1. What did the Jewish people expect the "Kingdom of God" to look like in redeeming Israel? Did these views mirror Jesus? (p. 49-55)
2. Did the Synoptic gospels suggest the idea of 'Messianic Secrecy'? If so, did Scott's explanation suggest a strong reason for Jesus to deliberately conceal his identity? (p.55-6)
3. Why did Jesus want to be baptized? Why was this significant enlight of the Jews?
4. According to the text, has the Kingdom of God arrived or are we still awaiting its arrival?
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1. The Jews saw the coming of the Kingdom of God as an end to control of the world by Satan. As the people of God, they would be dominant in the new Kingdom, and all their adversaries would be vanquished. The Jews were correct in seeing the coming of the Kingdom of God as an end to control of the world by Satan. In His first act after baptism, Christ defeated the temptations of Satan in the wilderness with nothing but scripture. Throughout His ministry, He cast out demons from people, recovering those that Satan had taken from the Father. As a final act of dominance over Satan, he offered Himself up as a sacrifice for the entire world.
ReplyDelete2. The gospels did suggest the idea of “Messianic Secrecy.” Christ told many people on many occasions not to tell of what they had seen. Scott’s explanation is satisfactory. In the time of Jesus’ ministry, the Jews were looking for a ruler better than those they had been plagued with. Groups like the Zealots were trying to undermine the Roman government at every turn. He knew that the work He came to do would not be done if he was declared the leader of some kind of military revolution.
3. The act of Baptism by John aligned Jesus with John’s teachings and prophecies, placed Him outside of the accepted religious body, and showed an inner attitude and relationship with God. These events were equivalent with OT prophecies about the Messiah, such as His anointing, and the voice designated Him as the “beloved son.”
4. According to Scott, the kingdom of God was brought on by Christ. As we follow Him, and live in the Sovereign rule of God, we thereby dwell in the kingdom of God.
Jeff Morris here...
ReplyDeleteWell, I seem to have messed up the organization on our blog site. I'll get it sorted out better next time & post my answers as comments under the chapter heading. My bad.
#2. I agree with you that Scott's answer concerning "Messianic Secrecy" is sufficient, but I still wish He had supported the idea a little more. The paragraph that he dedicated to his own view was very brief. While discussed in other areas of the chapter, your insight concerning the zealots is well-noted in this discussion.
#3. This is going to sound dense, & I'm honestly embarrassed to admit it, but it never occurred to me until I read this chapter that the event of Jesus' baptism was a blatant affront to the accepted religious society of His day. It seems so obvious now!
**I published this a couple hours ago as a new blog post. Now I see how you wanted this organized, so I'm reposting it here for the sake of getting everything streamlined.
ReplyDelete1. The Jewish people expected the establishment of the Kingdom of God to yield political dominance that would assure Israel’s recognition as “the greatest of all nations” (49). Some expected a cosmic change in the natural world that would eliminate disease (among other things) and bring heightened prosperity (50). Some looked forward to a social era of peace and justice, while others believed a spiritual realignment of those in God’s Kingdom was imminent (50). Most Jews believed that the Kingdom of God would usher in national deliverance that “would bring freedom from Rome” (50).
Jesus’ earthly ministry reflects some of these ideas. His life, death, and ministry are all demonstrations of his warfare against the forces of evil. There is no question that His ministry has brought about a spiritual paradigm shift. His miraculous deeds demonstrated a power over nature and the evils that have crept into creation. Fulfillment of all of these ancient Jewish ideals can be found in Christ and in Christ alone.
2. While the synoptic gospels suggest the idea of Messianic Secrecy, the meaning of such concealment by Christ is still a source of controversy and mystery. It has been suggested that Christ was trying to hide His identity as the Messiah or even deny it completely (56). Perhaps it was a matter of reverse psychology, or maybe Jesus was attempting to stall any public announcements for the sake of drama or in order to cultivate more time to teach his disciples (56). It has even been suggested that such calls for secrecy were mere fabrications so that the disciples could spread the message of Jesus as the Messiah, even though the masses knew that He never publicly made any such claim (56). The text ultimately asserts that Jesus wanted to conceal His Messiahship primarily so that He could clarify through His teachings (and subsequent death and resurrection) exactly what He meant by the term (56). In a time that was highly charged with so many preconceived ideas of who the Messiah would be and what he would accomplish, Jesus intended to take all the time He needed in order to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to His disciples.
3. According to Dr. Scott, the baptism of Jesus was a commissioning of Christ’s earthly ministry, including His death. By identifying Himself with John the Baptist, Jesus affirmed John’s teachings of a coming Messiah, of a need for cleansing beyond “the structure of both the religious ceremonies and the ethnic boundaries of Israel,” and of the need for forgiveness by means of an internal relationship with God and repentant behavior (52).
4. The text states that the Kingdom of God arrived once and for all when Jesus came to earth. The synoptic gospels clearly emphasize this point several times, as do the words of Christ Himself.
1.) The Jews expected the Kingdom of God would bring an end to the control of the material world by Satan, and that this in turn would produce favorable results for the Israelites by fixing their individual, social and environmental problems and causing them to be a powerful nation among world powers. Jesus' views partially mirrored those of the Israelites. His first act after baptism was to defeat the power of Satan, but the Synoptic Gospels portray the major emphases of Jesus' ministry as that of bringing in the Kingdom of God, clarifying its nature, and implementing the reign of God on the earth, not the reign of any particular nation-state like Israel.
ReplyDelete2.) Yes, the Synoptic Gospels do suggest the idea of Messianic Secrecy, but it is important to note that not all of the Synoptic Gospels are mentioned when Scott discusses the idea of Messianic Secrecy. When Scott outlines this idea on pages 55-56, he only refers to examples in the book of Mark, not the other two Synoptic Gospels present in the Bible. Scott's reasoning for Jesus' deliberately delaying the announcement of His Messiahship did not seem sufficient because the author did not take enough time to develop his thoughts (i.e. giving specific examples in Jesus' teaching where He clarified how the term Messiah was to be understood).
3.) Jesus wanted to be baptized because it would serve as a sort of commissioning for the beginning of His ministry, and for three specific purposes: 1.) to align Himself with the ministry of John. 2.) to place Himself outside of the religious structure found in Israel and 3.) to establish the importance of forgiveness by means of an internal relatonship with God and a repentant heart.
4.) According to Scott, with the arrival of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God has come into the world.
1.) Jeff, good insight on this question. I did not consider how the power that Christ displayed over nature would have been in a sense a fulfillment to one of the desires of the Kingdom of God for the Jewish people.
ReplyDelete2.) I also concur with Jeff on this question. I do not view Scott's answer as a satisfactory conclusion to the discussion on Messianic secrecy. The author, Dr. Scott, surely was thorough in explaining his thoughts and logic in many areas of the chapter. However, I do believe this was NOT one of them.
4.) Luke, I also enjoyed your insight on question 4. Not only was the kingdom of God established in Jesus Christ, but we still live in it today. Just as Jesus invited his disciples to come into the kingdom of God with Him and serve, so He also calls each one of us to carry our cross and do the same as His servants in the world today.
ReplyDelete2.) Brian, nice catch. While Scott's position on Messianic Secrecy is certainly plausible, he seems to have rushed through his reasoning a bit. I didn't even notice that he only pulled from one of the synoptic gospels to make his assertions.
ReplyDelete