Good morning fellow followers of Christ,
Well its raining cats and dogs this morning. I have heard that idioms like this are very hard for non-native English speakers to understand. I think that this concept also applies for Jesus' parables. His audience would easily pick up on things that mystify us. However, we mustn't let things that are "over our heads" be an excuse not to make every effort to understand. Jesus's disciples were often uncertain about the meaning of his parables. Let us strive to increase in our knowledge of God.
Blessings,
Jeff
Does "God's reign over God's people in God's place" fit this parable? This is TGC working definition for Kingdom of God. Jesus tells me that the ideal, the true kingdom of heaven can be compared to something finite. He never says the kingdom is the field with wheat and tares. It is different, but some comparison can be made.
First question is Why is understanding the kingdom of heaven so important to Matthew? Seems like audience would be critical. Gospels have different audiences and contain different events or sometimes same events told in different ways. To Matthew's Jewish audience, the kingdom of David was perfection. Frequently asked: "is the kingdom (of David) going to be restored now? Jesus is explaining a new kingdom model. A new paradigm. God's direct rule, not indirect rule through physical line of kings. The kingdom that Israel rejected by demanding a physical king.
God's people and God's place are dramatically different from Davidic kingdom. Jews in Israel. This is believers (Jew and Gentile) in the Church.
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