Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.

4 Kingdom of God [1]

Code Number:

TH111E

Course Title:

"SEARCHING FOR GOD IN THE WORLD TODAY"

CHAPTER II:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, GODS DEFINITIVE AND

UNIQUE OFFER OF LIFE AND LOVE

2.4 Kingdom or Reign of God: The Core of Jesus Story in Words and Deed
(3 hours)

Introduction
In this lesson, we shall explain a key word that keeps coming up in our previous
lessons, and which was central to the life and mission of Jesus:

2.4 Kingdom or Reign of God: The Core of Jesus Story in

Word and Deed
Objective: After this lesson, the student is able to explain the mission of
Jesus of kingdom or reign of God and to relate this to our mission today
as followers of Jesus.
Before we do this, let us have a review of what weve taken up so far about Jesus of
Nazareth.
In our previous lessons, we gave answers to the question of Jesus, Who do you say
I am? From childhood to our present stage of life, we met different faces of Jesus through
our parents and teachers, as well as through our various personal experiences. Generally,
our images of Jesus are focused on two aspects of his life: his birth and his death. Our
religious festivities also concentrate on two moments: Christmas and the Holy Week.

Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.4 Kingdom of God [2]

But is that all who Jesus is the cute little baby and the suffering person on the
cross? We seem to jump too easily and quickly from beginning to end. There is a big gap
between the two moments, which remains unknown, obscure, or forgotten. And when we
are asked about the reason for Jesus coming to our world and the meaning of his death, we
find comfort in the familiar, simple one-line answer: to save us from our sins.
Our search for Jesus is not contented with such an approach of a
birth-and-death Jesus. We want to know more about his man from Nazareth, who God
has sent forth with a mission to our world.
We want to fill in the gap: who was Jesus between his birth and death, what did he
say and do, who is this man from Nazareth who lived and died for us, and why do we
claim that he is the bearer of Gods salvation? We tried to answer these questions in the
previous lessons.
First, we sketched the social world within which Jesus
of Nazareth was born, grew up, and did his work. His world
looks peaceful, but in fact many people were suffering from
poverty, injustice, and marginalization. Amidst and despite
the negative situation, people were hopeful for changes in
personal lives and in their society that were ruled by Jewish
elites and the Roman Empire conquerors. People longed that
the promise of God for fullness of life will be realized,
especially for the poor, the sick, the outcasts, and other
people who were set aside or pushed to the margins. That
promise of God was highly anticipated with the coming of
Spirit-filled persons, who in their past and tradition, stood in

Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.4 Kingdom of God [3]

the name of the God of justice and peace.

It is in this social context that Jesus was born to a poor rural
woman and a tekton. He grew up in Nazareth, a small, insignificant
barrio. We have no information what happened to him from the time
he was born and when he was baptized by John at the Jordan river.
The Gospel writers might not have heard about his boyhood and
adolescent years, or they found it not important as much as what Jesus
did when he was an adult. This absence of information has led many
people through the centuries to speculate about the hidden years of
Jesus. But that is what it is speculations.
However, we may also imagine that Jesus grew up as any rural boy, for any young
person for that matter: inquisitive, experimenting, sometimes with dull and sometimes
exciting everyday moments, and probably he went through crises of identity as many of
us do. In the end, whether we know or do not know what happened to him, all those years
are counted in the eyes of God, for as the Gospel of Luke puts it again, he grew in stature
and wisdom before God and people.
Hence, by the time Jesus was baptized by John, he walked the land filled with
Spirit and he understood his role: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach the good
news of liberation to the poor! We have described Jesus as a Spirit-filled person in
broad strokes:

1) Jesus is a Spirit-person with vision and mission from God,

who he called Abba.
2) Jesus is a healer and the bringer of Gods salvation from
God.
3) Jesus is a teacher of alternative wisdom, who subverts the
conventional way of thinking of people towards a radically
new world.
4) Jesus is a prophet of social justice based on the compassion
of God.

Let us now study the concept of Kingdom of God, which is at the core or center of
the words and deeds of Jesus. In fact, it is what defines the figure and meaning of Jesus.

