The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God, as taught by Jesus, is heralded by the early parables (Mark 2:21-22) that He used that seems to imply a “change of guard” – the Abrahamic covenant has now become the old religious order, and the kingdom of God has now arrived as a new covenant.

It seems that the phrase “Kingdom of God” and “Kingdom of Heaven” are used interchangeably. Specifically, the phrase “kingdom of God” occurs 68 times in ten different New Testament books, whereas “kingdom of heaven” occurs 32 times, and interestingly only in the Gospel of Matthew. One theory claims that the reason Matthew, being a Jew himself, used the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” extensively is because Matthew’s writing is specifically targeted for Jewish readers, with the focus to show that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the many Old Testament’s prophecies. Devout Jews avoided using the name YHWH, and rather substituted with an appropriate phrase to depict deity. Hence, Matthew often replaced “Kingdom of God” with “Kingdom of Heaven”, whereas Mark and Luke, with their focus on Greek readership, used the phrase “Kingdom of God”.

Although, a kingdom brings the connotation of having a king, which is Jesus Himself, unfortunately the Jewish’s concept of the “kingdom of God” is very much a physical kingdom - a militant concept, where they expected Jesus to stomp against the Roman empire and establish Israel as an everlasting nation. This is further supported that the Jewish people had been living under foreign forces as early as around 750 BC since the Assyrian invasion. Furthermore, it has been more than four hundred years’ lapse since the last Old Testament, Malachi, had spoken before Jesus came. The Jews had been dejected, possibly even doubted whether God would rescue them from further foreign invasion.

Jesus on the other hand, indicated that the kingdom of God that has come is not a physical one (Luke 17:20-21, John 18:36), but a spiritual kingdom. The entrance into the kingdom of God is heralded by a new birth (John 3:5) with a need for heart repentance (Matthew 3:2). Romans 14:17 further strengthen the fact that the kingdom of God that Jesus initiated is not about the external but rather the internal.

Dr. Alex Tang's Teaching Sessions on Biomedical Ethics

I have attached Dr. Alex Tang's teaching sessions on the Biomedical Ethics According To Christian Perspective. Topics include abortion, death and dying...these are issues that many healthcare providers will face.

Kindly email me at cksheng74@yahoo.com for more details.

Alex Tang Biomedical Ethics According To Christian Perspective Teaching Sessions in KB

The Temptation of Christ

The Temptations of Christ

This account follows immediately^[1] after His Baptism. Whereas in the baptism account, the divine voice says “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Luk 3:22 NIV), during the three temptations, the Son of God was tempted twice with the phrase “If you are the Son of God….” in attempts to make Him doubt His Messiahship or identity. The word “tempt” in Luke 4:2 is translated from the Greek word peirazō, which also means “to test”, although no explanation was given in the accounts as to why the testing was necessary. But what is clear is that He was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness.

The significance of these three temptations

1. "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." (Luk 4:3 NIV)

In the first temptation the devil suggests Jesus will die if He does not eat^[2]. This temptation was not a temptation to immorality or sin in the traditional sense as there was nothing sinful in eating. Rather, it was a testing as to kind of Messiah that He would be. In other words, it was a testing whether Jesus would use His power and His privileges as the Son of God for selfish gains. Therefore, this was a test as to whether Jesus would trust His Father to provide for His basic needs or whether He would usurp the sovereignty of God the Father for His life.

2. "I will give you all their authority and splendor…if you worship me (Luk 4:6 NIV)

In this temptation, the devil promised Jesus success through a “cross-less” solution. He could have the world and rule it. With the kingdoms of the world given Him, he could meet the basic needs of the world - rid the world of hunger, war, injustice, poverty, etc. All He need do was worship the devil and His mission. The end justifies the means.

3. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here” (Luk 4:9 NIV)

The exact intention of this temptation is debatable. Some have suggested that it was a temptation to perform something spectacular. However, the problem with this view is that no one is mentioned as being present other than Jesus and Satan. The most likely interpretation of this temptation is that it involves a dare on Jesus’ part to make God rescue Him. Jesus recognized the fine line between trusting God for the needs of life and challenging him to rescue him from artificially created difficulties^[3].

---

[1] Mark connects the baptism account with the temptation account with his characteristics “And immediately…” (Mark 1:12), and Matthew with “Then…” (Matthew 4:12).

