Jesus Preached to Establish God's Kingdom on Earth: We have already seen in the Second Section under the title 'The Content of Gospel Proclamation' in this Study various aspects about the Kingdom of God. Here we must see the particular role of the preaching of Jesus vis-a-vis the establishment of God's kingdom on earth urging us to proclaim the Gospel for the same purpose. It is important to get rid of our preconceived ideas about Kingdom of God, Gospel Proclamation, etc., in order to come to the correct understanding of those issues propounded by Jesus himself. The best example of a failure in understanding the nature of God's Kingdom can be seen from its rejection by the Jews of the time of Jesus. Their understanding of the Kingdom was colored by political domination of all others including the Romans who were to be driven out, if required, by force. Jesus did not subscribe to this view as his Kingdom did not belong to this world (See John, 18: 36). Similarly, the best example of a failure in understanding the nature of Gospel Proclamation can be seen in the Church's understanding of it as a propaganda that has been corrected by the Second Vatican Council.
Preaching from the Cross: The greatest moment of the preaching of Jesus is to be seen on the cross from where he attracts people to himself who can read the inscription over his head that he is the King of the Jews. "Jesus replied, 'This voice spoke for your sake, not mine. Now is the hour of judgment for this world; now shall the prince of this world be driven out. And I shall draw all men to myself, when I am lifted up from the earth'. This he said to indicate the kind of death he was to die" (John, 12: 30-33). The great mission of Jesus was to defeat definitively and drive out the prince of this world, Satan himself, in such a way that the world would be free to be ruled by God Himself. Jesus did it by dying on the cross in complete submission to the Will of his Father that he was raised from the dead. As a result, the body of Jesus was fully soaked in the power of the Holy Spirit whereby the Kingdom of God was inaugurated. We are called to share in this and preach this Gospel to the whole world.
Jesus preached silently from the cross that turned out to be most eloquent down through the past twenty centuries. It started with the centurion, who was the leader of the soldiers who crucified Jesus, by his confession of the divinity of Jesus. The criminal crucified on the right side of Jesus was so impressed that he had no hesitation in praying to Jesus to remember him when he comes in his Kingdom. Immediate and definitive was the reply of Jesus: "I tell you this: today you shall be with me in paradise" (Luke, 23: 43).
The Scope of God's Kingdom: However, the most interesting individual who was bewitched by the magnetic personality of Jesus, a prisoner accused as the King of the Jews, was none other than the Roman Prefect of Palestine of the time, Pontius Pilate. His imperial ways as the representative of the Roman Emperor did not impress Jesus as was evident in a counter question to the very first query posed by Pilate "Are you the King of the Jews?" "Jesus said, 'Is that your own idea, or have others suggested it to you?" (John, 18: 34). Pilate was taken aback by the boldness and indifference of this prisoner who was completely at his mercy and yet was unconcerned about his own safety defying all laws of survival techniques. Pilate did not forget to remind Jesus that he was not a Jew and as such he could be an impartial Judge although his own Nation and the chief priests had handed him over to him. So he asked Jesus a straight and simple question about what he had done to deserve this. "Jesus replied, 'My Kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, my followers would be fighting to save me from arrest by the Jews. My kingly authority comes from elsewhere'" (John, 18: 36). Evidently, then, Jesus affirmed his Kingship and referred to his Kingdom so much so that Pilate was forced to confirm it by a sarcastic question like "You are a King, then?" In answer Jesus called for an analysis of language of Pilate saying that the word "King" as used by him could never reveal its connection with truth to bear witness to which was his sole mission. The final remark of Jesus that all those who are not deaf to truth listen to his voice, so to say, completely paralyzed the precocious Pilate who tried to recover from the shock by asking a truly relevant question "What is truth?" without waiting for an answer.
The way Jesus claimed his Kingship was not at all objectionable to Pilate who was only concerned with the governance and kingship in this world. He wanted to release Jesus after flogging and the soldiers added a crown of thorns as their share of the proceedings along with a purple cloak as signs of mockery for this strange king. Pilate wanted to win over the sympathy of the Jews for Jesus by presenting him in his miserable condition before them. So the Jews adopted a religious issue as the bone of contention accusing Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God.
Confusion of Pilate: For the first time Pilate was shaken with fear as he had heard about the claim of being the Son of God by Jesus who had told him about the source of his Kingship to be from elsewhere and its connection with truth. Pilate was in a hurry to know from where Jesus had come to which silence was the answer. His refusal to speak to him provided Pilate with an opportunity to remind Jesus about the kind of authority he wielded stretching as far as to release him or to crucify him. Since all authority comes from God, Jesus acknowledged Pilate's authority over him that was, however, going to be infructuous as he was not in a position to use his authority freely. He was merely an instrument in the hands of God just like the man who betrayed him although they themselves turned out to be such pathetic instruments because of their lust for power or that for money!
By then Pilate was in a real dilemma sensing which the Jews brought the political issue of Kingship again into the picture. They reminded Pilate that releasing a man who claimed to be King is an act of enmity to Caesar. Therefore, before pronouncing his judgment Pilate made a last attempt to save Jesus from the hatred of the Jews by presenting him before them as their King. To their demand to crucify him, Pilate expressed surprise about crucifying their King. A this juncture the Jews decisively capitulated to the secret desire of the Romans foregoing their continuous struggle for independence and self-governance by publicly declaring that they had no king but Caesar. Thus the wrong notions of Kingship and Kingdom entertained by the Jews culminated in inviting upon themselves a yoke of Roman slavery that was to destroy the very foundations of their Nation! Pilate added a note of confusion among the Jewish authorities by his inscription put up on the cross of Jesus saying "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (John, 19: 19).