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The Kingdom of God in the Old Testament

in Hebrew language (in the Old Testament) malkuth Yahweh

in Greek language (New Testament) baseleia tou theo
in English language kingdom or reign or rule of God
Pilipino:
pamamathalaan ng Diyos
pamamayani ng kagandahang-loob ni Bathala

It may be natural for us to ask where the kingdom of God is. We suspect that if
people are asked for answers, they would say that it is in heaven, above us; it is not of this
world. We think that Gods kingdom is the dwelling place of our God, to which we will go
when we die. To better understand what Jesus said and did about the kingdom of God, let
us first have a look at how it is described in the Old Testament, or how the Jews of his time
understood it within their Jewish tradition.
The Kingdom of God in the Old Testament:
1) as Gods saving power in the history of Israel
2) God as creator and ruler of the universe
3) the experience of the monarchy
4) the hope for Gods rule to end of evil

There are four strands or streams of understanding of the kingdom of God in the
Old Testament. Although the term, kingdom of God does not explicitly appear in the
Hebrew Bible, the reality that it refers to is integral to the Jewish faith.
1) As Gods saving power in the history of Israel For the Jews, God is not an
abstract philosophical idea but a God who is experienced in the ordinariness of life and in
the social events of their history as a people. It is a God
who hears their cries of pain and never abandons them.
The kingdom of God is a reality of life when God shows
His/Her acts of saving power on behalf of Israel.
Examples of events which they see as manifestations of
Gods kingdom are: deliverance from slavery in Egypt;
protection and guidance during the wilderness wandering;

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the forging of the covenant; the gift of the land; protection surrounding enemies;
establishment and continuation of the monarchy; the return from exile, and so forth. Some
of the metaphors used to express such Gods saving deeds are: for example: God as
Shepherd (Psalm 23), God as Goel or Redeemer (Isa. 44:6), God as Father (Jer. 3:19), God
as Mother (Isa. 49:15), God as Warrior (Ex. 15:3), and God as King.
2) God as creator and ruler of the universe - Acclamations or
praises of God as reigning in Israel, as well as over all nations and
the entire creation are abundant in the Jewish tradition. The
kingdom of God in this sense is the entire creation that God made
and He/She continues to govern, guide, nourish, and continue
creating. The Book of Psalms has many songs and prayers to the God
who is the creator and ruler of the universe. Open your bibles and
compare these psalms: Ps. 93: 1-2; Ps. 96: 1, 10; Ps. 97: 1-5, and Ps. 98 and 99: 1.
3) The experience of the monarchy - King and kingship are traceable to the
establishment of the monarchy, particularly in Israels experience of centralized
government, and under the leadership of Saul and David. The experience of the monarchy
provided the existential referent for a theology of Gods reign: like the ideal king, God was
the cohesive and identifying force of the people, protecting them from destruction,
sanctioning justice and befriending the weak and defenseless.

4) Hope for Gods rule to end evil - In the Old Testament (and for the New Testament as
well), the end is not about the end of the world at a
particular time in history. It is about the end of evil, suffering,
misery, and the transformation of earthly realities into the
Gods kingdom, where righteousness, justice, love, and peace
reign. Disappointment with the failure of monarchy after
David shaped the consciousness of the Jews of a renewed

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expectation of Gods definitive reign over Israel. For example, the prophet Jeremiah
foresees a new Davidic ruler, the messiah who will restore the fortunes of Judah (Jer. 23:56; also see, Isa. 43:14-21). Frustrated hopes for freedom and peace gave further impetus to
a dimension whereby what human failed to achieve, Gods own intervention will
accomplish.
These are the four traditions of the kingdom of God among the Jews. Jesus lived
in an environment where there was great expectation that God will transform the earth
into a reign of social justice; in the words of Amos, land, sovereignty, food, jobs, shelter,
education, and other necessities that make life more humane and the world a hospitable
place to live. In all these, God will rule. But as the Jews expected Gods kingdom to come,
there was a super-power that claimed itself as Gods kingdom the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire and the Kingdom of God

The history of the Jewish people was largely one of foreign rule (Egyptian, Syrian,
Babylonian, Persian, Greek), with only brief periods of
independence. The Palestine where Jesus lived in the first century
was a territory of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was one
of the greatest civilizations in history. But as one Jewish
philosopher points out: There is no history of civilization which is
not a history of barbarianism (Walter Benjamin). While the
Roman imperial rule sought to build an empire that was
economically prosperous and politically stable and controlled, it was at the expense of the
blood, sweat and tears of conquered people. Hunger, disease, slavery, and marginalization
marked the lives of ordinary people. The Palestine of Jesus was no different, as we have
seen in the previous topics of our course.

