Marking Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year

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Mark i ng T ime : Formi ng Sp i r i tua l i t y through the Chr i s t i an Year

Thy Kingdom Come! Readings on the Kingdom of God, continued

Testament, especially in the prophets. His kingship is not always realized in this sinful world. In fact the major emphasis in the Old Testament, stated in hundreds of ways and different word pictures, is on God’s future, coming reign. The hope of the Old Testament is that God himself will come and bring salvation to his people and judgment/ destruction to his enemies. (See e.g. 1 Chronicles 29.11; Psalms 22.28; 96.10-13; 103.19; 145.11-13; Isaiah 25ff; 65ff; Daniel 2.44; 4.3, 34; 6.26; 7.13ff, 27.) b. It was understood and meaningful to the first century Palestinian Jews to whom he proclaimed the Good News. In fact, the phrase “Kingdom of God” had developed a great deal in the 400 years between the Old Testament and the coming of Jesus. Kingdom of God now summarized the entire Old Testament hope! The first century Jews were expecting God to come as king and reign over the entire world, destroy ing his enemies and giving all his blessings to his people, Israel. This concept was especially meaningful to the Jews who, on the one hand, strongly believed that their God Yahweh was the one and only true God who ruled over all the universe, and who, on the other, experienced over 700 years of foreign domination at the hands of pagan rulers from Assyria, then Babylon, then Persia, then Greece and finally Rome. Jesus never defines the Kingdom of God for them, because they all knew what it meant. This is a great example for us in our ministries. Jesus went to the people where they were (the incarnation!), was faithful to the biblical message, and spoke it to them in terms they could understand. (See e.g. Luke 1.32ff; 19.11; 23.51; Mark 11.10; 15.43; Acts 1.6.) The phrase Kingdom of God summarized all of the Old Testament hope and promise. “All that God has said and done in Israel’s history is brought to completion in the Kingdom of God” (Dale Patrick). 8. But Jesus offers a new understanding of an already understood concept. He pours his own authoritative meaning into the King dom of God and offers a definitive new interpretation of the Old Testament promise and teaching. He makes it certain that the “Kingdom of God” is the interpretive key for the Old Testament.