From the very beginning and throughout his ministry, Jesus preached about the kingdom of God that it was now present. This was the “realised eschatology” which was promoted by C.H. Dodd. The kingdom of God has been rapidly advancing from the time of John the Baptist. Jesus was describing the exponential growth of the Kingdom of God. He referred to kingdom of God has a seed being planted and growing into a fully grown crop ready for harvest (Mark 4:26-29). In addition, Jesus used an illustration of mustard seed and how it grows for birds to perch in. This creates an imagery of the growth of the God’s Kingdom. Everyone individual is part of the growth as illustrated by Jesus. Moreover, Jesus was claimed that the kingdom of God is in his own person. This is when Jesus presented himself as a king in Jerusalem.
The gospel of Mark summarised Jesus’ invitation to the kingdom of God “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). From the establishment of Jesus’ ministry, his teachings were primarily based on the Kingdom of God. Many of his parables highlighted that importance of radical change in lifestyle (repentance) to enter God’s kingdom. In particular, the parable of the lost son emphasises the generosity of a loving parent; it outlines that the importance of a child realising the foolishness and the willingness to change. Similarly, it symbolises the concept and nature of God (overwhelming generosity). As pointed out by Albert Schweitzer
Jesus was obsessed “futurist eschatology” A variety of parables were referred to the coming of God’s kingdom in the future. The kingdom of God was regarded as a great feast which associated with the blessings of the messianic age. Jesus stressed the emphasis in the biblical accounts that those who heard the gospel will receive an invitation. Conventionally the religious ones (Jews) will have no have no place in it at all, but those who share the blessing its blessings are more likely to be those from the streets than from the sanctuaries (Matthew 22:1; Luke 14:15-24) Since no one no one knows the day or hour when the final accounting will be taking place, there must be constant readiness, as the attendants of the bride waiting bridegroom to arrive at the wedding 9 (Matthew 25:1-13) Some parables illustrate great day of reckoning, when those who merely confess to serve God but do not will be sorted out from those who already carry God’s will. This is the main lesson of parable about the fishing net.
However, parables become problematic when it came to translating. For Christians it requires faith to understand the true meaning hidden within parables. The parables allowed Christians to be in constant readiness. This meant wearing the garment of faith, because Jesus made the proclamation that the Kingdom of God is at hand. However, the most important aspect of the religion Christianity is evangelism. Christians may be classified as representatives of Jesus Christ. Their main intention is the continuation of Jesus ministry. That is evangelising about the future of kingdom of God in their local community. However, in the gospel account, it states that for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16) This meant the Kingdom of God was Jesus Christ, so the immoral should accept him or they shall perish and not have eternal life. This gave Christians the inspiration to preach the gospel constantly about the kingdom of God. As mentioned in the great feast, the immoral have already received an invitation, but is required accepting the Gospel.
It is obvious that Jesus had the art of communication highly developed. Through, his ministry identified the power of teaching. In cooperating parables in his teachings was the most effective ways of communicating with people in general. In particular, the parables in Jesus teaching are a sharp distinction between what future is and what present is. Jesus was an inspiration for present day Christian. He showed that Christianity is not just a religion, but the relationship between men and God. Developing a relationship with God meant inheriting the kingdom of God
