From that time
Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand (Matt. 4:17)
ARGUMENT:
Isn’t this text
implying that Jesus would return during the lifetime of His hearers? (yet still
has not returned)
(I)
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
Matthew 4:17 can best be understood
if we remember that the kingdom of heaven was established by the work of our
Lord Jesus Christ while He was on earth.
Perhaps we can understand this best
if we picture the church in the Old Testament as a small child who has not
learned to read. (This is also the figure in Galatians 3:23-4:7.) God gave to the church then a picture book in
which were all kinds of beautiful pictures of the kingdom of heaven which was
to come. Some of these pictures were: the temple, the sacrifices, the throne of
David and Solomon, the Aaronitic priesthood, etc. But these were pictures, not the reality.
The reality came in the New Testament. Jesus Christ came to establish the kingdom by
His work. By His blood, He laid the foundation of the kingdom, for it is a
kingdom of righteousness. By His resurrection, He earned the new life which is
given to the citizens of the kingdom (I Pet. 1:3-4). By His ascension, He
brought the kingdom into heaven, for it is a heavenly kingdom, not of this
earth (Dan. 7:13-14). From heaven, He pours out His Spirit so that His own who
receive the Spirit are made citizens of the kingdom of heaven.
Thus, when Jesus said that the
kingdom of heaven was near, the kingdom was truly near, for He established it.
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(II)
(II)
More to come! (DV)
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