“‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’”(1:15)
We are now sinking down deeper and deeper into a bog of theological thinking. It is said Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God means God’s reigning. And then it means Jesus proclaimed God’s reigning. It is not that hard to understand up to now. But next comes the problem. Early Christianity made Jesus’ proclamation for the kingdom of God and His reigning in harmony with Jesus himself. Like description of a theologian, the one who proclaims are identified with the being proclaimed. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God as his object, and by early Christianity the object and the subject of the kingdom of God became one in harmony. Jesus and God are in harmony.
How could it be possible? What kind of universal validity did early Christian’s recognition like this achieve? Jesus’ himself sayings like “Daddy, Father” or that he saw God or that God is his witness could be one of proofs. But it is impossible to be valid only through his sayings for the basis of truth for Christian’s proposal that God and Jesus are one ultimately.
The events that happened during Jesus’ official life might be proof. The healings for the sick or the miracle of “two fish and five loaves of bread” might be one of them. The authors of the Gospel should have been kept in mind that Jesus is Messiah, when they wrote those happenings. In here Messiah means God himself. But in ancient times those kinds of miracles happened often. And those miracles happened to Jesus are not the same kinds such as those supernatural miracles from general point of view today.
In here the cross could be much decisive event than other miracles. Because the cross is a messianic proof for the salvation of mankind. But the cross was one of general happenings. Lots of people were executed on the cross. So his death on the cross could not be absolute prerequisite for the synonym that Jesus and God are one.
And then the last thing is His resurrection. His official life was spotlighted after his resurrection from a new perspective. His teachings and his death on the cross, not being understood until then, have been analyzed by a theory of salvation. As all we know well, the gospels are divided between reports before and after his resurrection. Basically in them there are faithful confessions about Jesus’ resurrection. Today we cannot mention in details Jesus’ resurrection in here. But it is sure enough for us to understand that early Christians made it sure that Jesus and God are one, through their experiences with resurrected Jesus and confessions that He was Messiah.
But this kind of problem has not been solved perfectly. It is not proven perfectly yet that Jesus is ultimately the same as God. Maybe this kind of dispute will keep on happening until the end of time. Even though this problem is still disputable, the truth in Christianity could not be damaged. Rather it is the opposite. When it is put down in the middle of the truth dispute, Christianity could be recognized for its justification. In here we do not have to be puzzled. In this world not any religions, any studies, any sciences have not been decided as an ultimate truth. Christianity now is competing with any of them with good will.
Jesus Christ is the basis of life, and in that sense, we should do our best with all our hearts to prove that He is the same one as God. We cannot solve this problem with “I believe”, but with explanations on the basis of universal truth. If you agree with the fact that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, you should not fear the disputes for the truth. Because like early Christians we believe that Jesus, who proclaimed the kingdom of God, is the kingdom itself.
Lord, help us to recognize deeply that you are the kingdom of God and His reigning. Amen.
We are now sinking down deeper and deeper into a bog of theological thinking. It is said Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God means God’s reigning. And then it means Jesus proclaimed God’s reigning. It is not that hard to understand up to now. But next comes the problem. Early Christianity made Jesus’ proclamation for the kingdom of God and His reigning in harmony with Jesus himself. Like description of a theologian, the one who proclaims are identified with the being proclaimed. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God as his object, and by early Christianity the object and the subject of the kingdom of God became one in harmony. Jesus and God are in harmony.
How could it be possible? What kind of universal validity did early Christian’s recognition like this achieve? Jesus’ himself sayings like “Daddy, Father” or that he saw God or that God is his witness could be one of proofs. But it is impossible to be valid only through his sayings for the basis of truth for Christian’s proposal that God and Jesus are one ultimately.
The events that happened during Jesus’ official life might be proof. The healings for the sick or the miracle of “two fish and five loaves of bread” might be one of them. The authors of the Gospel should have been kept in mind that Jesus is Messiah, when they wrote those happenings. In here Messiah means God himself. But in ancient times those kinds of miracles happened often. And those miracles happened to Jesus are not the same kinds such as those supernatural miracles from general point of view today.
In here the cross could be much decisive event than other miracles. Because the cross is a messianic proof for the salvation of mankind. But the cross was one of general happenings. Lots of people were executed on the cross. So his death on the cross could not be absolute prerequisite for the synonym that Jesus and God are one.
And then the last thing is His resurrection. His official life was spotlighted after his resurrection from a new perspective. His teachings and his death on the cross, not being understood until then, have been analyzed by a theory of salvation. As all we know well, the gospels are divided between reports before and after his resurrection. Basically in them there are faithful confessions about Jesus’ resurrection. Today we cannot mention in details Jesus’ resurrection in here. But it is sure enough for us to understand that early Christians made it sure that Jesus and God are one, through their experiences with resurrected Jesus and confessions that He was Messiah.
But this kind of problem has not been solved perfectly. It is not proven perfectly yet that Jesus is ultimately the same as God. Maybe this kind of dispute will keep on happening until the end of time. Even though this problem is still disputable, the truth in Christianity could not be damaged. Rather it is the opposite. When it is put down in the middle of the truth dispute, Christianity could be recognized for its justification. In here we do not have to be puzzled. In this world not any religions, any studies, any sciences have not been decided as an ultimate truth. Christianity now is competing with any of them with good will.
Jesus Christ is the basis of life, and in that sense, we should do our best with all our hearts to prove that He is the same one as God. We cannot solve this problem with “I believe”, but with explanations on the basis of universal truth. If you agree with the fact that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, you should not fear the disputes for the truth. Because like early Christians we believe that Jesus, who proclaimed the kingdom of God, is the kingdom itself.
Lord, help us to recognize deeply that you are the kingdom of God and His reigning. Amen.
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