The Kingdom of God in Mk1:15

'The time has come', said Jesus. 'The kingdom of God is near.' (NIV) There has been much discussion about this verse and whether the kingdom arrives with Jesus or only at his death; the focus seems to always fall on time. I was reading 'Divine Government' by R.T. France and he puts it well (that is I agree with him and he says it better than I ever could!).....

But in so far as the debate has focused specifically on the kingship of God, it has too often proceeded on the basis of of the misconception we considered above, that the kingdom must refer to a particular situation or event within a chronological scheme. But when it is recognised that the NT is not talking about a thing called the kingdom, but about God reigning, the whole question loses its focus [...] The main point of Mark 1.15 is not the precise timescale, but the fact that it is in the coming of Jesus that we are to see God's revolution taking place. Indeed, it is in the Jesus that we are to see God coming as King.

Jumping on Jesus

Do we in Sydney have a problem? Has our preaching on the Old Testament left behind the original setting, culture, geography and meaning for those to whom it was originally written? Are we too quick to 'jump to Jesus'? It could mean that our Old Testament preaching in Sydney becomes all too predictable and boring! I totally agree that 'all Scripture points to Jesus', but what does this mean? Is it every sentence, every paragraph, every chapter or just the vibe of the thing? (The answer is another post altogether!) The question is one of methodology or hermeneutics (that is how we interpret the Bible). Biblical Theology is a hermeneutical tool and the man leading this charge is Graeme Goldsworthy. I was fortunate enough to do Hermeunitics subject with Graeme at Moore College and when asked whether he would go to Jesus for every sermon on say a series on Exodus he said, 'No'. However Graeme was quick to say that too often his work has led people to go too quickly to Jesus' death and resurrection or to focus on his work, not his person. The Scriptures testify to ALL of Jesus' life. I'm not saying that all preachers jump all over Jesus too quickly this but there are certainly some people out there who believe we have a slavish desire to go to Jesus and fail to explain the text in a rich and meaningful way - and I think they have a point! What do you think.....

Real Tough Blokes

A strange thing happened to me the other week - I was taking my kids to the swings when a man walked by the his dog (a beagle). The dog came straight up to my 16mth old daughter and took the biscuit out of her hand! I was shocked, the man was very embarrassed and chastised his dog verbally. Later that day I was cleaning the car when the same man arrived in his car carrying a plastic shopping bag and apologised and said sorry for his dog's actions and gave us a whole bag of chocolates! But how does this relate to 'tough blokes'? I reckon it takes a huge effort to admit your fault and say sorry because it is a hit to your pride. Especially blokes! So, this man, who never told me his name, is a real tough bloke in my mind. He was able to swallow his pride and admit his mistake - I wonder whether he has done that before God yet? Yes, it is a hit to our pride to admit that we no longer run our lives and willingly submit to the will of God. It also makes me think of the cost of forgiveness for Jesus, chocolates for one hiccup, death for the other ......

Toy Story

A big part of my life at the moment is my 2yr old's obsession with the movie Toy Story (1 & 2). There is a moment in Toy Story 2 where Buzz asks Woody the philosophical question of the movie and it has to do with purpose - where Toys created to be played with or to live in a museum? Woody seems to have lost the plot thinking that the museum is his destiny but eventually sees the light. It reminded me of a conversation I had with an agnostic who has been coming to church lately. He has no problems with us being sinners, in fact he thinks that we were created sinners and therefore can lay the blame for all his wrong doings on God because that is how we were created! But this is not true - Gen 1 & 2 clearly show that sin was not part of the the original creation: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen 1:31). For how could God declare someting good if it was originally tainted with sin. Our purpose or telos is to be in perfect relationship with God, for this is 'good'. My friend fails to see that Jesus forges this relationship through his person and work and bears the punishment of our rebellion. It seems that the blame game should fall on us not on God.