The parables’ message was also simple and short. For example ‘the Kingdom of God is open to children is the message of the parable ‘Jesus blesses the children’.
What could it feel like to belong to the Kingdom of God?
To belong to the Kingdom of God means being part of something holy and important. It is like living in one country but being from another. In this case it's living in Earth but feeling that your heart and soul belong in God’s Kingdom. To belong to the Kingdom of God is being part of something special and being proud of it. It means to have a relationship with God, accepting God and obeying his rules.
Mark’s Gospel is persuasive writing aimed to convince people that Jesus is Son of God. There are 7 parables in Mark’s Gospel. In each one of them there is a message about the Kingdom of God.
One parable is the parable of the Mustard Seed. In this parable the Mustard Seed represents the Kingdom of God. The Mustard seed grows into the biggest plant while the Kingdom of God into the biggest Kingdom of all. In this parable Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God will start small and it’s hard to see at present but it will come and surely grow. Jesus also tells us that the coming of the Kingdom of God happens gradually, not overnight.
Jesus also says that birds come and make their nests in the trees shade. This means that Gentiles will be included in the Kingdom of God. Another reference to this argument is given when Jesus goes to the temple, drives out all those who are buying and selling, and says: “God said his temple will be the house of prayer for people of all nations.” He includes people of all nations’, not only Jews.
Another parable is the parable of A Lamp under a Bowl. Here Jesus teaches that whatever is hidden will be brought out in the open. He says that you should not be ashamed of being in the Kingdom of God or to do what God wants you to.
In Jesus blesses the children, we are informed that the Kingdom of God is open to children. Children are innocent, sincere and honest. They don’t lie; solely express what they feel. That is why Jesus says that unless you receive the Kingdom of God like a child you will not enter it. You have to love God with truthfulness just like a child loves his parents. You should want the Kingdom of God sincerely, with all your heart and soul to enter it. That’s why Jesus explains this parable.
“No-one pours new wine into used wineskins, because the wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.”- says Jesus in the parable of the Wineskins.
The wineskins represent the laws of Judaism. The fact that Jesus said new wine must be put into fresh wineskins means that the Kingdom of God cannot be contained within the old laws of the Judaism. New laws must be made and a better religion formed. This is Christianity.
In the parable of the Growing Seed just like it’s up to the farmer to scatter the seeds it is up to God to bring about the Kingdom of God. God allows the world to run on then brings about his Kingdom. Like the plant that starts life as a seed the Kingdom of God will start small but will surely grow. Like the growing of the seed the coming of the Kingdom of God happens gradually, and when the time comes we will all be judged by God.
Another parable is the parable of the Sower. Like in other parables Jesus speaks here in metaphors. The sower sows God’s message. The sprouting of seeds represents the spreading of God’s Message. The seed are sprouted and sown everywhere so the Good News about the Kingdom of m God should be spread everywhere. Some will not listen, some will listen and forget it while some will give it up, but others will listen to the message and follow God. Despite seeds falling on paths and being eaten by birds, falling on rocky grounds and drying out, falling among thorn bushes and not producing any fruit there will be seeds that fall on good soil and produce fruit. Despite people giving up there will be those who will believe and the Kingdom of God will grow.
“There were two roads to the fishing lake. One looked muddy and dangerous while the other looked in very good condition. Many passers took the first one while a few took the bad one. What the travellers did not know was that the good road took you got worse as you go and took you somewhere where there weren’t any fish. The good one got better and took you somewhere where there were plenty of fish to catch.”
The parable of the Tenants in the vineyard like the one above is allegory. An allegory is a special kind of parable. An allegory is like a code. To understand the allegory one must decipher the code. In this parable an owner lets out his vineyard to tenants. He sends slaves to collect his share when the time comes but the tenants beat some and kill others. At the end he sends his own son but the tenants kill him too. Then the owner returned, killed those tenants and let the vineyard to others.
God built the Kingdom of God for Jews. But to be included for in his Kingdom, Jews had to obey God. They didn’t. God sent many prophets to get Jews to obey him but they wouldn’t listen to them. Jews and their leaders showed disrespect, beat prophets, treated them shamefully and killed some of them. But even so, God didn’t give up on Jews, and even when there was nobody else to send, God sent his own dear son Jesus, thinking and hoping that they would listen to him. Instead Jews crucified Jesus for telling the truth and spreading God’s message. Because of this God expelled Jews from his Kingdom and handed it over to Gentiles.
