A Time When God’s Kingdom Was Not Yet?Luke 1:32-33 is a prophecy issued prior to Jesus’s conception
and birth, affirming: “He will be great and will be called Son of the Highest,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will
reign [βασιλεύσει] over the house of Jacob unto
the ages, and of his kingdom [kingly rule] there
will be no end.”1 In connection with Jesus’s incarnate earthly arrival, this
prophecy speaks in the future tense of his regnal power as the Davidic
messianic king whose rule lasts forever.2
Fairly early in his ministry, Jesus said to a crowd, “I say to
you, among those born of women, none is greater than John, but the least in the
kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28). John the baptizer was
the final emissary of the old-covenant Jewish system (Luke 16:16),
preparing the way for Christ’s new-covenant dispensation (Luke 1:17, 76; 3:2-6,
16-18) that is equated here with “the kingdom [reign] of God.”
Jesus taught his disciples to pray to the Father, “your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2). Here “divine rule” seems to be the primary
sense of βασιλεία, in conjunction with the
parallel petition, “your will be done upon earth as also in heaven” (Matt.
6:10b). The
plea is for God’s sovereign reign to infiltrate, impact,
and direct the
lives of his human creation.
During the crucifixion, one of
the criminals next to Jesus said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Despite having
been spoken by a nonauthoritative source, it is intriguing (though not
surprising) that this murderous convict knew about the Lord’s kingdom. For over three years the gospel of the kingdom had been broadcasted
across the entire region, from Jerusalem throughout all Judea, all the district
around the Jordan, Galilee, as far north as Syria, as far south as Idumea, as
far east as the Decapolis, and other areas beyond the Jordan.3
Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and a
“secret” disciple of Jesus, “was waiting for the kingdom of God”
(Luke 23:51). Whatever understanding he may have had of God’s kingdom, from Joseph’s perspective it had not yet arrived.
God’s Kingdom Already Here?
The Lord’s Sermon on the Plain began with these words: “Blessed
[are] the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”
(Luke 6:20). Those to whom and about whom Jesus spoke seem to have already been possessing (present tense) God’s kingdom. Once again,
βασιλεία may be best understood here as “sovereign
rule” governing lives, not of all the poor but of those following Christ and
submitting to his direction, particularly “the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3).
In Luke 16:14-16, speaking to materialistic Pharisees, Jesus
reminded them that “God knows your hearts” (v. 15), and “The law and the
prophets were until John; from that [time] the kingdom of God
is proclaimed, and everyone forces into it” (v. 16). Reaffirming the preaching
of God’s kingdom since the time of John the baptizer’s
ministry,4 reference to “everyone” [πᾶς] is
indicative of a hyperbolic statement. But using the verb βιάζω (occurring in the NT only twice, in different contexts,
here and in Matt. 11:12) raises the question of whether it is to be understood
negatively or positively.
This could refer to those who “inflict violence on,” viciously hindering
God’s kingdom (like hostile Pharisees), or
those who try to “force” a misconceived version of God’s kingdom (like
fanatical Zealots).
More likely, in a hyperbolically positive sense, everyone (incl. tax collectors and sinners)
“fervently seeks” or “urgently accepts” or “passionately enters” the kingdom (sovereign rule)
of God as preached by John, Jesus, and the disciples,5 albeit in
troubling times (cf. Luke 8:42b; 12:1a).
On another occasion the Lord was asked by the Pharisees, “When
is the kingdom of God coming?” He answered, “The kingdom is not coming with
observation, nor will they say, ‘Look here or there.’ For behold, the kingdom
of God is [presently] in your midst” (Luke 17:20-21).
The adverb ἐντός could convey the sense
of “within” or “inside” (cf. Matt. 23:21-28), or “among you, in your midst ... either now or suddenly in
the near future” (BDAG 340). In the current text, a double
nuance is possible. The sense of “among” would seem more relevant when speaking to antagonistic
Pharisees, whereas an inward manifestation makes sense when contrasted with
what is outwardly observable. The point is to avoid
envisioning the Lord’s kingdom as a physical, earthly-conceived entity. God’s
sovereign reign must be internalized, ruling compliant hearts, represented in
the very presence of Jesus himself. For those constrained by unwilling and defiant dispositions,
these spiritual realities “are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42).
In Luke’s recounting of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
the crowds cried out, “Blessed is the king [βασιλεύς], the
one coming in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest”
(Luke 19:38). Apparently recognizing Jesus’s royal status as messianic king,
they were collectively reciting Psalm 118:26, while adding the word “king” and fulfilling
the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 (cf. Matt. 21:5). This recognition may also be
implied by the repeated acknowledgment of Jesus as the “Christ” (Messiah), “son
of David.”6 Although most Pharisees adamantly rejected the claim,
Jesus did not (Luke 19:39, 40; cf. 23:2-3). Mark’s account includes in the acclamation, “Blessed [is] the coming kingdom of our
father David ...” (Mark 11:10a).
Now, Not Yet, Soon to Be?
