The Kingdom Of God pp

Think/Pair/Share  How do you envision the “Kingdom of God”?  What is the second coming?  What are the End Times?

 Jesus made a promise to his disciples that he would return. Parousia – refers to Jesus’ second coming in the end times. According to Matthew 25, Jesus appears in his glory. In our creed, we state that we believe Jesus will “come again to judge the living and the dead.”

 At first the gospel was passed on by word of mouth since Jesus was to return. When Jesus’ second coming had not taken place after 50 years, stories of Jesus were gathered and the oral tradition of Matthew’s account would have taken a written form.  Central to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew’s gospel is the teaching of the “kingdom of heaven.”

Apocalyptic Literature  At the time of Matthew’s gospel, Jews were ruled by Romans, the temple was run by people who were no rightfully the high priest, Jewish people had experienced the influence of Greece and Hellenization and still had the collective memory of the Babylonian exile from 500 years before.  From all of this, apocalyptic literature emerged. Apocalyptic writings were writings in times of crisis.

 The Jewish people were wondering if God had abandoned them or was testing them.  They believed that the tribulations they encountered were the prelude to God coming to them and liberating them from their sufferings.  Apocalyptic writings emphasize and end to evil and present God coming to judge the world.

 With God’s coming, the truth of the world is to be revealed.  The end times are to include a battle between good and evil and evil is to be defeated.  Jesus often uses apocalyptic language but strips it of many of its images. (Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near)  Jesus teaches of an outpouring of love and a gift of salvation to accompany the end times.

Kingdom of Heaven  In Jesus’ time people spoke Aramaic. Aramaic was also used in synagogues when discussing scripture as Hebrew was not used by the common person.  Scripture was paraphrased in Aramaic and the “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” became a metaphor for “the Lord is King” and to refer to God’s presence.  Jesus regularly emphasizes God’s nearness in Matthew’s gospel.

 The coming of God appears in the person of Jesus.  The Kingdom of God is reveal in the teachings and actions of Jesus.  The Kingdom of God takes on flesh and bones in the person of Jesus.  Through the person of Jesus we get a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven comes among us  The people experienced Jesus’ time with them as generosity and abundance.  The sick were healed; sinners and outcasts were invited and accepted; people who heard his words were left astonished.  Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God in human history.

The Kingdom of Heaven and the Church  The Church that Matthew speaks of is not the Kingdom of Heaven.  The Church are the first fruits and are a sign of what is to come. They are a community in which the Kingdom of God is at work.  Through the sacraments and liturgy, the Church in present time lives this future reality.

The Ethics of the Kingdom of Heaven  In the Old Testament Moses receives and delivers the Torah from Mount Sinai.  In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount (the new Torah) on a mount.  Jesus provides a platform for the life of his disciples through teachings and beatitudes (blessings).

Gospel: The Good News pg. 88 Stage 1: Jesus’ ministry and Jesus’ death and resurrection Stage 2: Oral tradition of stories and sayings  Matthew, Mark, Luke – synoptic gospels (can be examined together as they follow the same timeline and have a lot in common.

Stage 3: Canonical gospels are written  Mark’s gospel and another referred to as Q came first and helped to shape Matthew’s and Luke’s which were written independent of each other.  John’s was written last and is drawn only from the Oral Tradition (completely different form - evangelical)