The Reality of the Kingdom of Heaven: After revealing the secrets of the Kingdom to his disciples, Jesus taught the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven through parables that could be understood by everyone. Thus the earlier charge of apparent partiality on God's side in hiding the secrets of the Kingdom from the people in general may be seen in the right perspective. For it was the disciples who were to teach the people and therefore they had to be instructed in the intricacies of the Kingdom, whereas the people only needed to know its reality to enter it. Hence, we have a few parables meant for all the people.
Forgiveness: The first parable of this kind was narrated by Jesus when Peter came forward with a sense of generosity and pride in forgiving the wrongdoer a few times asking a question. " Lord, how often am I to forgive my brother if he goes on wronging me? As many as seven times? Jesus replied, "I do not say seven times; I say seventy times seven" (Matthew 18: 21-22). It was an occasion for Jesus to teach his listeners how the Kingdom of Heaven should be thought of. The unmerciful servant who who was forgiven his huge debts by the king was unwilling to show a little mercy to his fellow-servant who owed him only a fraction of what he himself had been forgiven and therefore was severely punished by the King. "And that is how my Heavenly Father will deal with you , unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts" (Matthew, 18:35). Here no one can say that the parable is not understood or the real import of the same is hidden, since the message is clear and directly addressed to each one of us. No fake forgiveness will do as we are expected to forgive from our hearts the wrongdoer as many times as he or she wants us to forgive him or her. The reason for being so generous is that we have been forgiven a greater debt by God in ignoring all our sins. If we do it we are fit to go to heaven.
Position in Heaven: The first and the last in the Kingdom of Heaven will not be according to our criteria of justice as god's ways are different from man's (See Matthew. 16:23) and his justice surpasses all our sense of justice. "Thus will the last be first, and the first last" (Matthew, 20: 16). It is clear from this parable that the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is not just a continuation of its reality on earth. There will be upsets and upheavals unforeseen and unexpected by us and yet all of them will be in accordance with perfect justice. No one will be able to murmur or complain against God as we ourselves will acknowledge and accept the judgment of God without any reservation. The ultimate reason for the same is that as soon as we see God, we ourselves shall judge ourselves without the need of any other judgment! As long as we live here on earth we have opportunities to improve our chances in heaven if we work for the Kingdom without counting the costs.
Repentance: Everyone would agree that it is imperative to do the Will of God to go to heaven. The disagreement is on what constitutes doing the Will of God. In order to clarify this point, Jesus placed the case of two sons a man had who asked both of them , one by one, to go to his vineyard to work. The first one readily agreed to go but did not, while the second one refused and then changed his mind and went to the vineyard. "Which of these two did as his father wished? 'The second', they said" (Matthew, 21: 31). Repentance involves changing one's mind and desisting from doing evil, trying to do good. This is what the tax-gatherers and prostitutes did when John the Baptist preached. Therefore, they would enter the Kingdom of God ahead of others who did not believe him. Thus doing the Will of God consists in believing the Gospel and living in accordance with this belief.
No Complacency: Again the people are made to answer a question in the next parable about the vineyard owner who let it out to vine-growers and went abroad. "When the owner of the vineyard comes, how do you think he will deal with the tenants?" (Matthew, 21: 40). The response of the people was absolutely right and therefore Jesus pronounced his judgment in a solemn manner in Matthew 21: 43: "Therefore, I tell you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a nation that yields the proper fruit". It shows very clearly that there is no justification for complacency by the fact that we are called to the Kingdom as it is in God's power to take it away from us and give it to others who deserve it.
The Wedding-Feast: The next parable on the reality of the Kingdom is a beautiful example of how God is keen on our well-being and happiness. The parable is about a king who prepared a feast for his son's wedding. He had already invited selected guests to the wedding feast and when he sent his servants to summon them, they would not come. The king sent other servants with a description of the wonderful menu prepared for them that was ready and therefore implored them to come to the feast. "But they took no notice; one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the others seized the servants, attacked them brutally, and killed them. The king was furious, he sent troops to kill those murderers and set their town on fire. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding-feast is ready; but the guests I invited did not deserve the honor. Go out to the main thoroughfare, and invite everyone you can find to the wedding'. The servants went out into the streets, and collected all they could find, good and bad alike. So the hall was packed with guests" (Matthew, 22:5-10). (To be Contd).
