Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would presuppose an intimate awareness of the what, how and why of his Gospel. We shall treat in this Section about what Jesus preached , followed by Sections on the methods and rationale used by him.
What did Jesus Preach? : Anyone who has read the Gospels will know that The Kingdom of God was what Jesus preached. While the Gospels according to Mark, Luke and John refer to Kingdom of God, Matthew in his Gospel mentions the Kingdom of Heaven. Although both of them express the same reality, Matthew did not want to offend the sensibilities of the Jews who called upon God without naming Him. Matthew's Gospel was written between A.D. 70 and 80 for those who became Christians from among the Palestinian Jews. Therefore, the term 'God' was replaced with 'Heaven'. However, when the context required Matthew did not hesitate to use 'God' as we see in Matthew 6: 33. It is to be noted here that the Christians were not bound by the Old Testament concept of God as Yahweh since they were taught by Jesus Christ how to call God their Father.
Matthew reports in identical terms the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus when it concerned the Kingdom of God. "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you" (Matthew, 3: 2; 4: 17). Does it mean that both of them preached the same reality? The answer should be "yes" and "no" in as far as both of them were pointing in the same direction and yet in a vastly different manner. The one thing the Jews were earnestly expecting was the coming of the kingdom with the arrival of the promised Messiah who will deliver them free from all kinds of oppression and slavery. Both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed that the promised kingdom was already at hand and in order to enter into it one only had to repent and return to God's ways. Where they differed was in the manner in which it was to be accomplished and the intensity of the reality promised by them. John the Baptist was only preparing the way and stood at the threshold of the Old testament summing it up in his own personality. The reality of the Kingdom envisaged by the Baptist could not break loose from the clutches of the Old Testament vision of God, the world, sin, repentance, Kingdom, etc. He was the perfect fore-runner and announcer of the one whose shoes he was unfit to take off (See Matthew, 3: 11). Therefore, in spite of the identical terms used by both Jesus and the Baptist, they could not have meant entirely the same thing.
The difference in meaning implying the superiority of the announcement by Jesus of the Kingdom of God must be understood from the richness of his personality and mission entrusted to him by God the Father Himself. He never said or did anything except what he saw the Father doing (See John, 5: 19;8: 28). His preaching was corroborated by his actions and above all by his death and resurrection. The reality of the Kingdom was to dawn on all those who believed in him through all his words and actions replete with meanings that could not be contained in the mere pronouncements of even John the Baptist who paid with his life for what he believed. Thus the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus was the Good News meant for all those who believe in him. The different shades of meaning of the Kingdom may be seen in the Gospels if we look at the preaching of the Baptist and Jesus himself.
The Kingdom of God: The sole function of John the Baptist was to point out the person of Jesus from among the people. In so far as he succeeded in correctly identifying the one who was to come after him and yet was already before him, John fulfilled his task as was expected of him. He could not have known the implications of the reality of the Kingdom eagerly awaited by all the Jews as he could not be a witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus. The paschal mystery of Jesus was an essential ingredient of the reality of the Kingdom of God that was beyond the scope of the mission of John the Baptist. Although he testified about Jesus and directed everyone including his own disciples to him, John was a little apprehensive about the direction the public ministry of Jesus eventually took. That is why he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him directly whether he was the one to come or whether they should wait for someone else (See Luke, 7: 20). The reluctance of some Bible scholars in admitting that the Baptist could doubt the role of Jesus has forced them to invent theories about the doubts of his disciples about Jesus to clear which he sent them to him. John the Baptist who baptized Jesus and bore witness to him as the lamb of God did so at the command of one who sent him. Later when he was imprisoned and the news about the activity of Jesus reached him, he could not easily connect those activities and the direction they took to the cross with his notions of the Kingdom totally derived from the Old Testament as understood by the Jews of the times. The Baptist had already accomplished his mission and had given way to Jesus and therefore the only thing remaining for him to be happy was not to find Jesus a stumbling-block (See Luke, 7: 23). (To be Contd).
