Luke's Kingdom of God

For you, this may have become an old topic. Luke’s views on the coming kingdom of God do not differ appreciably from those presented in Mark and Matthew. I raise the issue again for two reasons. First, Luke’s gospel may provide greater clarity on this complicated issue. Second, I would like you to see the two distinct voices that filter through his gospel.

I argued with regard to Mark and Matthew that the voice of Jesus speaks to the idea of a kingdom on earth. The key idea is that the kingdom is a place where God rules. In some passages there are hints that this place is a country, most probably Israel, which will be governed by a flesh and blood king. In other places, no specific details are given. Here is the evidence for the voice of Jesus as it echoes through Luke’s gospel.

In the virgin birth story (1:32-34), the angel tells Mary that God will give Jesus the throne of David, that he will rule over the house of Jacob. The long excerpt from the prophet Zechariah (1:67-79) reinforces this point. Somewhat later, as the baby Jesus is being presented at the Temple, the prophetess Anna looks forward to Jesus liberating Jerusalem (2:38).

We also see Jesus as he fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah. In 7:18-23, Jesus casts out devils, heals the sick, and gives sight to the blind. This is a sign, according to Isaiah, that the kingdom is imminent. Jesus instructs the disciples of John the Baptist to report these events to John. What is interesting is that Satan is being confronted on earth. The power of evil is being destroyed here. The message is that the first signs of the kingdom are here now as seen in the healing work of Jesus. The disciples are also defeating evil as it exists on earth by casting out devils and healing the sick. It’s an exciting time (see Luke 9:6).

In a similar vein, Jesus instructs his disciples to heal the sick in the towns that welcome them, and to tell them that the kingdom “is near to you (Luke 10: 8-10).” He makes the same point two verses later. When asked a question about the kingdom by the Pharisees (17:20-21), he tells them that the kingdom is not something to observe, but that it is already among you. Without giving details, Jesus implies that the kingdom exists when God rules. This rule is in the process of being established on earth.

After casting out a devil, Jesus gets into a dispute over whose power is enabling him to cast out devils: Beelzebul, the prince of devils, or God (Luke 11: 14-21). He strongly points out that his power comes from God, and that the kingdom is in the process of becoming.

Finally, John the Baptist forecasts a coming apocalypse (3: 7-9). There are hints in the New Testament that Jesus was an early member of John’s movement. The three gospels we have examined claim that Jesus was baptized by John. We also know that Jesus left John’s movement. Sadly, we don’t know why. It makes sense to me that a mean-spirited apocalypse violated the God that Jesus knew in his heart.

There is another voice in Luke that most probably comes from the early Church. This voice has the benefit of hindsight—it comes later. The kingdom espoused by Jesus never materialized, Palestine and Judaism with it were destroyed by Rome in the horrible war of 66 to 73 CE, and the message of Jesus was taken to the Hellenistic world where it was changed. The kingdom expected by Paul and the Hellenistic Church would be ushered in by the Son of Man. It would follow on the heals of a mean-spirited apocalypse in which the world was destroyed. The kingdom of God would be established in heaven. It would be populated by people in transformed, spiritual bodies. Here is the evidence for this second voice.

There are many references to a coming Son of Man in Luke with the strong suggestion that Jesus was this figure (see Luke 5:24, 6: 5, 7:34). A good example of the formula invented by the early Church as a statement of faith comes in Luke 9:22. The Son of Man will be grievously rejected, put to death, and raised on the third day.

The passage in Luke 10: 13-16 expresses several mean-spirited aspects of the apocalypse. In 12: 49-50, Jesus says that he has come to bring fire to the earth, and wishes that the earth were blazing already. Later, he points out that the return of the Son of Man will be like Noah’s flood (17: 22-37). It will be a time of vengeance (Luke 21: 22).

Modern Christians who look forward to these events unfolding should worry whether they will be included. Jesus thanks God that the secrets of heaven will be hidden from the learned and clever (10:21). He later suggests that the process of choosing who will be saved is random (17:35-37). Is this the Jesus that you know and love?

Finally, the kingdom is a place in heaven. See Luke 12: 9. Jesus gives further details in 20: 27-40 where he claims that the bodies of those admitted will be transformed like angels.

As I have pointed out in earlier blogs, the idea of the two voices is speculative. It’s the best I can do after years of trying to understand the issue. However, it is clear that neither voice is relevant to people living in the twenty-first century. Jesus believed he was defeating evil as he cast out devils and healed the sick. It is rather obvious that he did not succeed, that evil, whatever it is, is still around.

Jesus further believed that the kingdom he was working to establish was imminent. The voice of the Church argued that the return of the Son of Man was imminent. See Luke 9:29, 12: 35-40, 19:11, 21: 8-19, and 21: 32. As I also pointed out in an earlier blog, I have studied this question statistically by listing every reference to the kingdom of God in the New Testament. The results are published in my book on Evangelical Christianity. The findings of this study are stark and troubling. There is no credible evidence that the kingdom of God will be delayed. It is the expectation of every New Testament writer that the kingdom is imminent, that it would come within the first century. Jesus was wrong. The early Church was wrong. The ideas about salvation as presented in the New Testament have no relevance for Christians living in the twenty-first century.

There is one additional problem with the voice of the Church. Apocalyptic eschatology is mean-spirited, bent on revenge by a small group of the self-proclaimed righteous against the rest of us. It is the province of an exclusive club. The Jesus I know in my heart would not espouse such views.

You may find that last sentence a little puzzling. If Jesus has no relevance as a salvation figure, what is the point? Don’t miss next week when I try to answer that question by examining the parables in Luke.