[2] The Bible said that Jesus did not eat for forty days. There was no comment in the Bible whether Jesus drank or not.

[3] This temptation is common among those who profess to follow Jesus. It is not always clear whether a “leap of faith” is an act of true faith or putting God to a test. That is true even if at times such a daring of God is called the “testing the promises of God.” The former would be an act of faith, whereas the latter is clearly an evil, presumptuous challenge. See Deut 6:16

Book Review: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible, NKJV

I remember I bought my first copy of the Inspirational Study Bible, NKJV with devotional life lessons edited by Max Lucado in the year 1998 (see picture below).

It has been 10 years since and the new Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible, NKJV is a completely revised edition (with a different name as well) and for the first time, all the devotional materials in this new edition are excerpted from Max Lucado's entire career of writings -from his first book to his latest release, Outlive Your Life.

Comparing the older edition that I had with this latest edition, this new edition follows the same format as the previous one - with each devotional lesson starts with a "Situation", follow by "Observation", then "Inspiration" (which is the excerpted piece of writings from one of Lucado's books), and closes with "Application" and "Exploration".

The older edition has a special 48-inserts printed on good quality paper, offering encouraging words from Max on a variety of inspirational topics. This has been expanded and replaced with a series of 48-full page topical studies also scattered throughout the entire text.

The dictionary/concordance section from the older version has been replaced with a section of devotional index on selected life application topics (each topic is supplied with selected relevant verses with suggestions to read the related passages in the text).

The 100 of the most inspiring passages of the Bible in the older version has been replaced with two new sections "He Did This Just For You" verses and "Spiritual Growth" verses (new selections of bible verses).

I still prefer the older version in terms of the quality of printing paper (better paper quality in the older version) and I like the 100 bible passages personally selected by Max Lucado in the older version.

Nonetheless, the new version has a cool section of 30 Studies for New Believers. I find this section to be an excellent section even for not-so-new believers.

Finally, as with the previous editions, I personally think that this NKJV bible should be more aptly called the Lucado Life Lessons Devotional Bible rather than Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible, as there is really not much of exegetical materials or hermeneutics of the scripture that warrant it to be a study bible. Neither is this bible contains any maps or related materials. Even the dictionary/concordance section has been taken out. The only consolation would probably be the additional capsule outlining the main messages of each books of the Bible in the Introduction page.

*********************
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
**********************

Why Did The Son of God Submit Himself To Baptism?

Francesco Albani's The Baptism of Christ

The baptism of Jesus has been difficult to interpret. Why did the Son of God submitted Himself to be baptized? Even John himself asked a similar question (Mt 3:14)

The three possible reasons why Jesus wanted to be baptized:

• His identification with the penitent people of God, the community of the Kingdom of God that John founded. Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. (Matthew 3:15 NIV)

• His readiness to break out from the silence of his past thirty years, and to usher in His messianic task

• His demonstration of His wholehearted commitment and devotion to His Father’s work. "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared." (Mark 10:38-40 NIV)

Three unusual events that occurred at Jesus’ baptism:

1. Heaven being “torn open” (Mark 1:10)

Whether this event of heaven being torn apart is a physical event or indicating a theological reality or both, is unclear. The bottom line is, this indicates that Jesus possessed a direct access to God. Mark uses a similar term in Mark 15:38, “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:38 NIV)

2. The Spirit “descending like a dove” (Mark 1:11)

Again, this does not necessarily mean that an actual dove was physically present. The significance of this is that, in Mark 1:8, John the Baptist says that “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Before the Son of God would bestow the Spirit on His followers, He must Himself be anointed by the Spirit. Jesus’ awareness of the Spirit’s anointing is also evident from the first sermon he preached in Nazareth where, opening the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2, he said that "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21 NIV) (Stein, Robert H. "Chapter 6." Jesus the Messiah: a Survey of the Life of Christ. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996. Print.)

3. A voice from heaven was heard (Mark 1:11)

This does not mean that at that moment, God the Father adopted Jesus as His Son. In John’s gospel, for example, it is clear that Jesus is the Son of God even before His incarnation (John 1:1-4 predtes 1:14).

In other words, as Stein said, He (Jesus) is not “promoted” at his baptism. Rather, the voice is an affirmation of who Jesus was and a commendation that God was pleased with the silent years. (Stein, Robert H. "Chapter 6." Jesus the Messiah: a Survey of the Life of Christ. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996. Print.)