Jesus assured his immediate disciples, “but I truly say to you,
there are some of those standing here who will not taste of death until they
have seen the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27). Neither in the past nor in the
distant future, the divine kingdom of which Jesus spoke was to be realized
within the lifetime of his first-century followers.7
Journeying toward Jerusalem and teaching in villages along the
way, Jesus was asked, “Lord, are the ones being saved few?” (Luke 13:23). He responded,
“Strive to enter through the narrow entrance, for I say to
you, many will seek to enter and will not be able” (v. 24). Certain ones would
be shut out (vv. 25-27), and certain ones would be cast out: “There will be
weeping and gnashing of the teeth when you [all] see Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you [all] are being cast
out” (v. 28). Presumably speaking to (and about) the resistant and unreceptive,8
the verb ὁράω (“see”) seems to be used here in the sense of “perceive,”
“envision,” or “conceptualize” (cf. 9:27; 10:24; 13:35; 17:20-22). The idiomatic expression “weeping and
gnashing of teeth” describes intense
anguish, regret, and despair due to the realization of being excluded from
God’s kingdom.9
“And they will come from east and west, and from north and
south, and will recline in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29). The imagery here is
that of a banquet table, shared by those from all directions accepting the king’s
gracious invitation (note the contrasting “you” and “they,” vv.
28-29).
In continuation of these teachings and illustrations, while
reclining at the dinner table of a Pharisee leader, Jesus used the examples of
a wedding feast and a banquet invitation, teaching lessons on
humility and blessings “in the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:7-14). Someone
then commented, “Blessed is one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God” (v.
15). This prompted Jesus telling the story of a great feast, where those who
dismissed the master’s invitation were left out and others were welcomed into
his house (vv. 15-25).
All this parallels Luke 13:23-30, where many are rejected from
God’s kingdom, while others recline therein. When Jesus later reclined at the
last Passover meal with the twelve, preparing to institute the memorial “supper”
of his impending death, he observed, “For I say to you, I will not eat this until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God .... I will no longer drink
of the fruit of the vine until that the
kingdom of God has come” (Luke 22:14-18). In light of Luke 9:27, this was to
happen in the not-too-distant future.10
Speaking to the same group of men, Jesus went on to say, “But
you are the ones having remained with me in my trials; and I confer to you, as
my Father conferred to me, a kingdom, so you may be eating and drinking at my
table in my kingdom and be seated on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel” (Luke 22:28-30). These apostles went on to serve as authoritative leaders
and teachers in the church [ἐκκλησία] that Jesus
had promised to build, which was then recognized, in continuity of God’s
covenant people, as the new Israel of God.11
In the meantime, more “kingdom” language appears in Luke chap. 18.
When the Lord’s disciples rebuked certain ones for bringing little children to him,
he responded, “Allow the young children to come to me and do not forbid them,
for of such is [presently] the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever may
not receive the kingdom of God as a young child may not enter into it” (Luke
18:16-17).
Following his encounter with a wealthy young ruler, Jesus
observed, “How difficult it is for those having riches to be entering into the
kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to enter a needle’s eye than a rich
person to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24-25).
Conclusion
Beyond the simple fact of God’s kingdom and its portrayal in
Luke as both present and in the future, not yet and soon to be, in our next post we
will bring these concepts together, along with other aspects of kingdom
theology. We still want to understand more clearly what is meant by Jesus’s recorded words
in Luke 21:31, “when you see these things happening,
know that the kingdom of God is near.”
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 Unless
noted otherwise, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.
2 Cf. Isa. 9:6-7; Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:30-36; 1 Cor. 15:20-27. As an
added commentary, the apostle John recorded the words of Jesus spoken to
Pontius Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world .... but now my kingdom is not
from here.... you say that I am a king; for this [reason] I have been born, and
for this [reason] I have come into the world, that I may testify to the truth
...” (John 18:36-37).
3 Matt. 3:1-2, 5-6; 4:17,
23-25; Mark 3:7-8. See K. L. Moore, “Thief on the Cross,” Moore Perspective
(8 August 2014)
<Link>.
4 Note also Luke 3:3-6; 4:43; 8:1;
9:2, 11, 60; 10:9, and the parallel passages in other Gospels.
5 See BDAG 175. Alfred Plummer
suggests that the adj. πᾶς in Luke 16:16 indicates that “the Jew has
no longer any exclusive rights” (The Gospel According to S. Luke
389).
6 Luke 1:32-33, 69; 2:11, 26;
3:15-16; 9:20; 18:38-39; 23:2; 24:26, 46; cf. Acts 2:29-36.
7 See also Matt. 3:2; 4:17;
16:28; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1.
8 Luke 5:17, 21, 30; 6:2, 7; 7:30; 11:23, 29, 37-54; 12:1;
15:2; 16:14.
9 Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30.
10 See Acts
2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:23-29.
11 Matt.
16:16-19; Acts 2:1-43; Rom. 2:28-29; 9:6-8; Gal. 6:16; Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet.
2:9-10. It may be of significance that the apostles initiated the preaching of the gospel and establishing the church within the circle of Judaism, and early on all twelve stood trial before the leaders of Israel yet the Lord's twelve apostles passed judgment on them (Acts 2:1–5:42).
Works
Cited:
BDAG: Walter Bauer, F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W.
Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early
Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to S. Luke ICC.
Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1910.
Related Posts: Luke's Perspective Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Unshakable Kingdom
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