Edgework

If we intend to read the Bible through the lens of Christ, as I have suggested me must, then it is imperative that we focus our attention on the central message Jesus proclaimed. To me that seems to be a reasonable move but it is surprising how often the heart of that message is missed. The way some people talk, one would expect Jesus’ manifesto should go something like this: “Well, here I am. I have come to die on behalf of you all so that when you die you can go to heaven to live in glory instead of languishing in the torments of hell forever. So let’s get things moving to get me killed.”

But according to the synoptic gospels, Jesus enters the public arena in Palestine with the announcement that the Kingdom of God (Heaven) is near. “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). In their book, The Lost Message of Jesus (2003), Steve Chalke and Alan Mann paraphrase this declaration as follows: “The Kingdom, the in-breaking shalom of God, is available now to everyone through me” (16). There is no mention of life beyond the grave, but a clear invitation to join the Kingdom movement Jesus is spearheading – right here and now.

Much of what follows in these gospel accounts serves to flesh out what Jesus meant by this message. By his parables, Jesus gives hints of what life in the Kingdom is like; there is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” as Paul writes about it later in Romans 14:17. The signs and wonders he performs are dramatic enactments of the message of the Kingdom. As Brian D. McLaren says in his book, The Secret Message of Jesus (2006), “They combine to signify that the impossible is about to become possible: the Kingdom of God – with its peace, healing, sanity, empowerment, and freedom – is available to all, here and now” (59). And by his confrontation with political and religious power structures he draws out and exposes the fact that for the most part they are antithetical to the Kingdom of God.

It is interesting to note that John uses the term, “the Kingdom of God” only twice. McLaren states that, “Most commonly, John’s translation of Jesus’ original phrase is rendered, ‘eternal life’ in English. Unfortunately, the phrase ‘eternal life’ is often misinterpreted to mean ‘life in heaven after you die’ – as are ‘Kingdom of God and its synonym, ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ – so I think we need to find a better rendering” (36). Sometimes John simply uses the phrase “life” or “life to the full.” Literally the phrase could be translated as “life of the ages” as contrasted to life the way it was being lived by most people. In other words, he is referring to the quality of life inherent in the Kingdom of God. In John 17:3, Jesus says, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” That is the kind of relational dynamic that one would expect to be happening in the Kingdom of God.

It seems that it has been rather easy for moderns living in democratic societies to pass over the concept of a “kingdom” because we don’t generally think in such terms. McLaren suggests that we should be free to think of modern equivalents which would resonate better with our context. For example, we could use terms like: The Dream of God, The Revolution of God, The Mission of God, The Party of God, The Network of God, The Dance of God, etc. (138). In any case, an honest reading of the gospels does not allow us to ignore the ever-present concept of the kingdom to which Jesus is calling human kind.

And yet much of Christianity has defined the gospel of Christ as basically informing us how to be saved from eternal damnation at the point of death by believing the truth about Jesus death for us. This has served to make any talk about the Kingdom of God secondary to this central message. Somewhere along the way we began calling disciples or followers of Jesus “believers.” I believe so I can be saved. See what I can get out of it? Of course it would be incorrect to say that the gospel has nothing to do with life after death. Various texts throughout the gospels and New Testament epistles assure us that those who turn from their sins and follow Jesus in his kingdom way will not be abandoned at the point of death. But that is a secondary or subsidiary point. The central message of the gospel is to join Jesus in the way of the Kingdom and he will take care of the rest – both in life and beyond.

In his book, Your Church is Too Safe (2012), Mark Buchanan states, “You can’t be a disciple without being a believer. But – here’s the rub – you can be a believer and not a disciple. You can say all the right things, think all the right things, believe all the right things, do all the right things, and still not follow and imitate Jesus…The kingdom is full of disciples, but our churches are filled with believers. It’s no wonder we often feel like we are just going in circles” (60).

Our collective phobia about talking about the Kingdom of God is partly rooted in the fact that Christian liberalism of the 20th century basically high-jacked the term and turned it into a do-gooder, utopian dream that was bound to fail, as it did. It is time for evangelicals to reclaim the invitation to join the Kingdom as foundational to a dynamic, renewing and empowering gospel that calls for radical repentance, life in the kingdom way, and a trust that our King will not abandon us even in death.