The stone the builders rejected as worthless, turned out to be the most important one of all. Noone expected that a son born to a simple couple from Nazareth who later grew up to become a carpenter was the Son of God, the Messiah. The Jews were expecting the wrong kind of Messiah (a big powerful leader who would kick the Romans out and create a Jewish Kingdom). They were so blinded by this vision that they didn’t recognise the real Messi8ah when he finally came, and crucified him.
The new tenants represent the Gentile so when the vineyard is handed over to Gentiles means that the Kingdom of God is open to non-Jews.
In this parable Jesus did two things:
- Informed us that the Kingdom of God is open to non-Jews.
- Predicted that the Messiah would be crucified.
“This Earth will never be God’s Kingdom.”
Yes, I agree with the statement that this Eart6h will never be God’s Kingdom. If God’s Kingdom is a place where people of all nations would live together in happiness then it will not be realised in Earth. There is far too much suffering in Earth to become a happy place.
Everyday more teenagers turn to drugs and crime. Their family lives are broken. Many of them die, their parents feel they failed in educating and raising them, and have to bear the suffering of burying them.
We have seen many deaths of innocent children in the last few years. The killers are getting younger. One example is the murder of Damilola Taylor. All who knew him say he was a gentle, friendly and loving boy. Yet muggers who had tried to take his money of him killed him on the way home. It is worse the fact that the muggers are all under 16. Police charged four boys under 16 with murder.
People have been beaten by muggers trying to steal things as worthless as a mobile phone and have been killed by car thieves. A father of two was killed while trying to stop thieves stealing a relative’s car, and a girl was shot by someone trying to mug her mobile phone. If she hadn’t ducked she also would have been killed. Brixton’s residents are afraid to go out at night. They fear of being attacked by drug users in the area. It is not safe for women to go out at night, as there is a possibility of them getting raped. There have been rape cases in England and throughout the world in which women have been left traumatised.
The world is unbalanced. There are billionaires and people that live in simple shelters or in the streets who don’t always get to eat. Hundreds of people die everyday in the streets of Britain and all other countries around the world. In third world countries men work for a small amount of money, just enough to supply their families basic needs. Countries fight each other when they know there’s nothing to gain from it but suffering and death. Nuclear tensions have been rising. Recently there were the attacks to the World Trade Centre in New York by Muslim fundamentalists where around 3000 people lost their lives.
If Earth is to become God’s Kingdom then why is it such a ruthless, unequal and dangerous place?
Jesus teaches his disciples and us in Mark’s Gospel that “if one of you wants to be great he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first he must be the slave of all.” This tells us to love and respect each other. If people followed Jesus’ teaching to love, help and respect each individual there would not be killings, thefts, poverty or rapes. We would all live in happiness as humans.
The Kingdom of God is proleptic. Proleptic means leap forward. The Kingdom of God has begun and it isn’t yet fully realised. We are now living in the overlap period. We are living in this world but truly our hearts belong in another. This world was not designed perfectly. It is like a test to prepare us for the next one.
Other people would disagree with me. They would point at all the good things happening in this world. They would indicate at the life cycle and how beautiful it is. They would denote at how flowers bloom in the Spring, how fruits are made in Autumn. The hot Summer that makes us head to the beaches, and the cold of Winter that keeps us in our homes. They’d tell that nature and how life is adapted to the environment is beautiful. They’d say that each season has its own beauty.
But Nature itself can be cruel. We have seen cases of flooding where people have lost their houses, and sadly some even their lives.
Some people would point at how people have helped others. They’d point at those who have devoted their lives to the charities and how theses charities are supported by ordinary people. They point out at how people help each other in need and the money donations to help people in poor countries. They’d say the Sun, the wind, the rain and the sea are all beautiful things but have become so ordinary that we don’t notice them any more.
These people would say that miracles happen. They’d indicate at how cures have been found for deadly diseases. For example much smaller percentage of women die of breast cancer. They indicate how babies born prematurely have survived. Some months ago we had the case of the two girl twins that we joined together and were sharing the same organs. Doctors separated them, one died but the other survived. By pointing to the good things they would say that the earth could besome God’s Kingdom.
I agree with them. The world is beautiful and it is wonderful to live in. But I feel that there is just too much suffering in this world. From my point of wiew God would make a fresh start with the human race, in a world where there would only be goodness and joy, not suffering or tears. Therefore my conclusion is that I must agree that this Earth will never be God’s Kingdom.
