{"id":20289,"date":"2021-07-05T09:50:25","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T13:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=20289"},"modified":"2021-07-05T09:56:51","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T13:56:51","slug":"%ef%bb%bfmatthews-good-news-the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-at-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=20289","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffMatthew&#8217;s Good News:  The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7X9d4ubvWH4\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p>This week I will continue to share portions\nfrom my early tapes and books on the <em>Great\nThemes of Scripture<\/em>. While these talks first launched my public\nteaching ministry in 1973, I hope they still contain some relevant wisdom for\ntoday, especially when paired with insights from my friend and CAC teacher\nBrian McLaren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The great themes of the New Testament continue\nthose of the Hebrew Bible, and one of those \u201cgreat themes\u201d is the Gospel\nitself. In ancient times, a \u201cgospel\u201d was a sharing of good news. Why did the\nGospel writers choose to use the Greek word <em>euangelion<\/em>,\nwhich means \u201cgood news\u201d? I think it\u2019s because the story of Jesus was <em>the <\/em>news that transformed\ntheir lives. It was Good News of unconditional love, that we are loved, and\nthat our entire lives can and should be based on the absolute love of God. That\ncenters and grounds everything. What a tragedy that so much of Christianity has\nbeen made bad news, and has joined with the bad news of Empire, scapegoating,\nracism, war, sexism, and destruction of the planet. How far we must be from the\nexperience of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthew wants to show that Jesus has come to\nproclaim and to establish \u201cthe kingdom of God.\u201d Jesus says, \u201cTurn around! The\nkingdom of heaven is near\u201d (Matthew 4:17). The realm of God is right here,\nright now, in the present tense. The relationship with God\u2019s love that sets us\nfree is in our midst. We have to have the humility and trust to turn around and\nsee it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how Brian McLaren describes it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus forms a\nmovement of people who trust him and believe his message. They believe that\nthey don\u2019t have to wait for this or that to happen, but rather that they can\nbegin living in a new and better way now, a way of life Jesus conveys by the\npregnant phrase <em>kingdom of God<\/em>.\nLife for them now is about an interactive relationship\u2014reconciled to God,\nreconciled to one another\u2014and so they see their entire lives as an opportunity\nto make the beautiful music of God\u2019s kingdom so that more and more people will\nbe drawn into it, and so that the world will be changed by their growing\ninfluence. [1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It is a much greater message than just\nindividual salvation, which has not gotten us very far at all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus preaches to \u201cturn around,\u201d or in Greek <em>metanoia, <\/em>which literally\nmeans to<em> <\/em>\u201cchange\nyour mind<em>.<\/em>\u201d<em> <\/em>It does not mean\nself-flagellation or being really down about ourselves, which is what the word\n\u201crepent\u201d has implied for most of us. It always involves an attitude of trust,\nletting go, and surrender. Originating with the Hebrew prophets, the biblical\nidea of <em>metanoia<\/em> is\nthat of a change of mind and heart, a full turning around, a whole new\ntransformation of one\u2019s mentality and level of consciousness, more than \u201cgoing\nto church\u201d or following a new moral code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mark&#8217;s Good News:<\/strong><strong><br>\nA Secret Message<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the beginning of Mark\u2019s Gospel, he\nannounces that he is proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ, the Messiah,\nthe Son of God (Mark 1:1). But in the first half of the Gospel, it is the evil\nspirits who recognize who Jesus is, and Jesus warns them not to reveal his\nidentity (Mark 1:34; 3:11\u201312). When Peter and the Twelve recognize that Jesus\nis the Messiah in the eighth chapter, Jesus again admonishes them not to tell\nanyone (Mark 8:27\u201330). He tells them that the Messiah must suffer and die, but\nthey don\u2019t understand (Mark 8:31\u201333; 9:31\u201332; 10:32\u201334). When Jesus is finally\narrested, they all run away (Mark 14:50\u201352). In Mark\u2019s Gospel, it is not until\nthe crucifixion that Jesus is recognized (by a Roman soldier!) as the Son of\nGod (Mark 15:39).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why did Jesus want to keep his identity\nsecret? Was it perhaps that he didn\u2019t fully understand it at that point\nhimself, or because he didn\u2019t want to be accepted for the wrong reasons? He\nwanted to lead people to a way of greater love and suffering service to others,\nnot be reduced to the role of a magician, or a wonder worker. We see this first\ncome to a climax in Mark\u2019s Gospel when Jesus puts the question to Peter and the\ndisciples: \u201cYou, but who do you say that I am?\u201d (Mark 8:29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brian McLaren has written about Jesus\u2019 \u201csecret\nmessage,\u201d which is the loving, transforming, nonviolent, and revolutionary\nmessage of the Gospels, that institutional Christianity has so often missed or\nkept hidden. He writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if Jesus had a message that truly could\nchange the world, but we\u2019re prone to miss the point of it? . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if the core message of Jesus has been\nunintentionally misunderstood or intentionally distorted? What if many have\nsincerely valued some aspects of Jesus\u2019 message while missing or even\nsuppressing other, more important dimensions? What if many have carried on a\nreligion that faithfully celebrates Jesus in ritual and art, teaches about\nJesus in sermons and books, sings about Jesus in songs and hymns, and theorizes\nabout Jesus in seminaries and classrooms . . . but somewhere along the way\nmissed rich and radical treasures hidden in the essential message of Jesus? . .\n.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if Jesus\u2019\nsecret message reveals a secret plan? What if he didn\u2019t come to start a new\nreligion\u2014but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic,\neconomic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new\nworld? [1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christ is asking each of us, \u201cWho do you say\nthat I am?\u201d We each have to come to that moment of deciding who\nChrist\/God\/Ultimate Reality is for us. It means nothing if we intellectually\naccept that there is a God. The only moment that has any effect or revolution\nfor us is when we acknowledge God\u2019s active presence in our lives and the power\nof unconditional love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sarah Young: Jesus Calling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DRAW NEAR TO ME with a thankful heart, aware that your cup is\noverflowing with blessings. Gratitude enables you to perceive Me more clearly\nand to rejoice in our Love-relationship. Nothing can separate you from My\nloving Presence! That is the basis of your security. Whenever you start to feel\nanxious, remind yourself that your security rests in Me alone, and I am totally\ntrustworthy. You will never be in control of your life circumstances, but you\ncan relax and trust in My control. Instead of striving for a predictable, safe\nlifestyle, seek to know Me in greater depth and breadth. I long to make your\nlife a glorious adventure, but you must stop clinging to old ways. I am always\ndoing something new within My beloved ones. Be on the lookout for all that I have\nprepared for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ROMANS 8:38\u201339; For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither\nangels nor demons, [] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39\nneither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to\nseparate us from the love of \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PSALM 56:3\u20134; When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose\nword I praise\u2014 in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to\nme?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ISAIAH 43:19; For I am about to do\nsomething new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a\npathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week I will continue to share portions from my early tapes and books on the Great Themes of Scripture. While these talks first launched my public teaching ministry in 1973, I hope they still contain some relevant wisdom for today, especially when paired with insights from my friend and CAC teacher Brian McLaren. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20289"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20289"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20291,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20289\/revisions\/20291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}