Chapter 2: God's Kingdom in Person
Preparation for Preaching (p16)
"Jesus embodied the message of the divine kingdom before preaching it" (p16). The sublime mediator of God's Kingdom; "... unconditionally committed to the reign of God which was breaking into the world"; Luke 17:6; Matthew 7:7-12 prayer expresses dependence and trust; Luke 2:41-52 prefigures Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem (p17). Luke's conclusion of the Gospel in the Temple; Jesus' first words: "Did you not know that I must be in my father's house?"; Greek dei (must) 18 times in Luke, 22 in Acts (p18). Useful lists of occupations in preaching content (p19). The transition of Jesus' baptism (p20).
The Joy of The Kingdom (p20)
The Kingdom present (Matthew 12:28; Luke 17:20) and future (Mark 1:15; Matthew 6:10); "'The Kingdom' was tantamount to talking of God as the Lord of this world, whose decisive intervention would liberate sinful men and women from the grip of evil and give them a new, final and lasting age of salvation"; the joyful time of salvation (p21). [passage=Matthew 13:44-46; Mark 2:/1]7; The Kingdom of God is a reign of merciful love; the image of the feast; Luke's list of feasts (p21). The joy of return (Luke 10:17); Luke 10:23-24; outcasts; a doctor and his patients (Mark 2:17) (p22). Joyful response (p23).
The Kingdom in Person (p23)
Origen "The Kingdom in person) (auto-basileia) (p23) "It is quite implausible to argue that Jesus was oblivious of performing a messianic mission": this wording is oblique and the case he presents is weak - KC; beyond "sent" to "I came" or "I have come" and "I am"; Luke 13:34-35 confirms his coming and sending by the Father (p24). To be saved through The Kingdom was to be saved through Jesus; breaking family ties; "Who did Jesus think he was if he made such personal claims?"; performed mighty acts and preached on his own authority; put himself above oral and written Law (p25). forgiving sins (Mark 2:1-11; Luke 7:47-49; 15:1-2); eating a "natural sacrament"; John's baptism a temple alternative (p26). "... in proclaiming salvation through the present divine rule, Jesus claimed or at least implied a personal authority that can be described as setting himself on a par with God": again, rather an oblique and weak formulation - KC; the 'negative' evidence of suspicion of blasphemy; "Apparently he saw his ministry not only as embodying the climax of God's purposes for Israel (Mark 12) but also as involving his own uniquely authoritative rule for bringing others to share in the final kingdom"; "Knowing and naming God in a new way came through as a striking feature of Jesus' message of The Kingdom" (p27). Lists of God's name in OT: YHWH approx 6800; "King" most frequent, "father" fewer than 20 (p28).
The Trinitarian Face of The Kingdom (p28)
"Wildly anachronistic" to look for Trinitarian doctrine in Gospels, particularly synoptics; but there are hints (p28).
The Baptism (p28)
A kind of Trinity (Mark 1:9-11; Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34); does not repeat the pattern of: Exodus 3:1-4.27; Isaiah 6:13; Jeremiah 1:4-19; Ezekiel 1:1-3.27) (p29). Baptism in Mark: "functioned to reveal the identity of Jesus (as approved from heaven in the state of being God's beloved son), to tell of his consecration for his mission, to introduce his public activity, and to indicate the form that activity will take (as witnessing to the Father and being empowered by the Spirit)"; relates to Mark 15:38; baptism in the Spirit; and with fire (p30).
The Spirit (p31)
"Jesus never unambiguously pointed to his deeds as signs of the Spirit's power" (p31). Jesus prays to Abba not the Spirit; Aquinas and the Transfiguration (p32).
The Sonship of Jesus (p32)
In the Synoptics, Jesus understood his relationship to God as sonship; Jesus speaks of himself as "the son" but not "the son of God"; strong claims, weak evidence - KC; the murdered son (Mark 12:1-12) (p33). Jesus applied the language of divine sonship individually (to himself), filling it with a meaning that lifted 'Son (of God)' beyond the level of his merely being either a man made like Adam in the divine image (Luke 3:38), or someone perfectly sensitive to the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1; 1:14; 1:18), or someone bringing God's peace (Luke 2:14; 10:5-6) albeit in his own way (Matthew 10.34), or even as the Davidic King (Luke 1:32) who would in some way restore the Kingdom of Israel" a very odd and weak formulation - KC; clarifies the charge of blasphemy (p36). A much stronger case in John - KC (p37).