On Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter) Christians commemorate the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem. In describing the event, the Gospel authors appeal to Zechariah 9:9 (“Behold, your king is coming to you”) thus making clear the meaning of what’s going on: Jesus is the anticipated Messiah, the King of Israel, and he has now come to lay claim to his kingdom.
As it transpires, things don’t go as those celebrating his arrival expected. Jesus will indeed be enthroned, but only as a consequence of his death, resurrection, and ascension “to the right hand of God the Father Almighty” (Apostle’s Creed). Regardless, the scene is just one more element which speaks to the major theme of Jesus’ teaching: the Kingdom of God/Heaven with Christ himself as king.
I don’t say “the major theme” lightly. Throughout the Gospels, from start to finish, the Kingdom of God is portrayed as “the thing.” Consider: when John the Baptist announces the coming of Jesus he calls his listeners to “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) Jesus himself proclaims the same message (Matthew 4:17). When the Gospel authors give a summary of Jesus’ preaching they say he “preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 9:35, Mark 1:14, Luke 8:1) and this can be seen in the repeated mentions of the Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
Perhaps for us one of the most significant mentions of the Kingdom occurs in the Lord’s Prayer. Here Jesus taught us to pray for the coming of the Kingdom and, if the order of the Lord’s Prayer is anything to go by, it was intended to be our first priority. Yet despite the popularity of the Lord’s prayer, it’s possible that most of us pray it without really asking what it is we pray for. Certainly, it doesn’t seem to have led us to see the Kingdom of God as central to our thinking about Christian life and faith.
This lack of awareness of the centrality of the Kingdom to Jesus’ teaching is reflected in theological conversation. There simply hasn’t been, over the years, much in the way of serious reflection upon this theme. This fact isn’t all that obvious until one starts to notice the recent up-tick of interest inspired in no small part by attempts to give a more precise definition of “the Gospel.” Here authors like Tom Wright (How God Became King) and Scott McKnight (The King Jesus Gospel) provide examples of thinkers who find “the Kingdom of God” to be a more accurate summary of the Gospel message than those which focus solely on the themes of repentance and salvation.
There’s a very great deal that can be said about “the Kingdom of God” and why it’s superior to a narrow focus on repentance and salvation. The first is that it most certainly includes the message of repentance and salvation. In this respect there’s no rejection of this key element of the Gospel message. However, by talking of “the Kingdom” it becomes possible to see that more is required than simply entering the kingdom—one has to live as a citizen thereof. A focus on repentance and salvation doesn’t do much to make this later part clear. To speak of “the Kingdom” is to invite the question: how are we to live once we enter?
Perhaps another way to ask this question is: what form does the Kingdom take? Here there are two possible distortions. We can overstate the “physical”—in which case we might start to think we can bring about God’s Kingdom on earth by political, or even military, means. Or we can overstate the “spiritual”—in which case we might start to downplay, or even ignore, those “good works” which Jesus saw as so important and which he commanded us to do.
Here Jesus’ teaching that his Kingdom “is not of this world” can be misconstrued. It is, indeed, a reminder that his Kingdom is not like worldly kingdoms, with physical boundaries, a system of laws, and a method to enforce those laws. But it is more than that. It is a rejection of a “worldy” way of governance in which, even if oh so gently, people are coerced into obedience. Jesus uses no coercive tactics but seeks to win us over through his unfailing love and graciousness. From beginning to end his kingdom is one of humble and loving service of others, not the gathering of power and wealth to oneself.
Next time you pray the Lord’s Prayer may it be a reminder to us of Jesus’ proclamation of a Kingdom without violence, without coercion, in which the one rule is “love your neighbour as yourself.” May we all be reminded that this, first of all, is the thing for which Jesus taught us to pray.