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The imperial rule used the strategy of accommodation through

the patronage system. Patrons, usually of positions of influence, like
politicians or people in big businesses, would take clients under
their influence. The client is usually at the receiving end of a favor
that he or she needed to acquire. The patron provides the clients with
advice, money, business opportunities, or representation in court. In
turn, clients would help to enhance their patrons status by providing
certain services, such as working on his patrons political campaigns,
appearing with his patron in public as part of a group of faithful
retainers, or using their specialized skills or training to enhance their
patrons status. This way, the relationship is one of a brokered
relationship that fostered dependency and subservience on the part
of the clients.
Caesar Augustus was the Roman emperor until his death in 14 CE. According to the
imperial cult, at his decease Augustus became god, while his stepson and successor,
Tiberius (14-37 CE), became the son of god. Earlier, Herod the Great (37 BCE 4 BCE),
Romes chosen leader in Palestine, not only had rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem on behalf
of the Jews but, in honor of the imperial cult, he erected three Augusteums or
monuments in honor of Augustus. These temples surrounded Galilee: one in Samaria;
another in Caesarea Maritima, on the Mediterranean coast; and in Omrit, near Iturea in
Northern Galilee. These monuments represent what a historian calls, Roman Imperial
Theology (John Dominic Crossan).
The dominance of the Roman Empire was advertised with poems and inscriptions,
coins and images, statues, altars, and structures. (If you will look around today, you see
billboards, tarpaulins, t-shirts, bags, stickers, barangay halls, schools and basketball courts
that bear the name of influential persons or politicians.) The building campaigns were not
possible without taxing the peoples of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea greatly; leaving the
majority in poverty. Not only were they required to pay taxes to the Empire, but they
continued to function as a temple-state and were also required to pay the tithes and
sacrifices of the Jewish religion.
At the left side is a picture of a coin. It bears the face of Emperor
Augustus and the title Son of God. Celebrated as a hero after the strife
of civil war, Augustus was considered the great source of peace for
Rome. Themes that would permeate his reign were: freedom, justice,
peace, and salvation. Whenever these great accomplishments were
proclaimed, the language used to describe the success of the emperor
was that of: good news or gospel; which is the Greek word

Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.4 Kingdom of God [8]

euangelion. Augustus, after defeating the enemies of Rome, was celebrated as a great
savior to the people who would have likely been hopeless had victory not been
achieved.
Through this propaganda, the Empire justified its
power and might throughout Rome and the conquered
territories. Imprints of the Roman imperial dominance were
all around the place; they conveyed the subtle but powerful
message of an empire-subject relationship, characterized by
superiority and inferiority, aggression and subservience,
supremacy and acquiescence. The monuments, other imperial
propaganda, and through the heavy tax-system, probably were deeply disturbing to the
devout Jewish inhabitants of Galilee.
As we have seen also in past lessons, the reactions of the Jews towards Roman
conquest were varied. The tension of the Jews under the dominion of Rome was
intensified not only by the brutality of Roman and Herodian rule but by the Jewish
conviction that the end time was about to occur. While the Sadducees focused on the
Temple and its services to please the Romans, the Pharisees focused on the Torah and
veered away from the pollutant Roman foreigners, the Essenes withdrew into monastic
communities to await the coming of Gods salvation, and the Zealots continued their
underground opposition.
Jesus, our man from Galilee, probably was not unaware of these realities as he was
growing up. By the year 27 or 28 CE, a monumental event occurred. Jesus of Nazareth,
having been baptized by John at Jordan river, boldly asserted using the familiar Roman
imperial language: The right time has come and the Kingdom of God is near! Repent and
believe the Good News. (Mark 1:15) Let us now see what Jesus meant in this biblical
passage.

Jesus and the Kingdom of God

Do you remember one of our activities last time about the best teacher who had
in your life? Maybe, you also remember one or two of the persons favorite expressions
whenever he or she teaches. Was it - Well You know Are you sure?... Ah or
any other expression? And when you with your classmates talk about this teacher outside
the class, perhaps you would copy or mimic his or her favorite phrases. Imagine years
later when you have a reunion; you would talk among yourselves about a particular
teacher and remember his or her favorite words. When these happen, it is highly probable
that those words or phrases belong to your teacher. In short, you identify your teacher
with what he or she said.

Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.4 Kingdom of God [9]

The same can be said of the words kingdom or reign of God. There is no word
that is so recurrent or repetitive in the New Testament other than the kingdom of God.
In most likelihood, it is a word-concept that Jesus himself used, like our teachers favorite
expression.

The term occurs more than 150

times in the NT, almost two-thirds
of these in the Synoptic Gospels
(including Matthews kingdom of
heaven, where heaven is a
euphemism for God)
Gospel of John refers to the reign of
God only twice (Jn. 3:3,5), although
other symbols are used, like
eternal life
Paul refers to the term some 10
times, usually with a strong futurist
sense.

Let us now go back to what Jesus said:

The right time has come and

the Kingdom of God is near!
Repent and believe the Good News.
(Mark 1:15)

First of all, Jesus did not clearly define the meaning of kingdom or reign of God;
not even the later New Testament writers gave a definition. The best we can say is, it is
less a concept than a symbol where its meaning is rich and not capable of being
exhausted by this or that definition or formulation. Yet, the meaning of the kingdom or
reign of God for Jesus can be drawn must from the overall character of the person of
Jesus, with his words and deeds. Although the word-concept was familiar to any Jews,
Jesus gave it a twist that made him distinct from his own tradition.

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In the passage we quoted, we can see immediately that Jesus used the phrase
kingdom of God. We have learned that this is very Jewish, but it seems Jesus was
saying something unique to his own understanding which was distinct from his Jewish
culture. Moreover, at a time when the Roman Empire saw itself as the kingdom of God,
Jesus words seem a direct confrontation against the empire by using the same slogan. We
also take notice that Jesus used another phrase, Good News or euangelion. We recall also
that the Roman emperors and their propagandists used this idea of euangelion to promote
their achievements and successes. But here, Jesus might have something different in mind
when he called people to repent and believe in the Good News.
Taking into consideration of his social context the Jewish culture and social
situation, and the Roman imperial rule we shall say a few words about the basic frame of
the message of Jesus, after which, we shall elaborate the values that are inherent in Jesus
proclamation of the kingdom of God.
Basic Frame of Jesus Message of the Kingdom of God
1)
2)
3)
4)

It is an event or experience, not a place.

It is a present and future reality.
It is dynamically active in the person of Jesus.
It calls for a change of life.

1) An Event or Experience, not a Place When Jesus speaks through the parables
and sayings about the kingdom of God, he is not talking about a territorial place. Rather, it
is about an event or an experience of Gods power and love breaking in through the lives
of people and in creation. Thats why the better English translation of the Hebrew malkuth
or malkuta and the Greek baseleia is reign or rule. The concept is dynamic or active; it
says that Gods presence is saving, transformative, or effective. People experience the
reign of God whenever they feel Gods compassion, forgiveness, mercy, justice,
creativeness, grace, solidarity, and so forth. For example, the parable of the Prodigal Son
speaks of God, whose love is unconditional, forgiving, accepting, and such love is to be
celebrated.
2. It is a present and future reality - The loving and saving presence of God can and
is experienced in here and now. The reign of God is taking place in the realities of our
everyday life and of our collective life as a people or community, as well as with other
beings in creation. For example, in Chapter 13 of Matthews Gospel, we read Jesus
speaking in parables about Gods power and love like a seed (verses 3-8), a wheat (verses
24-30), a tiny mustard seed (verses 31-32), a yeast (verse 33), a pearl (verses 45-46), or a net
(verses 47-50). The reign of God takes effect upon us, around us, infront and behind us,
above and below us here-and-now in our present life. Jesus manifests this present reality

Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.4 Kingdom of God [11]

