The Kingdom Of God : Central Message Of Jesus

Matthew is the first of four gospels in the New Testament. Matthew presents his story of Jesus, the demands of Christian discipline, and shares the news of the death and resurrection of Jesus. There are many questions in Matthew that can not be answered.The book of Matthew is a gospel that contains narrative history, genealogy, parables, sermons, and some prophetic oracles. The gospel of Matthew was originally written for a Jewish audience by a Jewish perspective. This is why Matthew is often referred to as "The Gospel for the Jews". Although Matthew was written for Jews, it does not include very much of the Jewish culture and tradition. Throughout the entire gospel of Matthew, it is very clear that the entire book is mainly incorporated with Jews. The book of Matthew ties in with the Old Testament several times, such as when they refer to Jesus as Messiah or King. The key word used in Matthew is "kingdom" and it is used 28 times. The reason Matthew was written was to reveal that Jesus was the messiah, the long of the Jews, and to conceive the Jews that Jesus Christ was indeed their long awaited messiah. The author of Matthew

The term ‘Kingdom of God’ (or as is otherwise referred to as ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ in Matthew's Gospel) is mentioned throughout the Four Gospels. Over the centuries many scholars have reached the same conclusion that the central theme of Jesus’ message regards the ‘Kingdom of God.’ But what did Jesus mean by this term? This essay aims to discuss the meaning of the term ‘Kingdom of God’ and what Jesus must have meant by this.

Harnack understands the Kingdom of God in Jesus’ teachings to have two basic aspects. First is the traditional view as a future event, establishing God’s rule on earth. The roots of this view come from the historic elements of Jewish apocalypticism and in the teachings of John the Baptist. Jesus accepted and supported but also surpassed the teachings of John the Baptist. However, Jesus presented an idea of the Kingdom of God that was in contrast with the traditional understanding of the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ understanding of the Kingdom is a present and internal event which happens in the hearts of those of faith. According to Harnack Jesus would have seen the two aspects as complimenting one another wherein those of a present perspective would see a tension between the two. Harnack says that it is the second aspect of God’s Kingdom that held as the most important in Jesus’ teachings. The Kingdom of God then should be understood as “coming to the individual, by entering into his soul and laying hold of it. ” It is then that the Kingdom of God fills the Christian with the life of God. Looking at the Kingdom of God in this way makes it the rule of God “in the hearts of individuals.

In Romans 1-8 Paul is writing to teach the doctrine of Christ. Although Paul goes into much more depth in these eight chapters, his message ultimately boils down to the following sentence. We have all sinned and deserve death, however, through the redemption and sanctification of Christ we have been saved and should now lead, Christ centered lives of faith.

Growing up I thought of church and the bible as something that was out of my reach intellectually. With this being a central thought, I just decided to table the hearing and understanding of the truth of Jesus until I was an adult. As an adult, I have learned a great deal about what Jesus Christ was about and why He died on the cross, however, I did not think of the gospels as hinging on the kingdom of God. I knew Jesus as many people do, as my savior and one who loves me to the point of dying on a cross for my sins. Gordon Fee articulates this well as he explains Jesus' ministry and purpose of His ministry. My understanding of the gospels are now clear in that the kingdom of God is the pearl and gold nugget that we are attempting to obtain

The essential problem Wright identifies in the introduction can be documented most clearly in six ordinary, but unsatisfactory responses often provided by the church to the query "What are the Gospels all about?, ” which are: 1) teaching people how to go to Heaven, 2) recording Jesus's exclusive ethical teaching, 3) depicting Jesus as a moral prototype for the people, 4) exhibiting Jesus as the perfect sacrifice, 5) telling stories with which humans can recognize and then find direction, and 6) signifying Jesus's spirituality. While each of these answers contains a portion of truth, Wright contends they all fail to hold the heart of the Gospel accounts. According to Wright, “the gospels tell of Jesus who embodied the living God of Israel and whose cross and resurrection really did unveil and initiate the Kingdom of God.” Wright then claims that the kingdom is apart of a greater eschatological theology, which is concerned with what is believed to be the final events of history, or the definitive destiny of humanity.

