kingdom of god and ministry essay

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

• What is the problem?
  o If JC thought of himself as in some ways the SofM or the Messiah, he must have had a perception of things reaching a resolution, of the end-time approaching, during or after his ministry
  o Should start by looking at language of KofG before looking at more wide-ranging discussion of problem of eschatology
• Significance
  o Attested
  o But hard to define KofG – do not know exactly what it consists of
• Jewish eschatology
  o Kingdom of God was a way of referring to Israel’s god becoming king
  o ‘and when this god became king, the whole world…would at last be put to rights’ (203)
  o hope that YHWH would vindicate Israel
  o revolutionary undertones
• however…also useful for understanding what JC wanted to focus his ministry on

Question 2

paragraphs and argument

Answer 2

• Paragraphs
  o Self-understanding, Messianic roots of KofG
  o Political motives – eschatological KofG linked to criticisms of Temple Institution
  o Social concerns – composition of KofG
• Argument…key for understanding JC ministry
  o An apocalyptic concept that reveals both private self-understanding and how this translates into wider approach to ministry – revolutionary quality of ministry foreshadows revolutionary nature of eschatological KofG
  o All rooted in self-understanding. Political and social approach reflects on who JC understood himself to be

Question 3

paragraph 1

Answer 3

luke 17:20-25 - Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” 22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

• links to when it is
• sofman imagery, dan 7:13.

Question 4

para 1 ao2

Answer 4

has exclusive knowledge of KofG, messianic status
- link to parable of sower, ‘that’s why I speak to them in parables: : “Though seeing, they do not see;though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilledthe prophecy of Isaiah’

wright - parable shows story of Israel and JC ministry

reference to Isaiah shows authority

idea of seed = key. metaphor for Israel, parallel in Isaiah 50:10-13
- ‘The fact that he expounds the Kingdom of God by parables shows that he alone knows its present and future mystery. His knowledge about the Kingdom of God is a messianic knowledge’ (68) – hengel

Question 5

para 2

Answer 5

linked to Messiah is political motives. Eschatological KofG linked to criticisms of Temple Institution
o Sanders gives three pieces of evidence for KofG as an apocalyptic
 prediction of temple destruction
- attested in multiple sources, synoptics, acts, tom

mark 13:24 - ‘the sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will not give their life’
• Allusion to Isaiah 9-11 – ‘the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil…and Babylon…will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them’
- OT basis shows eschatology as key part of Jewish history.  Babylonian destruction of Temple = YHWH abandoning Temple to its face. Worship became impossible, Davidic monarchy ceased
 Longing for return to exile/return of YHWH – rebuilding of Temple etc.

o Location of Mount of Olives = significant
 Allusion to Zech 14:4-5 – speaks of Israel’s god standing on Mount of Olives
 Context = coming of divine kingdom (Zechariah 14:9)
 Coming great battle of nations against Jerusalem (14:1-3)

Question 6

para 2 ao2

Answer 6

Allison - can’t ignore political, economic, social circumstance

• Again link between SofM and KofG
• • Schweitzer. For S, JC proclaimed a futuristic eschatological kingdom of God
• Jewish view = the Messiah will descend from heaven and judge mankind
• Emphasis for S is on apocalyptic literature – JC’s contemporaries were aware of significance of phrase KofG

Question 7

para 3 – link to criticism of Jewish/Roman authorities is composition of KofG, which reflects social concerns and revolutionary attitude to the poor/oppressed etc.

Answer 7

• Rich have little chance of entering the KofG (Mk 10:23)
  • Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
• It is open to the oppressed etc. Mk 9:43
  • And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell
• OT basis: Reflective in belief in coming of new age of peace and justice
  o Isaiah 11- but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
  with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

Question 8

para 3 ao2

Answer 8

• wider implication of JC ministry – ethical teaching

- but reveals ethical authority