of Gods reign in his healings (Lk 13:10-16; Jn 9:1-3; Mk. 1:23-28; 3:23-27; Lk. 11:20; Mt.
10:17), forgiveness (Mt. 18:23-25;Lk. 15:11-32; Mk. 2:7), and table-fellowship with the poor,
sick and outcasts (Mt. 11:18-19; Mk 7:15; Mk 2:18-22; Lk 7:34; 15:2).
The statement of Jesus in Lk. 17:21 is often mistranslated in English bibles and
misinterpreted by Christians today. The popular translation is, The kingdom of God is
within in you. The Greek word entos may mean within or among, but in the context
of the passage whereby Jesus was confronting the Pharisees, the correct translation is,
The kingdom of God is among you or in your midst. This means that for Jesus, Gods
presence is found among or in the midst of the Pharisees; he is referring to the poor, the
sick, outcasts, and marginalized people among or in the midst of the Pharisees; they
have neglected these people, but for Jesus, the reign of God is found among the least, the
last, and the lost.
Moreover, when Jesus says in his prayer, Your kingdom come (Mt. 6:10; Lk. 11:2),
it has the same meaning as Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The good news
of the kingdom of God is about the future state of affairs on earth and not in some outer
other-world. For Jesus, the kingdom of God is both a here-and-now and future reality.
Gods power is still coming to fullness or completion, transforming the earthly realities
into realities of God, where love, justice, and peace will blossom or flourish.
John, the author of the fourth gospel, uses the phrase eternal life for the
kingdom of God of the synoptic gospels. It speaks of living a life in the eternal, a life in
and with God now. For Johns Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels, God will change our
world; its completion is still to come, in the future, but it will surely come and it is starting
now as a present reality. The word completion or fullness connoted an action that is
already happening in the present. While Gods reign of love can be experienced personally
by each one of us, Jesus is also talking about in a social manner, in which the structures of
our societies and our relationship with one another, animals, and the natural world will
experience fully Gods compassion and justice.
Remember the world within which Jesus lived he was not nave to the hardships
that people were experiencing under the Jewish elites and the Roman imperial rule. The
message of Jesus is a political message he was, as a subversive teacher and offering an
alternative world or society (we shall discuss this in the next section).
3) The reign of God is dynamically present and active in the person of Jesus - All we
have saying so far points to Jesus the embodiment of Gods reign. Jesus was not referring
to Gods power as if it is outside him. As a Spirit-filled person, Jesus understands that his
whole being, his entire life, is Gods unique presence in the world. God is not only acting

Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.4 Kingdom of God [12]

through him, God is in him and with him. This is why Jesus can say, The right time has
come, the Kingdom of God is near! While the fullness of Gods mercy, love, forgiveness,
compassion, and justice are still to come, Jesus inaugurates, launches, unveils, reveals, and
unleashes it in and through his person, words and action.
Unlike the Gospel of John which presents Jesus as the truth, the way, the life, the
Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) do not represent Jesus as saying much about
himself. The object of the sayings and parables of Jesus is God. He is like saying, Here is a
story about the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan what would God say or do if
He/She were here? This was his declaration in the synagogue infront of the Pharisees
who questioned his authority: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me God now has a face,
body and flesh, a true human being Jesus of Nazareth. God is acting in and through
Jesus. For Jesus, he was not at the center of his words and deeds; he was inviting people to
experience a deeper reality: God.
While the Roman Kingdom boasted to have brought peace to all peoples (pax
Romana), Jesus challenged it with the claim that the true reign of God is near to people, in
their midst or among them: He is the personification of the God who truly cares for
people, especially the weak and the downtrodden. The Good News of salvation that the
Roman emperors bragged was being disputed by Jesus through his works of healing,
forgiveness, and table-fellowship. The good news was especially addressed to people who
bore the brunt of Roman exploitation in the passages of the gospel which we call the
beatitudes: Blessed are the poor, because yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you
who are hungry now, because you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now,
because you shall laugh (Lk. 6:20-21).
Jesus addressed his contemporaries the poor, hungry, miserable as the ones who
will be the principal beneficiaries of the reign of God. This is a strong message to the
Roman and Jewish authorities who thought that they are the creators of Gods kingdom.
Jesus turned the world upside down by taking the sides of the poor, hungry and
miserable. It is they who will be at the center of Gods reign of mercy and justice.
4) The reign of God calls for a change of life Repent and believe in the Good
News, Jesus says. The original Greek version of the gospels used the word metanoia,
which is translated in English as repent. Metanoia is related to being sorry for ones sin.
But the demand of Jesus is not simply to ask forgiveness, but to change ones whole way of
thinking, valuing, and acting. Metanoia or repent therefore, is to undergo a radical turnaround from sinful ways towards the ways of God. To repent is to assume a new
standpoint, a new way of looking and relating, a new way of life.