Forgiveness: The first parable of this kind was narrated by Jesus when Peter came forward with a sense of generosity and pride in forgiving the wrongdoer a few times asking a question. " Lord, how often am I to forgive my brother if he goes on wronging me? As many as seven times? Jesus replied, "I do not say seven times; I say seventy times seven" (Matthew 18: 21-22). It was an occasion for Jesus to teach his listeners how the Kingdom of Heaven should be thought of. The unmerciful servant who who was forgiven his huge debts by the king was unwilling to show a little mercy to his fellow-servant who owed him only a fraction of what he himself had been forgiven and therefore was severely punished by the King. "And that is how my Heavenly Father will deal with you , unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts" (Matthew, 18:35). Here no one can say that the parable is not understood or the real import of the same is hidden, since the message is clear and directly addressed to each one of us. No fake forgiveness will do as we are expected to forgive from our hearts the wrongdoer as many times as he or she wants us to forgive him or her. The reason for being so generous is that we have been forgiven a greater debt by God in ignoring all our sins. If we do it we are fit to go to heaven.
Position in Heaven: The first and the last in the Kingdom of Heaven will not be according to our criteria of justice as god's ways are different from man's (See Matthew. 16:23) and his justice surpasses all our sense of justice. "Thus will the last be first, and the first last" (Matthew, 20: 16). It is clear from this parable that the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is not just a continuation of its reality on earth. There will be upsets and upheavals unforeseen and unexpected by us and yet all of them will be in accordance with perfect justice. No one will be able to murmur or complain against God as we ourselves will acknowledge and accept the judgment of God without any reservation. The ultimate reason for the same is that as soon as we see God, we ourselves shall judge ourselves without the need of any other judgment! As long as we live here on earth we have opportunities to improve our chances in heaven if we work for the Kingdom without counting the costs.
Repentance: Everyone would agree that it is imperative to do the Will of God to go to heaven. The disagreement is on what constitutes doing the Will of God. In order to clarify this point, Jesus placed the case of two sons a man had who asked both of them , one by one, to go to his vineyard to work. The first one readily agreed to go but did not, while the second one refused and then changed his mind and went to the vineyard. "Which of these two did as his father wished? 'The second', they said" (Matthew, 21: 31). Repentance involves changing one's mind and desisting from doing evil, trying to do good. This is what the tax-gatherers and prostitutes did when John the Baptist preached. Therefore, they would enter the Kingdom of God ahead of others who did not believe him. Thus doing the Will of God consists in believing the Gospel and living in accordance with this belief.
No Complacency: Again the people are made to answer a question in the next parable about the vineyard owner who let it out to vine-growers and went abroad. "When the owner of the vineyard comes, how do you think he will deal with the tenants?" (Matthew, 21: 40). The response of the people was absolutely right and therefore Jesus pronounced his judgment in a solemn manner in Matthew 21: 43: "Therefore, I tell you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a nation that yields the proper fruit". It shows very clearly that there is no justification for complacency by the fact that we are called to the Kingdom as it is in God's power to take it away from us and give it to others who deserve it.
The Wedding-Feast: The next parable on the reality of the Kingdom is a beautiful example of how God is keen on our well-being and happiness. The parable is about a king who prepared a feast for his son's wedding. He had already invited selected guests to the wedding feast and when he sent his servants to summon them, they would not come. The king sent other servants with a description of the wonderful menu prepared for them that was ready and therefore implored them to come to the feast. "But they took no notice; one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the others seized the servants, attacked them brutally, and killed them. The king was furious, he sent troops to kill those murderers and set their town on fire. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding-feast is ready; but the guests I invited did not deserve the honor. Go out to the main thoroughfare, and invite everyone you can find to the wedding'. The servants went out into the streets, and collected all they could find, good and bad alike. So the hall was packed with guests" (Matthew, 22:5-10). (To be Contd).
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