The New Order: The final outcome of the Kingdom of God preached by Jesus is seen in the Book of Revelation where we are told that the first heaven and the first earth had vanished and there was no longer any sea. The new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God like a bride adorned for her husband. "I heard a loud voice proclaiming from the throne: 'Now at last God has his dwelling among men! He will dwell among them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes; there shall be an end to death and to mourning and crying and pain; for the old order has passed away!' " (Revelation, 21: 3-4).
Preaching from the Cross: The greatest moment of the preaching of Jesus is to be seen on the cross from where he attracts people to himself who can read the inscription over his head that he is the King of the Jews. "Jesus replied, 'This voice spoke for your sake, not mine. Now is the hour of judgment for this world; now shall the prince of this world be driven out. And I shall draw all men to myself, when I am lifted up from the earth'. This he said to indicate the kind of death he was to die" (John, 12: 30-33). The great mission of Jesus was to defeat definitively and drive out the prince of this world, Satan himself, in such a way that the world would be free to be ruled by God Himself. Jesus did it by dying on the cross in complete submission to the Will of his Father that he was raised from the dead. As a result, the body of Jesus was fully soaked in the power of the Holy Spirit whereby the Kingdom of God was inaugurated. We are called to share in this and preach this Gospel to the whole world.
Jesus preached silently from the cross that turned out to be most eloquent down through the past twenty centuries. It started with the centurion, who was the leader of the soldiers who crucified Jesus, by his confession of the divinity of Jesus. The criminal crucified on the right side of Jesus was so impressed that he had no hesitation in praying to Jesus to remember him when he comes in his Kingdom. Immediate and definitive was the reply of Jesus: "I tell you this: today you shall be with me in paradise" (Luke, 23: 43).
The Scope of God's Kingdom: However, the most interesting individual who was bewitched by the magnetic personality of Jesus, a prisoner accused as the King of the Jews, was none other than the Roman Prefect of Palestine of the time, Pontius Pilate. His imperial ways as the representative of the Roman Emperor did not impress Jesus as was evident in a counter question to the very first query posed by Pilate "Are you the King of the Jews?" "Jesus said, 'Is that your own idea, or have others suggested it to you?" (John, 18: 34). Pilate was taken aback by the boldness and indifference of this prisoner who was completely at his mercy and yet was unconcerned about his own safety defying all laws of survival techniques. Pilate did not forget to remind Jesus that he was not a Jew and as such he could be an impartial Judge although his own Nation and the chief priests had handed him over to him. So he asked Jesus a straight and simple question about what he had done to deserve this. "Jesus replied, 'My Kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, my followers would be fighting to save me from arrest by the Jews. My kingly authority comes from elsewhere'" (John, 18: 36). Evidently, then, Jesus affirmed his Kingship and referred to his Kingdom so much so that Pilate was forced to confirm it by a sarcastic question like "You are a King, then?" In answer Jesus called for an analysis of language of Pilate saying that the word "King" as used by him could never reveal its connection with truth to bear witness to which was his sole mission. The final remark of Jesus that all those who are not deaf to truth listen to his voice, so to say, completely paralyzed the precocious Pilate who tried to recover from the shock by asking a truly relevant question "What is truth?" without waiting for an answer.
The way Jesus claimed his Kingship was not at all objectionable to Pilate who was only concerned with the governance and kingship in this world. He wanted to release Jesus after flogging and the soldiers added a crown of thorns as their share of the proceedings along with a purple cloak as signs of mockery for this strange king. Pilate wanted to win over the sympathy of the Jews for Jesus by presenting him in his miserable condition before them. So the Jews adopted a religious issue as the bone of contention accusing Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God.
Confusion of Pilate: For the first time Pilate was shaken with fear as he had heard about the claim of being the Son of God by Jesus who had told him about the source of his Kingship to be from elsewhere and its connection with truth. Pilate was in a hurry to know from where Jesus had come to which silence was the answer. His refusal to speak to him provided Pilate with an opportunity to remind Jesus about the kind of authority he wielded stretching as far as to release him or to crucify him. Since all authority comes from God, Jesus acknowledged Pilate's authority over him that was, however, going to be infructuous as he was not in a position to use his authority freely. He was merely an instrument in the hands of God just like the man who betrayed him although they themselves turned out to be such pathetic instruments because of their lust for power or that for money!
By then Pilate was in a real dilemma sensing which the Jews brought the political issue of Kingship again into the picture. They reminded Pilate that releasing a man who claimed to be King is an act of enmity to Caesar. Therefore, before pronouncing his judgment Pilate made a last attempt to save Jesus from the hatred of the Jews by presenting him before them as their King. To their demand to crucify him, Pilate expressed surprise about crucifying their King. A this juncture the Jews decisively capitulated to the secret desire of the Romans foregoing their continuous struggle for independence and self-governance by publicly declaring that they had no king but Caesar. Thus the wrong notions of Kingship and Kingdom entertained by the Jews culminated in inviting upon themselves a yoke of Roman slavery that was to destroy the very foundations of their Nation! Pilate added a note of confusion among the Jewish authorities by his inscription put up on the cross of Jesus saying "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (John, 19: 19).
The New Order: The final outcome of the Kingdom of God preached by Jesus is seen in the Book of Revelation where we are told that the first heaven and the first earth had vanished and there was no longer any sea. The new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God like a bride adorned for her husband. "I heard a loud voice proclaiming from the throne: 'Now at last God has his dwelling among men! He will dwell among them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes; there shall be an end to death and to mourning and crying and pain; for the old order has passed away!' " (Revelation, 21: 3-4).
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