Theology I Chapter II: Topic 2.4 Kingdom of God [13]

To follow Jesus is to take up ones cross and follow him. What does it mean?
Today, we tend to interpret those words of Jesus as carrying our problems. The better
and correct understanding should be: to follow Jesus is to face the risks and dangers of
living out a new way of life for the sake of Gods reign. What Jesus requires from his
followers is to have a cause or reason larger than our preoccupations and self-interests.
Jesus is demanding his followers to seek the kingdom of God first, to find and act out
compassion, mercy, justice, and love, especially with and on behalf of the poor and those
afflicted in any way. Care for them and all things shall follow.
In which ways do we follow Jesus? This is now our next point and last section in
this lesson.

The Values of the Reign-of-God Movement

Let us recall our broad strokes of Jesus of Nazareth. To these four descriptions, we
will add a fifth one: Jesus as inaugurator of the Reign-of-God movement:

Profile of Jesus as a Spirit-filled Person:

1) Jesus is a Spirit-person with vision and mission from God, who he
called Abba.
2) Jesus is a healer and the bringer of Gods salvation from God.
3) Jesus is a teacher of alternative wisdom, who subverts the conventional
way of thinking of people towards a radically new world.
4) Jesus is a prophet of social justice based on the compassion of God.
5) Jesus is an inaugurator of the Reign-of-God movement.

You might ask, why reign-of-God movement. Historically, at the center of the life
of Jesus is the proclamation of the kingdom or reign of God. We said that this is what
defines his person and mission. He did his proclamation in words and deeds as a Jew and
within the Jewish-Roman society. He did not organize a sect within Judaism (like the
Essenes) and he did not establish a separate religion from Judaism. There was no
Christianity yet and no Roman Catholic Church; we must understand the works of Jesus
within his Jewish world. What he initiated was a renewal movement or a movement of
social transformation within the Jewish religious-cultural world. We can call this
movement Jesus movement, but because it was not the intention of Jesus to attract
people to himself but to God and His/Her reign, the best description is a reign-of-God
movement. This is also a good name to highlight the contrast to the Roman imperial rule.

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A. The Movement
There were several layers of people in Jesus reign-of-God movement. Think of a
circle with several layers of circles inside. At the outer layer, and biggest circle, are what
the bible refers to as multitudes and crowds. Lets call this Circle A. For instance, at
the event where people shared food in a barren place (we call this now multiplication of
the loaves), there were more than 5,000 people. This is the multitude. And there some
sizeable number of people who gathered around him when he visited villages; this is a
crowd. Among the multitude and crowd, many were poor and sick, as well as sinners
and outcasts.

The Reign-of-God Movement

multitude and crowd
friends of Jesus who
offered hospitality
close friends
of Jesus

disciples
(mathetai)

Inside the big circle is a layer of another circle or Circle B. This included the
relatives, friends and associates of Jesus who offered him hospitality. They were not able
to join Jesus in his travels, but would always offer their houses whenever Jesus wanted to
rest or to dine. Some of these people are named in the Gospels, like his mother, Mary, and
his siblings; the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus; we may also include Zaccheus, the
tax collector; the anonymous host for the last supper; and probably a few Pharisees who
believed him though they were silent (we know that after the death of Jesus, there were
Pharisees who were explicitly part of the movement; see Acts 15). They did not leave
home, but they supported Jesus and his group in whatever they can.
Then there is Circle C; the inner circle of friends who joined Jesus from the time
of his baptism at Jordan or who met Jesus on the road. This group was rather small, the
band of rain-and-shine followers. It included the Twelve. For the Jews, the Twelve

