Monday, October 8, 2012

Parachutes, Kingdom, Sermon on Mount part 4, Kingdom, The Other Side

Test 2 is posted above
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 on the Parachute theme  (Upside Down, chapter 3):  Debate: WWJD? :  Hero:  Matthew 7:




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 Kingdom sign
Here's one more symbol, which we;ll call    "Kingdom"

Sans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Remember, when we talk about tHE Kingdom in the Bible

the Kingdom that

  • Kingdom of     God
  • Kingdom of     heaven


is itself a drop-down-box.

Both refer to the same reality.

Remember why the two terms, and why only Matthew uses the first??

In fact, the first person to post in the comments below this post the reason why wins a prize,
(Here's another contest)

But what is this reality.

First of all, when you thing KINGDOM,

think
  • REIGN AND RULE   (of Jesus)                    >NOT REALM
  • PERSON AND PRESENCE (of Jesus            >NOT PlACE
This delivers us from a limited geographical definition.
Even thougth it's hard not to use "WHERE" language when talking about a kingdom.

Many Jews of Jesus' day (and actually, the Greeks) thought of the Kingdom of God as largely a  future identity/reality/location.
So when Jesus, in Matthew 4:17 announces that he, as King, is ALREADY bringing in the Kingdom,

this not only subverted expectations, but sounded crazy....and like he was claiming to bring the future into the present.

The Jews talked often about "this age" (earth/now) and "the age to come." (heaven/future).
"Age to come" was used in a way that it was virtually synonymous with "The Kingdom."

Scripture suggests that:

The "age to come"  (the Kingdom) 
has in large part already come (from the future/heaven)

into "this age"
 (in the present/on the earth
by means of the earthy ministry of Jesus: King of the Kingdom.
Thus, Hebrews 6:4-8 offers that disciples ("tamidim") of Jesus have
"already (in this age) tasted the powers of the age to come."

 In Jesus, in large part, the age to come has come.
The Future has visited the present,










"The presence of the Kingdom of God was seen as God’s dynamic reign invading the present age without (completely) transforming it into the age to come ” (George Eldon Ladd, p.149, The Presence of the Future.)

Here are some articles that may help:



Thus Kingdom comes from the past (the beach)
and the future (age to come)...both..so fuzzy set.

Finally, more on the "breach-head" concept from Dom Williams

Jesus proclaimed a kingdom come and coming, both future and present at the same time. Here we are on dead center. Jesus believes in the reestablishment of God's rightful reign in Israel and among the Gentile nations. His mission inaugurates that reign. While God's kingdom is present in his ministry, it is not fully present. There is a future fulfillment when Satan, sin and death will be completely destroyed. At the same time, Jesus comes to manifest God's direct rule here and now, healing the sick, casting out demons, bringing justice to the poor and defeating our enemies. This means that the future messianic kingdom has dawned; it has broken in upon us. Furthermore, it is God's intention to spread this kingdom around the world (to the Gentiles) and down through history until its consummation .In sum, the kingdom is really here but it is not fully here. Believers, then, live in the tension between the kingdom come and coming, the "already and the not yet."
For the New Testament, history is determined by two ages: this present evil age and the coming age of salvation.(See Matthew 12:32) Oscar Cullmann in his classic book, Christ and Time, shows us that this structure is not optional for understanding and retaining the biblical message. Illustrating the meaning of Jesus' coming, Cullmann uses his classic example of the World War II distinction between "D-Day" and "V-Day." When the allies established the Normandy beachhead on "D-Day," the war in Europe was really won. Yet, "V-Day" remained in the future and the battle went on. Likewise, when Jesus came as God's Messiah (Deliverer), it was "D-Day," the beachhead of God's kingdom was secured. It literally broke in upon us as the future became present. Nevertheless, we await its final consummation. When Jesus returns it will be "V-Day." The Christian life is then lived in this tension between the kingdom come and coming.
This illuminates our present experience. It explains both the reality of our triumph in Christ and the continuing spiritual warfare which we fight on many fronts. It explains the reality that we have died with Christ, and the flesh still wars against the spirit. It explains why some people are dramatically healed by the power of God and also continue to get sick and die. It explains why we have strength through weakness and life through death. If we break this tension we either end up in the resignation of "cessationism" (God doesn't work miracles today), or the triumphalism of perfectionism (God always works miracles if we have the faith to believe him). The good news is that the future kingdom is now at work in the present. We are not waiting for the end; we are living in the end. By the power of the Spirit we are enabled to live between the times.
For us, the Christian life will always be lived in tension. All whom we evangelize will not be converted. All whom we pray for will not be healed. But some will as the kingdom breaks in. Jesus teaches us to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." This is not a magic prayer bringing the perfection of heaven down to earth, which would be dualistic Platonism. This is an eschatological prayer asking for the future kingdom to break in upon us in the present. It is also our prayer for the consummation of all things. Paradoxically, as we live in the end we wait and pray for the end to come. Paul writes, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God, the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." (I Corinthians 15:22-25)  link

