' Op. at. I. i. 163.
t J. Weiss, DU Predigt Jem i
jiJwAe Gaffes 2 (1900).
He believes, indeed, that He will occupy the chief place aiuciiii; them that are His; that He wUl take the seat ni liciii.nir at table, ha\dng them on His right 1..uhI aii.l on His left (Mt 20=') ; but of a Messianii.- Kinyship in the ordinary sense of the word there is no suggestion at all. If Jesus deemed Himself to be the predestined Messiah in any sense whatsoever, He certainly thought of the Messianic office as being ditt'erent from that of a king. See, further, art. ISlEssiAH. JOHANNES Weiss.
KING OP THE JEWS.— See preceding art.. Divinity of Chklst (p. 477''), Names and Titles OF Christ.
KINGDOM OF GOD (or HEAVEN). -To learn what Jesus meant by the term ' kingdom of heaven,' or ' kingdom of God,' we must go first and chiefly to His own words. The simple fact that He employed a term which was in common use, and which had parallels also in the Jewish Scrip- tures (e.g. 1 Ch 28*, Dn 2" 4'), does not justify one in assuming that His conception can be defined by the current view of His day, or by a study of the OT. It is plain that He might make use of the famUiar term, but might put into it a new and higher meaning. Indeed, it is quite certain that Jesus, as a wise teaclier, started from the beliefs and longings of those whom He sought to help, and that He aimed at fulfilling ratlier than destroy- ing. We should expect, then, to find Him using old terms, but pouring into them new meanings. Moreover, the thought of Jesus in regard to the kingdom of heaven is presented to us more fully and clearly than is that of His Jewish contempor- aries. Hence there is no occasion for approaching our topic indirectly, either by the way of the OT or that of the Rabbinic usage. It will be best to go at once to the main source of information, and seek the thought of Jesus from His oa\ti words, though availing ourselves of any light that can be found in other quarters.
1. Survey of the data. — According to Mk. and Mt., the memorable word in the first preaching of Jesus in Galilee was the announcement of the nearness of the kingdom of God [or of heaven] (^|77iKei' T) /3o<nXe(a tov 0eou [or rir oi'pa.i/Qi''], Mk 1'*, Mt 4") ; and in the last interview with His dis- ciples, on the evening before His death. He still spoke of the kingdom, anticipating a union with them there (Mk U'^). In all the interval tetween these events the term was frequently on His lips both in public and in private. St. Mark records 13 instances of its use by Jesus, St. Luke 34, and St. Matthew 48. Its central importance in the teach- ing of Jesus is frequently apparent. Thus the gospel itself is spoken of as the gospel of the king- dom (Mt 9=*) ; the Twelve and the Seventy are sent out to announce that the kingdom is at liand (Mt 10', Lk 10") : more than a third of the parables are explicitly said to be an unfolding of the truth of the kingtlom ; * the disciples are taught to pray for the (■(.niim; of the kingdom (Mt 6'°) ; it is the preaeliin.' of tin- k in u'dom of heaven that terminates the pi'iiod of the Law and the Prophets (Mt I P^ Lk 16"'i : the kiiiudom is presented as the suinmum bonuiii 1 Mt i:i"- 'I : and the kingdom is the great fact of tin- fiitui- {■.ft. Mt25").
But uhile ihe kingdom is thus .seen to be of great si'jnilir.nMc iirthe teaching of Jesus, it is equally obvio, ; . . ;i iiing varies widely in
different pas- is says that the king-
dom is to be - 1 y tliose to whom He
is speaking iT : 'i", that the righteous
* The use of the formula o.a«.« iar;. i ^«n>.i;« r;» o;p«>J., or <iuoi»9ii i |S«.r.;iii'« tJ. tif^cti; cannot lie at once attnbuted to Jesus. In some instances it has no manifest coane^on with the thought of the parable (e.g. Mt 20' 22=).
KINGDOM OF GOD (OR HEAVEN) KINGDOM OF GOD (OR HEAVEN) 933
are to enter it when the Son of Man shall have come in His glory (-25^*). At one time Jesus says to the Pharisees, 'Tlie kingdom of heaven is among you' {evThi ii^iiy),* and at another He teaches that it is the place where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with all the prophets, rest and are blessed (Lk 17-' 13^). Now the kingdom is thought of as some- thing that can be taken away from the Jews and be given to the Gentiles (Mt 21^^), and again, it is that for whoso coming the disciples are instructed to pray (6'"). The kingdom is thought of at one time as a good that can Ije obtained by seeking (6^), and as something to be slowly developed from within the soul (Mk 4-''); at another time, as an event of the future, realized suddenly and by Divine power (8^» 9').
From this survey it is readily seen that the term ' kingdom of God (or heaven) ' in tlie usage of Jesus is not easy to be delined ; that it appears to be an elastic, poetic symbol rather than the vehicle of a single sli.uplv lioiniilcd cinni'ptioii.