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recalled the twelve tribes of Israel who became one people of God (Israel). When Jesus
called Twelve among the larger group of followers, he was conveying the message that
his mission entailed restoring the covenant relationship of Israel with God. Every Jew in
his time knew what the Twelve symbolized. The Twelve stands for people or
community of God. Yet it is also probable that Jesus called a few individuals to be part of
his small group of friends. Among them were men, as well as women. Mary of Magdala
and other women, who were the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus, would be part
of the small group of the itinerant teacher and healer.
In showing how God works in the world, Jesus acted out Gods mercy among the
poor, sick and sinner, in pure gratuity, without any conditions or requirements, except
that they have faith in themselves to face lifes challenges again. This is Circle A. But
with his followers in Circles B and C, he demanded them to change their lives (metanoia)
and live according to the values of the reign of God. These people in Circles B and C are
referred to as mathetai in the Gospels.
Mathetes (singular form of mathetai) means one who follows another, one who
learns from another, or one who is bound to another to learn. The verb form of mathetes
is akoloutheon: to follow after. The English equivalent of mathetes is disciple. The word
disciple or mathetes appears more than 250 times in the New Testament writings, mostly in
the Gospels and Acts. This suggests that the Gospels are a manual of discipleship for
anyone who wants to follow Jesus.
B. The Values of the Discipleship for the Reign of God
What are the costs of discipleship? It wont be easy; its like entering the needles
eye. Yet, it can be done. Jesus was able to do it and he shared the values of the reign of
God to his disciples. To enter into Gods kingdom, Jesus required his disciples to examine
their lives, especially those ways of thinking, valuing, and relating that harm people,
particularly the poor and the defenseless. He instructed them on Gods kalakaran (Gods
business) by taking responsibility for the poor, the hungry, the miserable, and granting
them the privilege of love and compassion.
It is not that there were no individuals who were taking
care of the disadvantaged people. There were many charitable
individuals who gave food to the hungry, jobs to the jobless,
shelter to the homeless. But in those times, these lowly
people were considered unclean or unholy; other people
thought that their sufferings were due to their unfaithfulness
to God by not following the Laws or the Torah. For Jesus

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however, the problem of the sufferer was not because they failed God but because society
failed them. If the poverty, sickness, and marginalization of people were brought about by
the unjust structures of society, the response should one of radical change that would
transform the whole social system. (Later in our course, you shall be introduced to the
notion of systemic change.)
What greatly lacked in Jesus time was a change of society that was divisive into a
family of God where love and justice reigns. Elizabeth Schssler Fiorenza, a theologian
today, prefers to call it the kin-dom of God, whereby all are siblings or brethren who
care for one another, in the spirit of discipleship of equals. What are the values that Jesus
wanted his disciples to follow?

1) The Kingdom of Sharing

The sayings of Jesus about money and possessions are frequently regarded as the
hardest to follow. Everywhere in the Gospels, Jesus shows preference for the materially or
economically poor, not because Jesus loves their poverty. Jesus did not idealize poverty.
He took the sides of the poor because they are victims of oppression and exploitation. Two
stories are remarkable examples of sharing.
The first example is in Lukes Gospel, Chapter 19. We read about Zacchaeus, a tax
collector known for his misdeeds (bribe and corruption). Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus to his
home, prepared a banquet for him, and thanked Jesus for
entering into his home even if he was a corrupt person. When he
thought that everything was okay, Jesus challenged him to give
a way half of what he owns and to pay back four times the
amount to those whom he has cheated. This is what sharing
means in the context of forgiving the rich Zacchaeus.
Forgiveness takes effect when justice is done: Give back the
wealth that belongs to the people, and possibly more than what one can give.
The other example is the story of the multiplication of loaves and
fishes (Mk. 6: 35-44). Many in the multitude were poor and hungry;
some of them brought food but many did not have anything, because
precisely they were poor and had nothing to bring. We read that Jesus
instructed his disciples to share out the few bread and fishes they
brought. But what was amazing in the event was when people on their
accord began to bring out their baon (food provision) and shared it with
one another, especially to those with no food. People ceased to be

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possessive about their own food, and to their good surprise there was more than enough
to go around. Isnt that food tend to multiply when people share it to others? This story
shows how poverty is not a hindrance to helping others; even among the poor, they can
show their care to those who are poorer.

2) The Kingdom of Empowerment

Against the conventional social norms where power is wielded over people, Jesus
teaches and displays Gods power with people. In fact, the reign of God can be
translated as a companionship of empowerment (Diarmuid OMurchu). The alternative
of Jesus to the Jewish elite and Roman imperial domination was a community where all
are companions; it was to be circular, mutual, interactive, mobilizing diverse gifts,
interpersonal, and lateral.
This vision of Jesus is clearly seen his attitude and relationship
with women. In his society, women were considered second-class,
kept silent, disqualified from leadership roles, and whose role was
sex and motherhood. Jesus opted for a different relationship with
women. Not only were there women among his companions, he also
allowed himself to be challenged by and learn from women, like the
mother from Syro-Phoenicia whose daughter was sick, the woman
suffering from hemorrhage who touched his garment, the teenage girl
with whom he held hands, and the woman from Samaria who was
fetching water at the well. Jesus had no scruples about mixing with
prostitutes, or with unchaperoned women.
In the reign of God, people were treated as persons. Biases, fixed stereotypes,
prejudices, and discrimination have no room in Gods companionship of empowerment.
Gods kingdom is unbrokered kingdom; there are no patrons and clients, but true life in
the Spirit is one of unbrokered relationship to God, without influential brokers. In an
oppressive and hierarchical society of the Jews and the Roman imperial rule, Jesus
initiated a movement of alternative communities that were radically egalitarian and
inclusive.
3) The Kingdom of Solidarity
In the time of Jesus, the basic unit that lived together as one corporate unit was the
family, including the extended family of relatives. Ties of blood and of marriage were
taken very seriously. Not only were all members of the family regarded as brothers,

