Roger E. Olson, a better-than-average theologian, has wondered aloud, "Does anyone know anything know anything about the kingdom of God?" Olson, along with many others, complains that the NT itself is vague about the precise nature of or the content of the kingdom of God. Marcus Borg has also complained that theologians have not yet provided a "clear and compelling" understanding of the kingdom of God.
A bible prof at SAU used to make the same point; he liked to teach the justice message of the prophets. But he said that the justice message disappeared in the NT leaving only the individual salvation message.
Over the years, I am now 90, I have asked hundreds of volunteers who came to the Perkins Center in Wast Jackson, Mississippi, to write down a one-sentence of the kingdom of God. Only about one out of 100 nailed it down biblically.
In a Christian Community Development workshop, a Princeton seminary grad said that the Messianic passage handout from Isaiah was the single most valuable part of the workshop. He didn't get this basic biblical information in seminary. Unforgivable! Every seminarian in every seminary should be required to write a major paper how how Isaiah's Messianic passages inform the meaning of the NT kingdom of God. Also a major essay on the biblical teaching on ethnocentrism and oppression. And another paper on the Spirit, the kingdom and justice in the NT.
I myself struggled for most of my life to understand the biblical kingdom of God; I needed a second conversion to oppression and justice at age 42 to begin to grasp what the kingdom is about. In my retirement, its meaning finally became crystal clear.
More from Roger Olson, his 2016 Matson Lectures on the kingdom of God; Olson makes ten points about major themes where there is general agreement:
"First, the kingdom of God was inaugurated by Jesus. . . . Second, Jesus was and is the embodiment of the kingdom of God. Third, the kingdom is a gift with a task. . . . Fourth,, . . .it is a gift to be received through active participation and involvement. Sixth, the kingdom is 'already but not yet' . . . . Seventh, the kingdom is a new, divine social order. Eighth, this new, divine social order is radically countercultural; it is an alternative to all human created social orders. Ninth, the kingdom is somehow related to the church. . . . Tenth, the kingdom is an 'upside down' social order."
Olson provides a number provocative ideas with great potential, but undeveloped potential. He provides more theological analysis than fresh biblical analysis. In this, Olson is like Bruce Fields, a black evangelical, who wrote Introducing Black Theology which turned out to be more theological analysis than desperately needed fresh biblical analysis. Olson is well worth reading. But notice that Olson fails to mention repentance which both John and Jesus stressed; nor justice which Jesus emphasized in Mt. 6:33.
Jesu made two fundamental points about the kingdom; the requirement of repentance before one could enter the kingdom, and two, justice, Jubilee justice for the oppressed poor is at the heart of his kingdom.
Next a few quotations from the Faith in Action Study Bible based on the Zondervan NIV Bible:
1. page 1618: "Matthew showed the depths of Judas's remorse but he stopped short of saying he repented. The word "remorse" (metamelomai) is different from the normal word for repentance (metamoeo). Repentance is a change of heart. Remorse, a weaker emotion means feeling regret. Had Jesus truly repented, he would have been impelled to seek forgiveness from God. Instead, he turned to the chief priests and elders."
"Paul differentiated between repentance and mere remorse. Why would Paul say (2 Cor. 7:10) that remorse (worldly sorrow) is lethal? Because it is self-center sorrow over sin's consequences---not God-centered sorrow over its evil."
2. page 1613: Mt. 25:31-46: "Love isn't a vague sentiment but a concrete action. And love in action is to be expressed not only towards our friends and family, but to the marginalized, suffering, and oppressed."
3. page 1612: Millard Fuller on Habitat for Humanity, a concrete modern day example of the kingdom of God. "When my wife, Linda, and I joined Koinonia Farm, a small Christian community in America's deep South, we looked around and saw many 'strangers' living in abhorrent conditions. The Holy Spirit set us to work building houses in partnership with people on the margins of society, the edges of hopelessness. Habitat for Humanity, a movement to eliminate the disgrace of substandard housing, was born from the sweat of our brows and the passion of our prayers." And from the truth of Mt. 25:31-46.
More on the absolute necessity for repentance; the translation I am using is The Message.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all highlight the importance of repentance as a requirement before a person can enter the kingdom. And biblical repentance requires fruit---in some cases, restitution. Restitution is needed in order to repair the damage done by oppression. Without repentance, any talk about justice is a joke or has limited effectiveness. Repent of your superiority and privilege.
First, Matthew. Most of chapter 3 is about repentance. John the Baptist begins his blunt and austere message shouting: "Change your life [repent]. God's kingdom is hear." Then he quotes Isaiah: "Prepare for God's arrival [repent]" When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized, John exploded: "Brood of snakes! . . . It's your life that must change, not your skin. . . . I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life." In chapter 4, Jesus echoed John's message: "Change your life. God's kingdom is here."
Next, Mark. Immediately, in chapter one, Mark calls for repentance, again quoting Isaiah: "Prepare for God's arrival. . . . Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message."
Finally, Luke. Luke 3, again from Isaiah, the call for repentance, "Prepare for God's arrival." Then a detailed description of the demands of genuine repentance. "What are we supposed to do?" Noble interpretation: reject materialism, live simply, extreme generosity, stop all forms of economic oppression immediately; this is REQUIRED before you can become a citizen of the kingdom of God.
In Luke 4:18-30, Jesus gives us a mission statement for the kingdom of God. First, repent of two social evils, economic oppression and religiously based ethnocentrism. Then and only then will you be a fit messenger of the kingdom who can bring genuine good news to the poor, genuine and full release of the oppressed poor, be genuine incarnators of Jubilee justice which can release the oppressed.
Now back to Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount. The dual themes of the Sermon on the Mount are the kingdom and justice. 6:33 (NEB) "Set your mind on God's kingdom and his justice above everything else." Give your highest priority to a Jubilee justice that releases the oppressed poor.
The Beatitudes, Noble paraphrase: Doing justice is the best way to bless the poor in spirit, those living in a spirit of despair. Do this even if doing Jubilee justice results in your own persecution. Not everybody will rejoice over the fact that you have released the oppressed poor, those who have had their spirits broken and crushed. Some of your persecutors actually make their living off exploiting the poor.
In doing this, you will fulfill the Law and the Prophets; the Law and the Prophets are built upon combining love and justice in behalf of the oppressed poor.
This brief survey of a few key scriptures shows that the NT is sharp and precise about the essence of the kingdom of God; the problem is the church doesn't have the courage to live out the message.
For part two on Theological Malpractice, see my next blog on a Modern Application.
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