kingdom of god kingdom of heaven bible study notes

Kingdom of god kingdom of heaven bible study notes free#

This kingdom was political in nature and sought to free Israel from the Romans. According to this view Jesus sought to establish a Davidic-like kingdom in Jerusalem. They simply assumed that their hearers/readers would understand. One reason for this is that neither Jesus nor the Evangelists ever defined exactly what they meant by this expression. Various Interpretations Despite the centrality of this expression in Jesus' teachings, there has been a great deal of debate over the years as to exactly what Jesus meant by it. One such circumlocution was the term'heaven.' This is seen in the expression 'kingdom of heaven' but also in such passages as Luke 15:18, 21 ('Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you') and Mark 11:30. Due to respect for the third commandment ('You shall not misuse the name of the Lordyour God' ), pious Jews used various circumlocutions for the sacred name of God (YHWH) in order to avoid the danger of breaking this commandment. For one, the two expressions are used in the same sayings of Jesus, but where Matthew uses'kingdom of heaven, ' Mark or Luke or both use 'kingdom of God.'Second, Matthew himself uses these two expressions interchangeably in 19:23-24, 'itis hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' Finally, we know that 'heaven' was frequently used as a circumlocution for 'God' by devout Jews. It is now clear, however, that they are synonyms. It was once popular in certain circles to argue that the expressions 'kingdom of God' and 'kingdom of heaven' referred to two different realities. Matt 4:17 Luke 4:42-43 ) the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, 'your kingdom come' ( Matt 6:10 ) in the Beatitudes, 'for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' ( Matthew 5:3 Matthew 5:10 ) at the Last Supper, 'I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God' ( Mark 14:25 ) and in many of Jesus' parables ( Matthew 13:24 Matthew 13:44 Matthew 13:45 Matthew 13:47 Mark 4:26 Mark 4:30 Luke19:11 ). Repent and believe the good news!' ( Mark 1:15 cf. It is found in such key places as the preaching of John the Baptist, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near' ( Matt 3:2 ) Jesus' earliest announcement, 'The time has come The kingdom of God is near. Counting parallels to these passages, the expression occurs over eighty-five times. This expression is found in sixty-one separate sayings in the Synoptic Gospels. The heart of Jesus' teachings centers around the theme of the kingdom of God.

Kingdom of god kingdom of heaven bible study notes