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sisters, mothers and fathers to one another but they identified themselves with one
another (Nolan). Family was extended also to ones friends, ones co-workers, and
ones social group. Group loyalty, and its reverse side of group prejudice, governed the
relationships of people.
Jesus seemed to have radically altered the exclusive and
selfish social-group individualism. It is individualism to the
extent that ones social group was the center and the basis of all
other relationships. Jesus revised the boundaries and broadened
the family to include those with whom people are not related
by blood, marriage, occupation, or social status. He offered an
experience of solidarity with humankind, an experience that is
non-exclusive, an experience that is not dependent on
reciprocity, because it includes even those who are different by virtue of their status,
age, gender, culture and religion. Gods family, for Jesus, also includes ones enemies
(Mt. 5: 43-44). This does not mean that we allow ourselves to be hurt by our enemies, but
because he or she is our sibling in Gods family, we can correct or change the person
from the wrong or evil ways.
What Jesus is asking for is that the group solidarity of the family be replaced by a
more basic solidarity with all humankind. Jesus is altering the basis of love; people are
loved not because they happen to be ones family or group, but because they are persons.
Jesus expanded his own solidarity by treating those around him as his brothers, sisters
and mothers (Mk. 3:31-35), so that whoever welcomed one of them, welcomed him (Mt.
10: 40; Mk. 9: 37 and following).
4) The Kingdom of Service
In Jesus time, prestige was the dominant value. Both in the Jewish and Roman
social orders, there was hierarchy of beings. On top of the social pyramid were people
with honor and prestige based on ancestry, wealth, authority, education, and political
position. At the bottommost rung of social stratification were the lame, lepers, blind,
deaf, lunatics, neurotics, maimed and children. They were expendables (unessential or
dispensable) and thus, they were excluded from social gatherings.
Jesus contracted this arrangement. He showed the
example of children (in Mt. 18:1-4) as having the privilege in
Gods kingdom. Here is the conversation between Jesus and his
disciples who were tempted to use domination and force, which
were the ways of the world: The disciples came to Jesus and

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said, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? So he called a little child to him and
set the child in front of them. Then he said, I tell you solemnly, unless you change and
become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one
who makes himself as little as this little child us the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
(Mt. 18:1-4).
Greatness is not to be measured by wealth and power, but like the little ones, the
greatest is one who takes the last place in society to be one with the excluded, and more
than that, one must be willing to be their servant. Albert Nolan writes: The kingdom of
God, then, will be a society in which there will no prestige, no status, no division of people
into inferior and superior. Everyone will be loved and respected, not because of his
education or wealth or ancestry or rank or virtue or other achievements, but because he
like everybody else is a person.
T he gospel text we quoted above might also speak of service with the disposition of
a little child. The image of the little child is an image of innocence, but it can also suggest
immaturity or irresponsibility. This is not what Jesus intended in his teaching. To serve
others, especially the lowly ones, entails indeed an attitude of being open to Gods
presence and action. In the face of the poor and dishonored in society, we might meet the
face of God. Service to others is a great responsibility, because we are meeting God in the
lives of the poor.
Service to others is also an act of humility, like the little
child. Indeed, it takes a lot of courage to learn from the poor,
because they too can tell us who God is and what Gods
kingdom is all about. Hence, Jesus said to his disciples, Those
who humble themselves will be exalted. God is glorified
when we serve in humility rather than prestige, in an act of
solidarity with humankind, beyond our comfort zones. Because we have much or just
enough, it takes a process of emptying ourselves of pride and self-pleasures to be in
service with those who have less or lesser in life.

(To be continued: The death and resurrection of Jesus)