by Harry BuererIn light of the extensive and detailed predictions by the biblical prophets of an end-time Kingdom of God, with a descendant of David as the king, the Jews of Jesus’ time were looking for the arrival of such a kingdom at anytime.
It’s significant that, from the announcement of his birth, Jesus is identified as this king. The angel speaking to Mary said, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:31-33) When the Magi came seeking him, their question was, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2) The teachers, who were familiar with the prophetic claims, answered, “In Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'” (Matthew 2:5-6) However the Magi had learned about this birth, they, as well as the Jews, were expecting the Son of David who would be king of Israel.
There are several titles by which Jesus went, which we tend to take for granted without thinking much about their meaning. The most common one is probably “Christ”, which was used by Herod in inquiring for the Magi. “Christ” is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew term which means “anointed”. It is used almost exclusively to refer to a king. The kings of Israel were anointed by the priest in preparation for their role. Whether we realize it or not, when we call Jesus “Christ”, we’re referring to him as the king over the kingdom of Israel.
Another term that was used commonly of Jesus is “Son of David.” This term also refers to the king of the kingdom that the prophets announced. The people’s use of this term and Jesus’ acceptance of it shows that their expectations of him were similar.
A term that Jesus often applied to himself was “Son of Man”. By itself, this is a Hebrew idiom meaning a human one. God addresses Ezekiel with this term many times with this meaning. But when Jesus uses it of himself, he’s alluding to the vision in the book of Daniel. In chapter seven Daniel sees the “Ancient of Days” on a fiery throne. Four beasts, representing human kingdoms, are destroyed. And then he saw “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14) Jesus is clearly identifying with this eternal king over the entire world when he refers to himself as the “Son of Man”, which he does often.
The bulk of Jesus’ preaching is related to this kingdom. Before he even appeared in public, his cousin John announced him by saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2) This might be referring to a kingdom from heaven, or Matthew might have been using “heaven” as an evasive synonym to keep from naming God. Luke seems to use the phrase “kingdom of God” where Matthew uses “kingdom of heaven”, but they both refer to the predicted righteous kingdom of Israel and its Davidic king.
Much of Jesus’ preaching is about the good news (gospel) of the kingdom. In fact, when he uses the term “gospel”, he is referring to the coming of the kingdom in the person of himself. One of the prophetic signs of the presence of the kingdom was to be miraculous healings, and Jesus uses this to testify to his filling of that role. (cp. Luke 4:16-21) Many of his parables were to explain about the kingdom that he was offering.
Many interpreters are tripped up by Jesus’ statement in Luke 17:21 where some translations say, “the kingdom of God is within you”. They believe that this kingdom is an internal thing, despite the words of the prophets. The Greek preposition is ambiguous, and is probably better understood as “among you”. The Kingdom, represented by Jesus, was in their midst.
This Kingdom of God, that Jesus was offering, was accepted by many, as illustrated by its climax at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But it was rejected by the leaders of the Jewish people, which was God’s plan all along. From that point on, Jesus’ message turned to his death and resurrection and the salvation that would bring.
But the promised kingdom was not cancelled, only delayed. Before his ascension, when the disciples asked if he was now going to restore the kingdom to Israel, he basically told them, “Later”. (Acts 1:6-7) After he was taken up, angels told them that he would return.
Though the promised kingdom did not come immediately, Jesus intended that his followers desire and pray for its coming. The prayer that he taught his disciples begins with a request for the kingdom to come so that God’s will is done on earth. Some manuscripts have the prayer end with “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” (Matt. 6:9-13)
The last few words of the New Testament at the end of the book of Revelation are a plea for Jesus to come back to earth. This future messianic kingdom has been a focus for Jews through the ages because they know the prophetic scriptures. But Christians tend to ignore these promises, even though their name implies that Jesus is the messianic king of that kingdom. May we continually pray the prayer that Jesus gave: “May your kingdom come”, and may we eagerly anticipate it.