The Kingdom of God in Jesus' Parables and Miracles
Christology Essay 2019
Throughout Jesus’ mission, His message centred around proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God. What Jesus meant by this “Kingdom” has been, and still is, subject to much scholarly debate, however the general consensus has come to regard it as the reuniting of man and God by the fulfilment of God’s will on Earth. The Kingdom of God has three primary properties (Kasper, 1976, p72-88). The eschatological property accounts for the futuristic/apocalyptic nature of the Kingdom, the theological property accounts for the absolute lordship of God in His Kingdom, and the soteriological property accounts for man’s salvation and reconciliation with God, made perfect in the Kingdom. These properties are made apparent in scripture through Jesus’ parables and miracles, which allow for anticipatory experiences of God’s Kingdom. Jesus, as God in the flesh, reflected the ideals and promises of the Kingdom through word and deed, and by His death He would make the Kingdom accessible to those who believed. One can better grasp the meaning of the Kingdom of God by observing Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Eschatology is the theological study of the end times, judgement and death, and is most commonly associated with the Book of Revelation and the concept of the apocalypse. The Kingdom of God has an eschatological property that emphasises its futurism, inevitability and presence now. The concept of a futuristic Kingdom, and assurance for a new covenant and new exodus, gained prominence following the writings of the major Judaic prophets. The Book of Daniel established a hope for a spiritual reality that would deliver Israel and the world from desolation. During Jesus’ ministry, He proclaims that the Kingdom of God is “near” and “now,” it has arrived but is still to come. To many scholars, Jesus is the Kingdom in person (autobasileia), as it is in the person and incarnation of Jesus that one sees reconciliation between God and mankind. From this understanding, the Kingdom came in Jesus Christ, is now in Christ’s Church and Spirit, and is still to come when Jesus descends a second time. The Kingdom of God, as described by Geerhardus Vos, is “already but not yet” – it is both present and future. The Biblical conception of time is both quantitative (chronos) and qualitative (kairos), so time is measured by its content. The whole glory of the Kingdom is not yet of the physical world, only glimpses. The Kingdom of God will come and it has to be received – there is a decision involved. Jesus was famous for His parables and miracles which most often described the eschatological property of God’s Kingdom. A parable is an extended simile (Horton, 2006, p80), in which Jesus would often compare spiritual realities with earthly realities. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mt13:31-32) and the Parable of the Yeast (Mt13:33) describe the Kingdom, or the Church, as growing toward fulfillment. A mustard seed (probably the smallest seed known in that region at the time) could grow to a shrubbery of around ten feet high. Here we see how little beginnings can have large outcomes, and this is reflected also in how the Kingdom of God began with a small group of unsure disciples following Jesus and has grown into the culturally prominent institution of today. Similar to how Jesus had to die to save mankind, part of a seed experiences dying before it germinates/sprouts. The Parable of the Yeast presents the same idea of growth, where a small amount of yeast expands and becomes invisible (to the human eye) within a large batch of dough and brings life into it. Any small thing that is of God will grow and will be visible in the future in the fullness of the Kingdom. Jesus’ miracles have eschatological character and provide anticipatory experiences of the nearness of the Kingdom. The whole of His miracles pointed to the “already but not yet” nature of God’s Kingdom, acting as a glimpse into the Kingdom’s hidden spiritual reality. This understanding helps to explain why miracles were often termed “signs,” rather than the usual term for describing the miraculous. They are signs of a present and futuristic, and therefore eschatological, Kingdom, as revealed by Christ.
Jesus made clear that the Kingdom of God has a theological property that emphasises the full reign, love and glory of God. Judaic tradition held that the coming of God’s Kingdom would mean the coming of YHWH Himself. God’s omnipresence means that God is always near to everything, even the most mundane tasks, so it was possible for Jesus to uses agrarian parables to describe the Kingdom of God to His poorer audience. Jesus’ emphasis upon the nearness of God, and therefore also His Kingdom, is made most apparent when He compares and refers to God as a Father. The Kingdom of God is like the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Mt22:1-14). The parable depicts God’s reign, love and glory. God’s lordship is evident in His role as a king who gave a banquet, and when violently rejected, He destroyed the murderers. In the Kingdom, God is the just King. He, out of love, then extends His offer to the outcast and the Gentile, the evil and the good, so that they might inherit the Kingdom of God. He reaches out even to those of public contempt, and does this out of His own grace and love – not because of any merit of theirs. However, the self-righteous, those who glorify themselves rather than God, cannot enter God’s Kingdom. Only those who give God His due glory and rely upon Christ’s saving works can enter the Kingdom. As a whole, Jesus’ miracles are a sign of the love of God that fills the Kingdom. One particular case is in Matthew 8:1-4, when Jesus heals a man with leprosy. The leper kneels before Jesus and says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus touches the man and says, “I am willing; be clean,” and the man is healed of his leprosy. This short passage shows clear signs of the love found in God’s Kingdom. At the time, it would have been unthinkable to touch anyone who was dubbed “unclean,” due to Jewish purity regulations and the old covenant law. Lepers were viewed as living dead, and to be healed from leprosy was comparable to a resurrection. Lepers were devalued and excluded from the community, and no one was to come close to them. Jesus did not have to touch the leper, as there are many other Gospel examples of Jesus healing the sick using only His verbal command, however He chose to do so, and He may have been the first to touch the leper for a very long time. The term “willing” in the passage is the Greek term thelo, which implies a desire or preference (Strong’s #2309). In some uses, the term refers to love and taking delight in a certain action. The miracle itself of healing the man of his leprosy essentially restores the man back into the community and gives him new life. The leper recognises Jesus as Lord, and Jesus shows the love of the Kingdom of God by touching the leper and confessing His desire to restore him. There is nothing in reality that did not come from God, as only God is self-existent. From this, one can know that the Kingdom of God is wholly God’s creation and it cannot be earned by the actions of man. A human can only inherit the Kingdom through a faith in the absolute love of God. This faith recognises humanity’s powerlessness and need for a saviour. Walter Kasper writes that, “Faith is like a mould in which the Kingdom of God takes shape.” By this, Kasper refers to a faith that gives glory and lordship to God and allows Him to work through the believer to love others and establish His Kingdom. The coming of God’s Kingdom is the coming of God’s loving lordship.