When did WW2 end?

June 6, 1944?  D Day?

 Sept 2, 1945?  VE Day?

 Bounded set?  Fuzzy set?

or This?
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TPH
Twice, Matthew makes almost identical statements, which might lead us to draw aninclusio around them:

And he went throughout all Galilee,
teaching            in their synagogues and
preaching         the gospel of the kingdom and
healing             every disease and every affliction among the people. 
(Matt. 4:23)


AND

And Jesus went through all the towns and villages,
teaching            in their synagogues,
preaching          the good news of the kingdom and
healing              every disease and sickness.  
(Matt 9:35) 
Maybe Jesus only did three things in this section.
 Q>Who is Jesus in Matthew?  
              A>The one who teaches, preaches and heals.
Notice 11:1 says he went around "teaching and preaching," but :healing is not included.  It seems we are to place special emphasis on healing in the division from 4:23-9:35.
Question:
-why healings highlighted in this section? (stay tuned..think about possible answers
-Is this a hemistiche?
-Since this threefold ministry is so intentionally signaled, might it not mean that in other places in Matthew
that when one or two of the three is mentioned, the third is implied, hidden somewhere, or conspicuous by its absence?

How about 11:1?:


-
How about  15: 29-30:
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he
went up on a mountainside and sat down (implies teaching ).
Great crowds came to him (so now you expect to see him teaching, but he is healing instead...or is healing a firm of teaching here?)
bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
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For some helpful commentary on the "literary world" implications of Jesus' three activities...
teaching
preaching  
healing 

