Preparing for the Coming Kingdom
Preamble: Matthew 5.47
Jeremias, NT Theology, pp 213-14:
"The
breadth of the commandment to love is without parallel in the history of the
time, & to this extent the 4th Gospel is quite correct in making Jesus
describe [it as the new commandment, 13.34].
Whereas Jewish morality made a man’s personal enemy an exception to the
commandment to love [‘You shall love your compatriot (Lev. 19.18) (but) you
need not love your adversary’.], & indeed prohibited the giving of bread to
sinners [Tobit 4.17 giving bread at a funeral]. Jesus requires his disciples to
love even those who do them wrong & persecute them. Still more, they are to
pray for them (Matt. 5.44)."
Anything Christians can do? To resist or not to resist? Matt. 5.38-41
2
Cor. 10.1-6, J.B. Phillips:
“Now
I am going to appeal to you personally, by the gentleness and sympathy of
Christ himself. The truth is that, although of course we lead normal human
lives, the battle we are fighting is on the spiritual level. The very weapons
we use are not those of human warfare but powerful in God’s warfare for the
destruction of the enemy’s strongholds. Once we are sure of your obedience we
shall not shrink from dealing with those who refuse to obey.”
REMEMBER:
Ps 34.21
“Evil
people [will eventually] self-destruct.”
Greg Boyd, A Kingdom Not of This World: http://reknew.org/2017/08/kingdom-not-world/
“Jesus
was acknowledging that he was indeed a king, but not over any particular
[nation, peoples, political party]. He was thus declaring that his kingdom was
no more aligned with the nation of Israel than with any other nation,
[evidence] that Jesus believed this nationalistic program had come to an end
with him….Hence, there’s in Christ no longer any place for attaching any
significance to one’s nationality or ethnicity [i.e., neither Jew or Gentile/male or female, Gal. 3:28].”
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