However C.H. Dodd contradicted Schweitzer’s theory on ‘futurist eschatology’
and introduced his theory on ‘realised eschatology’. According to Dodd what Jesus was really saying was that the new society had arrived in his own person through his teachings thus Jesus’ teaching is ‘inaugural eschatology’. The coming of Jesus is thus the coming of God’s eternal reign.
Miracles are much easier to understand if they are regarded as signs that God was creating a new society right there and then. To put these miracles into context, according to 1st century Jewish thinking, if one was ill, it was either due to their parents sins, or their own. However when Jesus healed the sick, for example the lame man, Jesus himself said, ‘friend your sins are forgiven…pick up your mat and walk’. This healing shows scholars today that to heal a person, was to forgive them, thus bring them back to God.
Parables that appear to be concerned with the last days, such as the 10 bridesmaids or the rich fool, may not be a clear explanation of the final days however the challenge that all people when they are confronted with the message about Jesus and God’s new society. Dodd argues that the parable of the Great banquet does not in fact suggest that those who didn’t turn up to the banquet would not get a place in heaven however he states that those who didn’t turn up to the banquet, in fact turned up late and thus be given a second chance. This does seem to agree with his theory on realised eschatology, in that the kingdom is present and that everyone is given another opportunity.
A third theory of eschatology is called ‘inaugurated eschatology’. This recognises that God’s new society did actually come in Jesus however the complete fulfilment was still seen in the future. This theory takes the best of both futurist and realised eschatology. This view recognises that God’s new society came in Jesus hence his teaching is ‘inaugurated’. This theory also recognises Schweitzer’s theory on futurist eschatology as it considers Jesus’ background as a first century Jew thus his teaching includes future events such as the downfall of the Temple, and the resurrection as part of the consummation of God’s society.
What did Jesus mean about the Kingdom of God? The kingdom is defined as the ‘state or territory ruled by a king. In this case, as Luke suggests, God was going to set up a new state and rule it himself, however rather than being a material state, such as Israel, as it was in the Old Testament, it would be spiritual state for all mankind.
When Jesus spoke about the Kingdom he mentioned in the Lords prayer ‘Father…Thy kingdom come’. Jesus uses the word Abba as if talking to an earthly father. This becomes much more personal and develops a much more loving relationship in comparison to that of the Old Testament, where all Jews feared a ‘jealous’ God. The word Abba indicates the uniqueness of the relationship between Jesus and his Father.
Jesus saw the Kingdom of God as a New Israel, just as all first century Jews of his believed. Jesus taught that God’s rule requires realm in which to work. He speaks of men entering or being ‘cast out’ of the kingdom. Parables such as the mustard seed with its reference to birds nestling in its branches shows that Jesus has the gathering of a whole society in mind, or it could be described that if anyone has a small amount of faith, it will grow and influence others, just as the disciples preached and converted many to Christianity and those who died in Jesus’ name also influence others and strengthened their faith. Jesus also speaks of himself as a shepherd gathering his flock. In order to put his beliefs into practice however, Jesus had to ordain others to carry the Kerygma far and wide after his death and resurrection as prophesied in Luke 24:47-48, ‘…repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations…you are witnesses of these things…I am going to send you what God has promised’.
Jesus called the twelve disciples, in parallel to the twelve tribes of Israel. This symbolic meaning could be translated into the fact that Jesus wanted his Holy word to be spread round the whole world beginning in Jerusalem, as mentioned in Luke 24:26. This would be beginning of the creation of the New Israel. The disciples were sent out to proclaim the Kingdom (Luke9:1-2) ‘He gave them power to drive out all demons and to cure diseases…sent them out to preach the kingdom of God’.
In the Last Supper, Jesus himself shared the New Covenant; ‘I will not eat and drink from this cup until it finds fulfilment of in the kingdom of God.’ The significance of the Last Supper in context of the kingdom, is that in the Old Testament Moses made a covenant with God using bull’s blood, however it was not eternal as it had been broken several times by the Israelites, however Jesus died on the cross to bridge an ‘eternal’ relationship with God, for all people.
In Luke’s gospel, the kingdom is centred in Christ, (Luke 18:29) ‘for the sake of the kingdom of God’. Mark writes, ‘the Kingdom of God came with power’. The gospel writers all assumed the same meaning between the kingdom of God and Christ. Jews believed that the ‘Christ’ would rather lead an earthly kingdom following the Torah laws, however they didn’t expect a heavenly spiritual Christ. What Jesus says, was originally taken from Daniel 7: ‘…Son of Man…and he was given dominion and a kingdom that all peoples and nations would serve him…the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever.’ This means that God gives the kingdom to the Son of Man and the Saints of the Most High will also receive it. This could explain why in Luke’s gospel, Jesus promises the kingdom to those who believe in His name (Luke 9:24) ‘for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’ However in order to fulfil his destiny Jesus had to suffer, die and rise again on the third day, therefore fulfilling the scriptures and Isaiah’s suffering servant prayer.
Jews believed that in order to inherit the Kingdom of heaven you had to be a Jew and follow the law, which God gave to them. However in Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples and followers, to ‘carry his cross and follow him’. In order to inherit the kingdom, just as Jesus suffered and died for our sins, to be a disciple, you must not carry material possessions but put others before yourself. Jewish teaching on an ‘eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ had now changed to forgiving others and ‘treat others as yourself’.
The consummation of the kingdom however is still yet to come. Despite Jesus’ prophecies that he will die and rise on the third day, Jesus also prophesied of a ‘second coming’ as mentioned earlier, the ‘parousia’. Mark 13:26, ‘and they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds…before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate them from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from goats.’ Schweitzer believed that Jesus’ death was in vain and did not fulfil its purpose, however Dodd has argued that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament scriptures and is still yet to complete the coming of Judgement day. It has been argued that the fire of Rome was arguably the beginning of the end as all Christians were persecuted, (Luke21:12) ‘…but before all this they must first lay hands on you and persecute you’. The destruction of the Temple was also predicted, thus many people perceived the end of days were near. In Paul’s writings, he writes with a sense of urgency and says ‘do not marry, or sin for the end of days are near, be ready!’ However many Christians today believe that the end of days are still to come, which both Jews and Christians alike await.
In conclusion, Jewish understanding of the Kingdom of God slightly differs to that of Jesus’ teachings. Jews expected an earthly king to come and liberate them from the occupation of the Romans, as Jesus entered Jerusalem, they expected him to ride on a horse with armament as a ‘fighting’ leader, on the contrary Jesus was humble and instead rode on a donkey. In Luke’s gospel as well as the other gospel writers, the Kingdom is portrayed as a spiritual kingdom for all people united as one. Jewish leaders of the day took this teaching as an insult to the Jewish nation as they had been waiting centuries to be set free and yet they didn’t get their earthly response. However one agreement between Christians and Jews alike, is that they still await the Judgement Day in earnest and the coming of Christ in order to consummate the kingdom.