.....click to read these sections of David Bauer's commentary.
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One writer comments:
  • These three activities were his chief occupations in public ministry. Think of what Jesus did:
  • He was teaching in their synagogues. What was a synagogue service like? We have some insight in two New Testament passages: Luke 4:16-21, where Jesus began to teach about his own ministry. We also have Acts 13:15ff, where Paul used the invitation to speak as an opportunity to preach the gospel based upon the history of Israel. In the service, a reading from the Law and the Prophets, which followed prayers, would be followed by a distinguished Rabbi, either resident or visiting, being invited to teach concerning a point of the Law or the Prophets. He would read a text and explain and apply it. This is what Jesus evidently did. And the traditions of the synagogue required that the teacher be attractive in his appearance and presentation, as well as intelligent and godly. Interestingly enough, such a teacher did not have to be ordained. And his message was to be tactful and not too personal. That Jesus taught often in the synagogues of the land, tells us that he was a welcome teacher and respected. No wonder he was referred to as "Rabbi."
  • The text tells us that he also was actively preaching the Gospel/good news of the Kingdom. You are of course aware that the word, gospel, means good news. And the substance of the gospel is given in verse 22, to wit that the Kingdom of Heaven was near. It is referred to elsewhere as the gospel of peace (Rom 10:15), the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 9:13), and its message was simply that the Kingdom of Heaven had come. To the Jews this would be good news, as it would mean that the Lord was announcing the reign of Messiah (Isa 9:6,7) and peace between Himself and Israel (Isa 52:7). God had come to rule and thus to show his love and concern for his people. And that is the essence of the gospel.
  • We want to be careful not to distinguish too closely between teaching and preaching, though, because he did both at the same time, cf. the next three chapters. Teaching would emphasize a systematic presentation of the truth. Preaching or proclamation would emphasize declaration of the truth, as opposed to giving a systematic presentation of it. In his teaching he gave the details of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.
  • Finally, and this is what usually catches our attention most in this passage, hehealed the sick. The text says, he healed (literally) all chronic diseases and all occasional sicknesses among the people. The word, all, would place him in different category from other healers that were also going about the land. Perhaps the word would best be translated as the NIV does, every, because not all in the nation were healed. These other healers did not heal every case. They had their successes and their failures, but Jesus healed every diseasehe came into contact with, with no failures. The question needs to be asked, though, why? ..
  • Notice how these three ministries are tied together. What ties them together is the Kingdom of Heaven. The public teaching of Jesus focused upon the grace of God in coming to rule over his people and show his love and concern for them as their King. The healings were a tangible, easy to understand demonstration of the truth and power of the Kingdom. Jesus did not simply heal for the sake of making people feel better or improve their quality of life. Rather, those who were healed had an obligation to worship and serve the Lord, even to repent-cf. John 5:1-14. That is why, when Jesus preached he proclaimed the message that he did, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. This is an important point, one that is missed by some in the healing movement in Pentecostal Church circles. We are mistaken if we separate healing from the gospel's message and focus on it or any other miraculous part of the gospel instead of on the Kingdom of God.  -Link




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THE OTHER SIDE
This sign is called THE OTHER SIDE....The circle is&nbsThis sign is calledp; the Sea of Gallilee.  On the NW corner, you see the "Orthodox Triangle" of Three Jewish Villages (Capernaum, Korazim, Bethsaida

vs. the SE side (OR "THE OTHER SIDE"...the pagan side of the   "Decapolis"/Ten Cities.

Today's field trip: all the way to the dreaded "other side" of the lake today..
 here's the slideshow of the  fiest "field trip" we took today:
>>"When Storms Come (Sea of Galilee)" 

From that slideshow, pay special attention to   a)why bodies of water had negative "historical world" symbolism  and b)"The Orthodox Triangle" vs."the Decaplolis."  More:  here is a significant VanDer Laan article on the Sea of Galilee which touches on its symbolism. 




 "Orthodox Triangle" of Three Villages vs.  "Decapolis"/Ten Cities?

The second  field trip was  all the way to the dreaded "other side" of the lake ..
via this video:
>>"Piercing The Darkness (Decapolis on the Other Side of the Lake"






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  • Note the cross-cultural implications of Jesus' two feedings of  the multitude:

  • see:

    (diagram below by John Stevenson, see 2nd link above)

    Feeding of the 5,000
    Feeding of the 4,000
    Mark 6:34-44
    Mark 8:1-9
    Took place after the multitude had been with Jesus for one day.Took place after the multitude had been with Jesus for three days.
    The multitude was mostly Jewish.The multitude would have been mostly Gentile.
    Took place near Bethsaida  on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.Took place in the Decapolis on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
    Jesus used 5 loaves and 2 fish.Jesus used 7 loaves and a few small fish.
    There were 12 small baskets of leftovers.There were 7 large baskets of leftovers.



Here's some of my video from both sides of the Sea of Galilee:





 Q>Who is Jesus in Matthew?                A>The one who is not afraid to go to "THE OTHER SIDEstyle="font-size: x-small;">""
 T===================================================================
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