What did Jesus Preach? : Anyone who has read the Gospels will know that The Kingdom of God was what Jesus preached. While the Gospels according to Mark, Luke and John refer to Kingdom of God, Matthew in his Gospel mentions the Kingdom of Heaven. Although both of them express the same reality, Matthew did not want to offend the sensibilities of the Jews who called upon God without naming Him. Matthew's Gospel was written between A.D. 70 and 80 for those who became Christians from among the Palestinian Jews. Therefore, the term 'God' was replaced with 'Heaven'. However, when the context required Matthew did not hesitate to use 'God' as we see in Matthew 6: 33. It is to be noted here that the Christians were not bound by the Old Testament concept of God as Yahweh since they were taught by Jesus Christ how to call God their Father.
Matthew reports in identical terms the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus when it concerned the Kingdom of God. "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you" (Matthew, 3: 2; 4: 17). Does it mean that both of them preached the same reality? The answer should be "yes" and "no" in as far as both of them were pointing in the same direction and yet in a vastly different manner. The one thing the Jews were earnestly expecting was the coming of the kingdom with the arrival of the promised Messiah who will deliver them free from all kinds of oppression and slavery. Both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed that the promised kingdom was already at hand and in order to enter into it one only had to repent and return to God's ways. Where they differed was in the manner in which it was to be accomplished and the intensity of the reality promised by them. John the Baptist was only preparing the way and stood at the threshold of the Old testament summing it up in his own personality. The reality of the Kingdom envisaged by the Baptist could not break loose from the clutches of the Old Testament vision of God, the world, sin, repentance, Kingdom, etc. He was the perfect fore-runner and announcer of the one whose shoes he was unfit to take off (See Matthew, 3: 11). Therefore, in spite of the identical terms used by both Jesus and the Baptist, they could not have meant entirely the same thing.
The difference in meaning implying the superiority of the announcement by Jesus of the Kingdom of God must be understood from the richness of his personality and mission entrusted to him by God the Father Himself. He never said or did anything except what he saw the Father doing (See John, 5: 19;8: 28). His preaching was corroborated by his actions and above all by his death and resurrection. The reality of the Kingdom was to dawn on all those who believed in him through all his words and actions replete with meanings that could not be contained in the mere pronouncements of even John the Baptist who paid with his life for what he believed. Thus the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus was the Good News meant for all those who believe in him. The different shades of meaning of the Kingdom may be seen in the Gospels if we look at the preaching of the Baptist and Jesus himself.
The Kingdom of God: The sole function of John the Baptist was to point out the person of Jesus from among the people. In so far as he succeeded in correctly identifying the one who was to come after him and yet was already before him, John fulfilled his task as was expected of him. He could not have known the implications of the reality of the Kingdom eagerly awaited by all the Jews as he could not be a witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus. The paschal mystery of Jesus was an essential ingredient of the reality of the Kingdom of God that was beyond the scope of the mission of John the Baptist. Although he testified about Jesus and directed everyone including his own disciples to him, John was a little apprehensive about the direction the public ministry of Jesus eventually took. That is why he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him directly whether he was the one to come or whether they should wait for someone else (See Luke, 7: 20). The reluctance of some Bible scholars in admitting that the Baptist could doubt the role of Jesus has forced them to invent theories about the doubts of his disciples about Jesus to clear which he sent them to him. John the Baptist who baptized Jesus and bore witness to him as the lamb of God did so at the command of one who sent him. Later when he was imprisoned and the news about the activity of Jesus reached him, he could not easily connect those activities and the direction they took to the cross with his notions of the Kingdom totally derived from the Old Testament as understood by the Jews of the times. The Baptist had already accomplished his mission and had given way to Jesus and therefore the only thing remaining for him to be happy was not to find Jesus a stumbling-block (See Luke, 7: 23). (To be Contd).
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