I have my mirrors adjusted for my height. It is an environment arranged according to how you like it. What does kingdom mean? A kingdom is one's sphere of control.Ī kingdom is the place you have arranged to suit your purposes and your values. What are we to make of this collage of teachings? What does the phrase "kingdom of heaven" mean? If we are to pray the Lord's Prayer, by all means let us understand what he is saying. He said that the Pharisees shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces ( Matthew 23:13). Jesus said that a great reversal is coming: harlots and tax collectors will enter the kingdom before the Pharisees ( Matthew 21:31). He said that if your eye or hand prevents you from entering the kingdom, pluck it out or cut it off ( Mark 9:47). Before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples he would not drink or eat again with them until he does so in kingdom ( Mark 14:25). We should seek the kingdom first, and then worldly needs such as food and clothing will be given to us ( Matthew 6:33). Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven ( Matthew 7:21). He said the kingdom must be received as a child ( Mark 10:15). He said that the kingdom of heaven is hard for the rich to enter ( Mark 10:23-25). The kingdom of heaven is like yeast it permeates all, silently and pervasively.īesides using parables, Jesus also dropped comments here and there about the kingdom. (The kingdom has a funny economy, doesn't it?) The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed from a small beginning comes a great tree. He hired them at different times of day, but at the end of the day, he paid them all equally. The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who hired laborers to work in the fields. The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast wide it pulls in all sorts of fish, and the good fish must be separated from the bad. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field you would be wise to sell everything you own to buy that field to get the treasure. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a banquet and a great wedding feast the door will be closed on some. Instead, he told stories and used metaphors and similes in order to expand our understanding of the kingdom of God. Jesus didn't give us a bullet point summary of the kingdom. But the concept is a hard one to understand. It is mentioned dozens of times throughout the gospels. The kingdom of God was central to the teaching and mission of Jesus. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We pray that the kingdom of God may be expanded from heaven to earth, that his will be done here just as it is done there.
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