Nicodemus could not grasp what Jesus spoke about when he said one must be born again (or better from above) in order to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5). By the way, John quotes Jesus speaking about the kingdom of God only in this conversation. Beyond that, there is no mention of God's kingdom in John's Gospel.
A word about seeing as John uses it. In John's first chapter Philip invites Nathanael to come and see Jesus. So he does and when he comes Jesus tells him, "When you were under the fig tree, I saw you." This comment so impressed Nathanael that he at once declared Jesus to be the true Son of God and King of Israel, all because Jesus saw him under the fig tree. That, said Jesus, was a small thing compared to what Nathanael would one day see, namely heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:43-51).
Obviously seeing, in Jesus' usage, involves a lot more than seeing somebody standing under a fig tree with your eyes. One day Nathanael would see heaven opened and angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. That is an open allusion to Jacob's vision at Bethel as he fled from the wrath of his brother Esau. In his dream Jacob heard the LORD tell him that He is the God of Abraham and Jacob's father Isaac (Gen. 28:11-17). Jesus' point: one day Nathanael would gain insight and an inner conviction that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed that very LORD (YaHWeH), the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the children of Abraham. He would believe in his heart that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us in human flesh.
This is also what Jesus says to Nicodemus. Our God reigns. His throne is in heaven and He laughs at puny earthly kings who try to storm against Him to overthrow Him. Moreover, the LORD, has set His King on Zion and given him "the ends of the earth" as his possession. All earthly kings are wise to serve the LORD and His Son lest they kindle His wrath (Psalm 2:1-12).
But who is this King and how does He reign? N.T. writers and Jesus refer to Psalm 110:1-7, another of King David's psalms (Matthew 22:42-46). When His authority was challenged, Jesus pointed out that all Jewish teachers agreed that the Messiah or the Christ, the anointed one, would come from King David's lineage. "How is it then," asked Jesus, "that David, in the Spirit, calls his son (his descendant), his Lord?" Further, this Lord is given all authority in heaven and earth, because he sits at the LORD God's right hand and is declared by the LORD to be an eternal priest after the order of Melchizedek.
These are but two of the many, many references in John's Gospel to the divinity of Jesus, God's Son, the One with all authority in heaven and earth, the One who is the Word made flesh (John 1:1-14). Those who receive Him, John writes, are children of God, new born or reborn, not by human decision or human flesh, but born of God. This new birth is God's doing. It is He who gives the reborn their rights and high
status as children of God (John 1:12-13). So this is what Jesus refers to when he tells Nicodemus,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - Jhn 3:5-6 ESVI do so pray that you are not getting into water too deep for you, for there is much, much deeper water yet to come. We shall have to talk about water and the Spirit next time.
Interesting that John does not have much in his Gospel about "kingdom".
ReplyDeletewhereas Matthew has 56 references, Mark has 21, and Luke has 46.
Then there are references also to "king", some of them referring to earthly kings. What do you think of what I sense in reading a few books in which some scholars emphasize a "kingdom theology"? Especially the latest by N.T. Wright, who often speaks of Jesus asking us to pray that "His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven"? This emphasis by some theologians seems to deemphasize the Anselmic theology, and Scriptural emphasis, of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection as the susbstitutionary work for sinners and our salvation. Luther puts Jesus' words, on His teaching what we call The Lord's Prayer, in two separate petitions: 1. thy kingdom come and 2. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Wright, McLaren, and others seem to combine the two as though it is: "Your will AND Your kingdom be done on earth as it is in heaven", and emphasizing the "kingdom" aspect. Some of the practical aspects which they propose are the Christian's obligation to help the poor, and protect the environment (God's creation), protest against war, etc. Those are indeed good works of sanctification, if done out of faith in the Risen Savior Jesus, but are we to build a "visible kingdom of Jesus" on earth, or the one which is"invisible" where through the Gospel the Spirit brings faith in the hearts and lives of people, a faith which only God sees, but is exhibited in Biblical works of love toward all people, especially to those of the household of faith? ....... H.A.H.
You ask three questions, all related to the Kingdom of God. You lift up the ongoing confusion about the nature of that kingdom and the contrast between the two major Reformation theologies, e.g. Luther and Calvin. Methinks, my brother, that thou are trying to cause trouble here. . . N.T. Wright seems to be closer to Luther than most Anglicans. Why, he even seems to take the NT seriously most of the time, which is more than many Episcopalians in the U.S. seem to be doing. If you are joining Brian McLaren and the Emerging Church movement, then I'm positive thou art wanting to muddy the water. Who can really tell what these boys mean? They seem to be going in any direction other than that in which the church has historically gone. Above all, avoid systematics!
ReplyDeleteAll in all, It still seems important that the historical Lutheran distinction between the kingdom of God's right hand (Word and Sacraments) and the kingdom of God's left (power and reason) needs to be emphasized. In Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus we see that confusion in the Sanhedrin. As a result Nick-at-night and those he represented seem to want Jesus to see that they were on his side, especially if he was on the road to restoring David's left-hand kingdom. After all, Nick at company believed God was with him, i.e. the signs were all there. And yet these guys didn't "see" the kingdom at all!