21/2/07        THE PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM      MATTHEW O’HARA

    The kingdom of God forms the main theme of Jesus’ preaching and this is evident in the parables in Mark’s gospel. The Jews were looking forward to God’s rule, they had been ruled by foreign powers for many centuries, some thought that God would be in charge and would save them from their enemies. Some like the Zealots thought that the kingdom of God meant that the Jews would rule their own country. Jewish rule was God’s rule so the Jewish kingdom would be a kingdom of God.

     Jesus teachings show that he disagreed with both these views, he taught that the kingdom of God would happen if people followed God’s laws. The kingdom of God would not involve a struggle against the Romans but it would involve a struggle against sin, which Jesus would forgive.        

    The kingdom began to arrive in the person of Jesus. In Jesus the kingdom was ‘at hand.‘ It had not yet been completed. God has always been king but he sent Jesus to ”save“ the world. In Jesus God rules in a new way, people can join the kingdom by repentance. However everyone who has made God king of his daily life belongs in the kingdom.

       The different parables teach us many things today and in the future. The parable of the sower shows that the kingdom of God succeeds in spite of all difficulties and frustration. People respond in different ways in the parable of the sower, seeds that fall on the path show how Satan takes away God’s message immediately, seeds that fall on the rocks show those who give up at the first sign of trouble, seeds that fall on thorns let wealth and sin turn them against God’s kingdom but seeds that fall on good soil are people who hear and act on God’s message.

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        The meaning of the parable today is that Christians have faced extreme difficulties but throughout the kingdom of God has not only survived but flourished. Christians of all nations and of every colour and race have found their faith in Christ and is the centre of their lives.    

       In the parable of the mustard seed, the kingdom will begin small but grow very big. Jesus gathered a small band of followers and through God’s power they were to become the people of God in the kingdom of God. Today the growth ...

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