Three Critical Views Regarding the Virginal Conception

Image: Heartlight.org

Three Critical Views Regarding the Virginal Conception

1. Wasn’t the Virgin Birth Story Derived From Pagan Myths?

According to this view, the accounts of Matthew and Luke arose among Greek Christians who were acquainted with the many myths in paganism that have to do with virgin births of various Greek gods and superheroes. For examples, the birth of Perseus was conceived when the god Zeus, appeared in the form of shower of gold, had sex with his mother, Danaë.

Nevertheless, a careful comparison of the biblical accounts of Jesus’ birth with the many miraculous birth stories would reveal that almost all the pagan accounts involve a sexual encounter between a god and a human woman because the god’s lust. In any of these cases, the woman had no possible claim to be a virgin, and if she was a virgin before the encounter, she certainly was not after the encounter.

This is in stark contrast from the asexual nature of Mary’s experience in the gospel account. There is no hint of God’s lust for Mary in any way parallels to that of Apollo for the mother of Octavius[1].

2. Wasn’t the Virgin Birth Story As A Result of Misinterpretation of Isaiah 7:14?

Perhaps the account of the virgin birth was the result of misinterpretation of the passage in Isaiah:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, NIV)

Since this is a prophecy concerning a future virgin birth, it is claimed that church “created” the virgin birth in order for the prophecy fulfillment to take place.

However, it has to be acknowledged if we take into consideration the original context of Isaiah’s prophecy, it may not be exclusively about the virginal birth of Jesus. Rather, it referred to the birth of Hezekiah, the son and successor of King Ahaz.

This is because the Hebrew word where we get the word “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 (NIV) is the word “`almah”. This feminine noun means a young woman, which may or may not be a virgin.

Thus, as Stein said (in Jesus The Messiah: A Survey Of The Life of Christ, IVP Academic Press, p66):

“…whereas the interpretation of Isaiah 7:14 as referring to the virgin birth is understandable in the Christian church due to an already established tradition of the virgin birth, the reverse is not at all likely….It was the story of that gave rise to the messianic interpretation of this passage (of Isaiah 7:14), not the reverse.”

In other words, it is most probable that Isaiah’s prophecy in 7:14 has dual fulfillment, initially in Isaiah’s day, and ultimately, at the birth of Jesus.

3. Wasn’t the Virgin Birth Story Derived From Jewish Thoughts?

Closely linked to the above point of contention, according to some Jewish sources, the Greek word for virgin is the word “parthenos”. Jesus, it was argued, was not born of a virgin but was the illegitimate offspring of Mary and a soldier named Panthera. Thus Jesus was not conceived supernaturally to a virgin (parthenos). This whole myth of virgin birth was to cover up Jesus’ illegitimacy resulting from Mary’s adultery with Panthera. This is clearly a parody with the switch of the ‘r’ and the ‘n’. There was no such evidence to support such theory.

---

[1] See Probe Ministries Article: Was Jesus Really Born of a Virgin? By Michael Gleghorn in Leadership University website. URL: http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/virgin.html

Four Events Surrounding the Birth of Jesus

Image: Heartlight.org

Four events surrounding the birth of Jesus which probably have been contemporarily misconstrued due to the popular versions portrayed through mass media:

The innkeeper that had no room for Jesus (Luke 2:7)

Traditionally the innkeeper has often been the labeled as “heartless” for turning away the holy couple as there was no more room in his inn (and this is often taken out of context to remind Christians to keep the central focus central - a good Christmas message as an antidote to the frenzied Christmas shopping!).

However, the Greek word from which most English translations (including ESV, NASB, KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, NLT) render as “inn” in Luke 2:7 is the word “katalyma.” Although “inn” is one of the meanings of “katalyma”, this Greek word can simply means a lodging place, a guest chamber or even a dining room.

The argument is, if Luke, being a careful, methodical historian, were to mean “inn” in Luke 2:7, why did he use another word (“pandocheion”) in Luke 10:34 in the account of the Good Samaritan taking care of the wounded Jewish man? Unlike “katalyma”, “pandocheion” specifically means a public house for the reception of strangers. In other words, the “inn” that Joseph and Mary came to could possibly be simply a neighborhood house with an extra or two rooms to spare and the innkeeper could possibly be no innkeeper at all as it were, in a commercial sense.