In what ways is His Kingdom of Heaven different than what was expected? Jesus fulfilled the expectations of the coming Messiah by being of the line of Jesse. Jesus fulfilled the expectations in his baptism. He was baptized by the last prophet of the Mosaic, which was a sign of the new covenant.

The Kingdom may exist in the individual human heart, in groups, in institutions, and in nature. The Kingdom of God is as broad and as overarching as the presence of God which renews and transforms and recreates everything touched by it.

Jesus Christ established a kingdom and through the Holy Spirit working in Christ’s Church, we bear witness to this kingdom. It is not a kingdom based upon retaliation, smashing the competition, arrogance, or, even militarily defeating the enemy; rather, Jesus established a kingdom based upon humility, truth, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love. It was a type of kingdom no one

Scot McKnight claims that the gospel is an ordained story of the triune God reinstating humanity into the image of God. The book is based on four argumentative pillars, first being that 1 Corinthians 15 was used to define gospel by the apostles as portrayed in the end of the saving story of Jesus in Israel. The second pillar is that the four Gospels contain the gospel, which was preached by Jesus the Messiah. Lastly, the author argues

The Old Testament Psalms included many references to the kingdom of God. For example, Psa 145:13(KJV) “Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” The psalmist speaks of God’s rule, sovereignty, and power. So, Jesus’ purpose was to enlighten the people, mainly His disciples, as to a new way of understanding about the kingdom of

Many people misunderstand that these are two quite different things that relate to each other. First off, in the Bible, the kingdom of God “is the all-embracing program of God’s divine salvation history” (Saucy 83). The kingdom of God isn’t another name for the Church, in a sense it is more important. Whatever that is done in life by human activity in God’s honor, is in the kingdom because it is done under His authority and ruling. God’s mission for His kingdom is to be spread all over the world, making sure Satan does not take over. The church is different from the kingdom of God because the church is a physical building for people to exercise the kingdom of God and to recruit other people to join the kingdom of God. In conclusion, the Church itself is an area of activity done under the authority of God, which is done within the kingdom of

John’s message was urgent as he explained to Israel that the kingdom of heaven is near and that is why they should repent. John announced a literal kingdom here on earth under the personal rule of God’s covenant Messiah. John’s announcement generated a widespread response, because the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and willingly submitted to John’s baptism (Mark 1:5).

The gospel asserts further that the salvation spreads across the universe and its creatures. The kingdom of god is purportedly shown to be emanating in the latter heavens and the earth as a whole. The kingdom of god is shown to have started in the days of jesus’ ministry which were impacted by the power of the kingdom of god. The message in the gospel shows that initially people experienced a radical and transforming process of salvation. Mark also emphasizes on the death of jesus as it is in the other gospels.

In the Men of the Word video L4.1 (2013) Rick Yohn broke down the Gospels, with Matthew representing Jesus as King of the Jews or the Son of David, in Mark as a servant, in Luke as the Son of Man, and in John as God (CCU CAGS). In Matthew, the idea of Jesus as the King of the Jews was to establish His royal lineage and let the Jews know that He is the Messiah who will occupy David’s throne. The style of Mark focused more on Jesus’ deeds to represent His servant-like attitude to live out His Father’s will. Gundry (2012) mentioned how His miracles demonstrated the power over nature, the demonic world, and death (p. 162), possibly to reiterate to the Romans His authority. The use of parables in Luke offered a literary means for people to better understand Jesus’ role as a human, in that He could relate to everyone. Gundry (2012) illustrated this by stating, “Luke thus portrays Jesus as a cosmopolitan Savior with broad sympathies, one who mingles with all sorts of people…” (p. 239). As for John, he aimed to show the omnipotence of Jesus, For He was the eternal God. His Gospel right away established Jesus’ connection to God when it stated, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, NKJV). Jesus’ different roles were indicative of the different characters of God, and gave just a glimpse at who our Heavenly Father