The third primary property of the Kingdom of God is its soteriological property. Soteriology is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Jesus’ message was one of joy and salvation – which is why it was often called euangelion (“good news”). Jesus put the Kingdom of God at the centre of human salvation. As seen clearly in the Old Testament, Judaic traditions emphasised a hope in a final redemption, in which God’s Kingdom would come and all suffering would end. Jesus’ message about the coming of God’s Kingdom would have resonated with His audience’s hope for fulfillment and deliverance from the problem of evil. Jesus’ parables and miracles offer anticipatory experiences of liberation from sin (Loewe, 1996, p63). The setting of the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk15:11-32) represents the Kingdom of God. God joyfully receives those who repent and return to Him – and this element of overjoyed celebration at the repentance of a sinner is key to understanding the salvation offered by God. He accepts all who come to Him and desires for everyone to be saved (1Tim2:4). Love is the observable presence of salvation. God determines who enters the Kingdom, and man can enter the Kingdom through Christ’s saving work. By his great love, God is near to humanity and reaches out to them. There are numerous parables that depict reconciliation with God – to be saved from separation/alienation from He who created us. The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Lk15:4-7) makes a similar point to the Prodigal Son, however it includes a search. Not only does God wait for man to return to Him, He actively reaches out to them and desires to welcome them into the Kingdom of God. Entry into the Kingdom of God is made possible by Christ and requires repentance (Mk1:15), for “no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (Jn3:3). Jesus’ miracles, particularly healings and exorcisms, are examples of the Kingdom reaching into the present to free man from suffering. The coming of the Kingdom of God means the overcoming of the demonic forces, which are hostile to creation. Matthew 9:2-8 keeps an account of Jesus healing a paralysed man – first telling Him, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” This is an example of the miracle of the saving forgiveness of God – that the perfect God could forgive the sins/evils/debts of mankind. The miracle also demonstrates how Jesus, who is the Kingdom in person, has come near to man to forgive and heal. It is the nature of the Kingdom of God to forgive and receive those who trust. The miracle of the Passion of Christ as a whole is also key to understanding God’s Kingdom. The miracles of Christ taking all of man’s sin upon Himself, and then resurrecting from the grave, show both how the Kingdom of God is made accessible to man and is free of suffering. Because Jesus declares that He has the power to lay down and take up His life, as commanded by God (Jn10:18), the Kingdom saved mankind from the sin that leads to death. As Jesus is paralleled to the snake lifted up by Moses, John 3:14-15 expands upon the miracles of Christ’s death that reflect the Kingdom of God – that evil is cast out and there is an offer of eternal life to those who believe and desire God’s Kingdom. The soteriological property is that God’s Kingdom is free of sin and death, is abundant in forgiveness, and rejoices when the lost are found – made possible through Christ.
Jesus enacted the will of God whilst on earth, successfully reuniting man with God. One can gain perspective into the meaning of God’s Kingdom by observing the words and deeds of Christ. His parables and miracles allowed for anticipatory experiences of the Kingdom of God in its three primary properties. Jesus demonstrated the eschatological property of the Kingdom through parables describing the its growth and “already but not yet” nature. As the Kingdom in person, all of Christ’s miracles would serve as signs of the coming of the Kingdom. The theological property was described through Christ’s love and acceptance of the outcast, with parables concerning God’s just rule and absolute glory. Jesus makes the soteriological property of the Kingdom possible by reconciling man with God by paying the debt of sin. God reaches out to the lost and saves those who believe and desire to be made whole in the Kingdom. Jesus’ ministry served as a glimpse of the Kingdom of God, and it is through His words and actions that one can grasp the meaning of God’s Kingdom.
Loewe, William P. The College Student’s Introduction to Christology
Kasper, Walter. Jesus the Christ
Walton, John H & Keener, Craig S. Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture NIV
Powell, Mark Allan. Introducing the New Testament
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC9yepedQb8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyb38CvGLw
https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/jesus-miracles-types-of-spiritual-realities
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2305-08532014000200004
Horton, David. The Portable Seminary: A Master’s Level Overview in One Volume
Ridderbos, H N. The Illustrated Bible Dictionary: Goliath-Papyri Part Two