What exactly did Jesus mean when he said “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near?” Jesus didn’t “measure” time. When Jesus spoke of time he was referring to the “tenor” of the times or the characteristics of the times, not hours or minutes. Like other prophets, he told his people that a future event, or eschaton, would change the essence of their lives or times and cause a complete break from past times. This world changing event could be seen in the signs of the times.
The Kingdom of God is that future event. Jesus read the signs in his life to believe the Kingdom of God was near. His work and the work of his disciples were actually changing the world order. They were helping the poor and oppressed. He was curing the blind and raising the dead. These successes were the signs of the time that God was working through Jesus and that God was now a benevolent God who wanted to save his people, not punish them. The Kingdom of God, a kingdom where the poor and oppressed are liberated from suffering, is the new time that Jesus predicted. Like the words of Bob Dylan, when Jesus prophesized “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near” he meant the “times they are a changing.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItPz7f-k-dE&feature=related
Jesus’s sermons on the Kingdom of God led to his trial and death. The Romans charged him with the crime of claiming to be the Messiah or King of the Jews. A Roman court, presided over by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate sentenced him to death for this crime. In reality, Pilate was a ruthless official who stamped out any popular movement that sought change because he viewed such movements as potential rebellions and threats to Roman rule. He feared Jesus was a rebel so he sentenced him to die. Jewish officials, however, were also guilty in Jesus’s death. They collaborated with Rome by handing Jesus over to the Romans to be tried. The high priest, Caiaphas, argued that Jesus should be sacrificed to prevent the Romans from destroying the Jewish nation out of fear of the new “kingdom” Jesus promised. Jesus did not defend himself against the accusations and his silence put thosed who judged and betrayed him on trial. All were guilty. Pilate was guilty of not caring about the truth of the accusations against Jesus and Caiaphas, the scribes and the Pharisees were guilty of not accepting Jesus’s words and believing in the Kingdom of God. Jesus died, but unlike those who accused and betrayed him, he “survived” because of his faith in God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-lp0E0mkIE
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Dear CH, Kathy, and Alec,
ReplyDeleteI recently read your analysis of what Jesus meant when He discussed time. I must applaud you for your insightful interpretation. It helped me understand a different perspective of Catholic teaching. I knew Jesus said that the Hour of the Lord is near, but I never thought that the approach of the Second Coming could be seen in the changes of the times. Is that what you are suggesting? If so, how does that affect the Biblical teaching that it is impossible to predict the coming of the Lord?
Your review of the trial and conviction of Jesus was also very enlightening. I never noticed the irony in that throughout the trial, the one person truly innocent in the eyes of God was the one person to be convicted of a crime. However, there is one part of your analysis that confuses me. When explaining how everyone who judged Jesus was, in essence, put on trial and convicted, you said that Pilate was guilty of not caring about the truth of the accusations against Jesus and Caiaphas. First of all, please clarify what it is exactly of which Caiaphas is accused. Secondly, if I remember correctly, Jesus was convicted of blasphemy. Jesus is truly innocent of this crime because He is in fact the Son of God. And as for the threat of a Hebrew revolt, Jesus never had any intentions of leading or supporting any such revolution. Therefore, how can there be any truth behind the accusations brought against Jesus? Thank you for your time and patience, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Michael Marren, from the group Holyleemarren
Koz, I think it was a great way to end your post. It is true that Jesus died, but as the book puts it, everyone else was put to the test that day. Jesus was deserted by all his disciples and all of his followers. He suffered the most physical pain that day, but he was the only one who did not fail his test. The interesting thing about this chapter is that it shows a timeless theme of Government corruption. The most powerful men in this chapter are the least moral characters. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteTBIZZLe (Tommy Belton)