-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)
Lots of time in the scriptures we see a “recurring theme”; a central idea, message, or concept that appears repeatedly throughout a single work of art, a series of works, or across different narratives. We see this a lot in scripture, and you can probably think of at least 3 examples of this without thinking too hard about it.
In today’s reading of Luke 9, we see a couple of recurring themes that occur through this single chapter of scripture: 1 of these themes (the Christ, and what that means identity-wise) occurs about 531 times directly in the new testament, myriads of other times semi-directly , and another (the kingdom of God) occurs about 365 times throughout the bible.
Dissecting Luke 9, we see right off the bat (in v 1-6) that the 12 (disciples) are empowered to cast out demons and cure sicknesses, and sent out to (in v2): “…preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. “. The last verse of this section says “6 And they departed and went throughout the villages proclaiming good news and healing people everywhere”. So what is this good news? What is the gospel that they are preaching? They are preaching about the kingdom of God. That’s the good news that Jesus sends them out to speak about.
The kingdom of God (or kingdom of Heaven) is one of the recurring themes throughout scripture, and occurs about 365 times, give or take. It’s mentioned 6 times in this chapter alone, and refers to God’s coming kingdom that will be established (on the earth). When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, a portion of the prayer includes …”your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10, Luke 11:12). Jesus teaches us that we are to “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” (Matt 6:33), so it’s not just a priority, it’s top priority.
Throughout the centuries since Jesus the Christ left us, the focus has gradually shifted away from attaining citizenship into this kingdom (after the resurrection of the dead at the second coming), and towards “going to heaven” when we die. Unfortunately, this “traditional orthodox” understanding is not scriptural: scriptures themselves speak only of a type of “sleep” for the righteous (with the notable exceptions of Enoch and Elijah). In scripture, there are no verses that say that the righteous will go to heaven when they die, and approximately 54 that state they enter into a state of “sleep”* when they die (prior to a day of resurrection) so it can be logically inferred that the majority of traditional “orthodox” understanding is probably erroneous in this matter. I’ll spare you the bad joke about what Mozart is doing right now**, along with the rest of the dead.
It should also be noted that the kingdom of Heaven/kingdom of God is, according to scripture, going to be established here upon the earth***, after the return of the Christ, the judgment, and the resurrection of the dead. If we entered immediately into the kingdom upon death, there would be no need for a resurrection, or the establishment of the kingdom on the earth. The kingdom of God is to be established here on the earth after a number of specific criteria and events have occurred (see Revelation for reference). Scriptures that seem to uphold both this and the above paragraph are listed at the bottom, if you’d like to compare and contrast them with your beliefs, but by all means make your own interpretations and do your own studies.
So, is the kingdom of God a big deal? It absolutely is, it’s what Jesus preached about, and sent his disciples out to preach about. Has it been misunderstood and misrepresented in these later times? It would seem so, according to scripture. We are also told that in the last days, there will be lots of misunderstandings (See 1 Tim 4:1) and misrepresentations, so this shouldn’t come as any surprise.
Another recurring theme we see through Luke 9 is folks wondering who Jesus is, who is this Nazarene fellow that some are calling The Christ? Herod wonders this in Luke 9:7-9. In Luke 9:18-22, Jesus asks his own disciples who the people are saying he is, and then asks Peter. In Luke 9: 35 we hear what is presumably the voice of God stating who this Jesus fellow is.
So, who was the Christ? What does “Christ” mean? What relationship did Jesus have with God, according to scripture? What relationship does Jesus have with God, according to “orthodox tradition”? Are they the same answer? Why, or why not?
This is a recurring theme even today, and unfortunately, we’ve let years of tradition influence our answer in most churches. There is a fantastic and disturbingly educational book I’ve read recently which explains how a lot of the current “orthodox” traditions were accepted by the church that I’m going to highly, highly recommend to anyone who is truly serious about separating fact from fiction from tradition. It’s called: “Voting About God in Early Church Councils”, by Ramsay MacMullen. It’s a book that draws on extensive verbatim stenographic records, and analyzes the ecumenical councils from 325 to 553, in which participants gave authority to doctrinal choices by majority vote. Did you ever wonder how some of these things really went down? This book tells you (with original sources quoted extensively). Spoiler Alert: it’s disturbing.
Forget tradition, scripture slone should be our measuring stick. If we hear anything that does not perfectly align with the majority of scripture, then it should be looked at very carefully. Luke 9, along with all other scriptures, give us some very specific things that it claims that Jesus, the Christ, is. It is also notably missing some of the larger more ambitious claims of later “orthodox” doctrine. While our job is not to hold a measuring stick up to our brothers and sisters, we are told quite extensively in scripture to examine ourselves. With that in mind:
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What do you think the “kingdom of God” is? Where and when does it take place? Which verses do you feel lend credence to your interpretation? What level of priority should we assign to becoming citizens of this kingdom?
- Who do you say that Jesus is? Does your belief line up with the majority of scripture? Why, or why not?
- Possibly the most important question: how does your interpretation and understanding of scripture affect how you view and interact with both God and the rest of the humans he made?
PRAYER:
Father God, Please open my eyes and let me see. Speak into my ear, and let me understand your word. Grant me wisdom to discern the truth, and obedience to follow your word. Forgive me of the many times I fall short, and help me to be as forgiving to the people around me when they do. Thank you God, for life, breath, and all things. In Jesus name, Amen.
* the “sleep of the dead” is extensively referred to throughout scripture: Gen 47:30; Deut 31:16; 2 Sam 7:12; 1 Ki 2:10; 1 Ki 11:21; 1 Ki 14:20; 1 Ki 15:8; 1 Ki 15:24; 1 Ki 22:40; 1 Ki 22:50; 2 Ki 8:24; 2 Ki 13:9; 2 Ki 14:16; 2 Ki 14:22; 2 Ki 15:7; 2 Ki 15:38; 2 Ki 16:20; 2 Ki 20:21; 2 Ki 21:18; 2 Ki 21:26. 1 Chron 28:10; 2 Chron 9:31; 2 Chron 14:1; 2 Chron 16:13; 2 Chron 21:20; 2 Chron 24:25; 2 Chron 26:23; 2 Chron 32:33; Job 7:21; Job 14:12; Ps 13:3; Ps 90:5; Dan 12:2. Matt 9:24; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; John 11:11; Matt 27:52; Acts 7:60; Acts 13:36; 1 Cor 7:39; 1 Cor 11:30; 1 Cor 15:20; 1 Cor 15:51; 1 Thess 4:13; 1 Thess 5:10; 2 Peter 3:4. Additionally, the entirety of Heb 11 is devoted to explaining this concept, with examples.
** “De-composing”, pa dum pum (at least until Jesus comes back). Ok, so I won’t completely spare you.
*** The Kingdom of God established on the earth: Is 65:17-19, Dan 2:44, Mic 4:1-2, Zech 14:9-11, Heb 12:22, Rev 3:12, 5:10, 11:15, 21:1-3, and more. These texts collectively affirm that the Kingdom is a literal, earthly government rather than a purely spiritual or heavenly entity.