Furthermore, given the fact that Joseph and Mary were returning to Bethlehem, the city of Joseph’s family origin, certainly Joseph had family or relatives there. Hence, the lodging place in which they were unable to stay could even be the home of a relative.

Thirdly, given the economic difficulty[1] that Joseph and Mary were in, it is likely that they could not afford a commercial lodging place at that time.

The third point has to do with the Greek word “topos” in Luke 2:7. This word is usually translated as “room” in many English translations (including KJV, NKJV, NLT, NIV, NASB). However, “topos” simply means a place, or space marked off, from the surrounding space. It does not specifically mean “room”.

The Shepherds tending their sheep (Luke 2:8-20)

Tending flocks, together with agriculture, formed the basis of the Palestine economy. However, the dryness of the ground made it necessary for the flocks to move about from places to places, usually during spring. At times, this requires a stay for months at a time in isolated areas, far from the owner's home.

On the other hand, Palestine is very cold in December. Shepherds are usually not in the fields in the winter time. The sheep are penned up. Arguably therefore, December 25th is probably not the date for Jesus' birth. Shepherds are in the early March until early October. Nevertheless no one knows for sure when Jesus was born . The irony is, Luke gave very specific details about the event, even down to what the baby Jesus was wearing (the swaddling clothes) and where he slept (in a manger) (Luke 2:12). These details are important because they speak of His nature and character - meek and lowly. Therefore, if God wants us to know in more specific details regarding the birth of Jesus, in His sovereignty, He could certainly do so through the accurate, inspired writing of Luke.

The second point regarding the shepherds has to do with the shepherds themselves.

To quote Stein:

"We should not romanticize this scene as being a pronouncement to hardworking and respected 'ranchers.' Shepherds were generally considered dishonest. The were unclean according to the law."

The truth is, due to the nature of these shepherds having to leave home to tend the flocks for months in isolated place, many of the sheep owners get hireling shepherds to do this job, especially so, as the shepherd job is also exposed to the dangerous threat of wild beasts and robbers. Unfortunately, many of these hireling shepherds have bad reputation as being dishonest and thieving, stealing some of the increase of the flock as well as the produce such as milk (as opposed to the good shepherd - this contrast is brought about by Jesus in John 10:12-13). Therefore, the shepherds mentioned in Luke 2 may not necessary be the owners themselves, but hireling shepherds.

To quote Stein again (Jesus The Messiah: A Survey Of The Life of Christ, IVP Academic Press, p75):

"Their [the dishonest shepherds] presence at the birth of Jesus was recorded by Luke to show his readers that the good news of the gospel is for the poor, the sinners, for outcasts, for people like these shepherds."

Wise Men from the East (Matt 2:1-12)

Popular folklore places three wise men at the manger alongside the shepherds at the time of Jesus’ birth. However, no where in the Bible does it mention three (the number is ambiguous in Matthew 2:1-12). Furthermore, Matthew points out that they found Jesus in a “house” (Matt 2:11), and not in a “stall with a manger” as in Luke 2:7.

Matthew’ reference to the slaughter of the children two years old and below suggests that two years had passed since the birth of Jesus.

The slaughter of the children (Matt 2:16-18)

This massacre is attributed to Herod the Great. Everything that we know about this man tells us that he was precisely the kind of person who would have done such an atrocious act. He was paranoid concerning his rule. He not only built fortresses such as Antonia in Jerusalem, Sebaste, Caesarea, Gaba, Herodium, etc. He killed his uncle Joseph, his mother-in-law (Alexandra), his sons Alexandra and Aristobolus, his favorite wife (Mariamne) and Antipater, the son he had chosen. As he was dying in the fortress of Herodium, he had the leading citizens of his kingdom gathered in the amphitheater of Jericho. Then he ordered that upon his death all these citizens be killed so that his death would be mourned! There was a saying that goes “Better Herod’s swine than his son” because Herod being half-Jewish, refrained from eating pork.

---

[1] The fact that Joseph and Mary were poor could be gleaned in Luke 2:24 when they could only afford two pigeons during Mary’s purification. According to the law, after the birth of a child, a woman would have to undergo a purification rite, which involved the sacrificial giving of a lamb and a pigeon or a dove (Leviticus 12:1-8)