lives of those gathered by Jesus was being emphasized.[ii],[iii],[iv]
Besides the present tense aspect of the obedience of Jesus’ followers (repentance being the first step), there was a future dimension revealed in the prayer Jesus taught his followers in the petition, “Your kingdom come” (Mt. 6:10, Lk. 11:2). Thus, a tension existed between the way things are and the way things will be; the kingdom of God is both here and yet to be. At the first church I was a part of, the pastor explained that the kingdom of God exists in two stages: the kingdom of preparation and the kingdom of realization. He taught that the current church age is a time of preparation of the people of God and that upon Jesus second coming, the kingdom will be fully realized.[v]
Of the four gospels, Matthew most frequently used kingdom language (50), with Luke second (39), Mark third (14) and John a distant fourth (5).[vi] In fairness to John, it is possible that the concepts of the kingdom were embodied in his usage of the term “eternal life.”[vii],[viii]
In addition to most frequently using kingdom language, Matthew's gospel was structured around five discourses.[ix] Thus, a systematic presentation of Jesus' teachings on the kingdom might be most easily found in Matthew.[x] Using this reasoning, for this paper, I will briefly discuss how Matthew 5-7 shed light on the present tense aspect of the kingdom, Matthew 24-25 the future dimensions and relationships between the two passages.
... to be continued
Reference citations:
[i] D. A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1978), pp. 11-12.
[ii] D. A. Carson, pp. 12-15.
[iii] Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), p. 277.
[iv] N. T. Wright, The Challenge of Jesus (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 43
[v] Timothy Lin, The Kingdom of God and Discipleship (http://www.bsmi.org/download/lin/KingdomAndDiscipleship.pdf, 2003), p. 12.
[vi] C. C. Caragounis, “Kingdom of God/Heaven,” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, p. 426.
[vii] Richard H. Hiers, “Kingdom of God,” Harper’s Bible Dictionary, p. 528.
[viii] C. C. Caragounis, “Kingdom of God/Heaven,” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, p. 429.
[ix] Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green and Marianne Meye Thompson, Introducing the New Testament Its Literature and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2001), p. 94.
[x] C. C. Caragounis, “Kingdom of God/Heaven,” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 427-428.
Part I
Part II
Part III
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