The Kingdom of GodProclaiming the Dream of Jesus

In-class read left column of page 129

Hope is an intrinsic part of the human condition

Jesus hope for all mankind was expressed in His vision of Kingdom of God

Jesus used the term “Kingdom” to mean “rule” or “reign,” not a physical place on this earth

• Read together in class the section entitled “The Kingdom of God Proclaimed” on page 130

• The term “kingdom” often confuses our understanding of how Jesus saw the world of God – there is no adequate human term to describe Jesus’ understanding

• Remember that Jesus was the essence of God’s being: seeing Jesus was seeing God, being with Jesus was experiencing God

• The Synoptic Gospels are our source for Jesus’ vision about the Kingdom of God

• Jesus did not believe the Kingdom was to be a political organization

• The ruler of the Kingdom was not a King in the earthly sense

• Jesus clearly said that His Kingdom was not a military one

• His Kingdom, in fact, was not even of this world

• There are no words to fully describe Jesus’ notion of the Kingdom of His father

• While Jews viewed God as unfathomable and would not even utter is name, Jesus regularly called His God “Father.”

• If you think about the role of a father in any family, you begin to get an idea of what Jesus envisioned as the essence of God

• To Jesus God the Father was “abba,” which is a child’s name for daddy in Aramaic

• Jesus always maintained that to understand the Kingdom of God one had to see the world as a child sees it:– Everything is simple–All choices are either right or wrong– “Father” is a figure to lead us, take care of us,

and to be obeyed–Nothing in life is really serious – you can

make fun out of anything–Money has no mean whatsoever–Winning is fun but friends are more

important

• Read the entire section entitled “What Jesus did not see as the Kingdom” on pages 130 and 131 with a brief ending on page 134 in your textbook together in class

• Jesus Understanding of God:– God as Father• Inconsistent with Traditional Jewish Understanding• Jesus use of “abba” was an intimate term for father

– A God Who Loves Without Condition• Jews saw God as distant and removed• Jesus said that God had an intimate union with all people

• Jesus said that the ability to recognize and fully participate in the Reign of God requires a conversion, a change of heart, a turning from selfishness to openness to God and the call to love.

• When this conversion happens, the Kingdom of God takes root in the heart of the believer.

• Jesus’ initial call is to repentance, to a change in the way we live.

• Jesus said “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

• Jesus saw the relationship of God and man not as a “me and God” relationship, but rather a communal relationship between God and the community of all mankind.

• This implied a new social order based on people’s unconditional love for one another.

• Jews had a long history of sense of community

• It became their identifying characteristic among their neighboring nations

• Seven of the Ten Commandments deal specifically with relationships among people

Go to video “Jesus … the Kingdom”

• But over time two main problems evolved that put Israelites at conflict with their sense of community

• These two problems were nationalism and legalism

• In class read “Nationalism” on pages 138-139

• In class read “Legalism” on page 139

Go to video “Legalism and the Torah”

Go to video “Torah and Subsequent Jewish Oral Law”

• Jesus believed in Love without Limits

• In class read section “Love without Limits on page 139”

• Love must be expressed in deeds

• In class read section “Love Expressed in Deeds” on page 140

• Read in class “The Reign of God and the ‘Reign of Sin’” on pages 141-142

• In class read “Jesus Claim to Divine Authority” on page 143-144

• In class quickly scan “The Kingdom of God is Among You” on page 145

• Contradictions exist about when the Kingdom of God will occur (page 146):– Jesus embodied the Kingdom of God– Jesus’ followers fully recognized the Kingdom

only after Jesus’ Resurrection– We must respond to Jesus invitation to enter the

Kingdom

Wrapping Up Chapter 6

In class read section “Jesus’ Special Stories” on page 147

Go to video “The Kingdom of God isAll Around You”

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