{"id":120,"date":"2014-07-07T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=120"},"modified":"2014-05-23T22:00:31","modified_gmt":"2014-05-23T22:00:31","slug":"matthew-412-17-jesus-begins-to-preach-theological-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/07\/matthew-412-17-jesus-begins-to-preach-theological-commentary.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 4:12-17; Jesus Begins to Preach (Theological Commentary)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The phrase, \u201ckingdom of heaven\u201d appears only in Matthew\u2019s gospel, but it is used synonymously with \u201ckingdom of God\u201d found elsewhere in Matthew and in the other gospels. One theologian defines this term as meaning, \u201cthe spiritual rule of God in the hearts of believers.\u201d While technically accurate, this definition falls short of the immediacy and efficacy with which Jesus used the phrase.<\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s teaching on the kingdom added the imperative that it was physically near (or literally, \u201chas drawn near\u201d) because he, God\u2019s Son, had come. It seemed to symbolize both a present, intangible reality (i.e., \u201crule of God in the hearts of believers\u201d) and also the promise of a future, corporeal actuality (God\u2019s rule on earth) that was beginning to show itself through Christ\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kingdom is the sum of all gifts,\u201d one 20th<\/sup> century scholar said in commentary on this passage, and that rings true. He added, \u201cThough it will come in its complete glory only in the future, it is already beginning to manifest itself in the events connected with Jesus\u2019 ministry\u2026the dawning of the kingdom, the appearance of its first fruits, the combination of thanksgiving for present bliss with the most poignant expectation of glory in the near future\u2014these features run through the whole New Testament.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Sunrise<\/a><\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[TTW, 205-6; IB7, 275]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The phrase, \u201ckingdom of heaven\u201d appears only in Matthew\u2019s gospel, but it is used synonymously with \u201ckingdom of God\u201d found elsewhere in Matthew and in the other gospels. One theologian defines this term as meaning, \u201cthe spiritual rule of God in the hearts of believers.\u201d While technically accurate, this definition falls short of the immediacy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,14],"tags":[16,84,83,302],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matthew","category-theologicalcommentary","tag-jesus","tag-kingdom-of-god","tag-kingdom-of-heaven","tag-matthew"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 4:12-17; Jesus Begins to Preach (Theological Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/07\/matthew-412-17-jesus-begins-to-preach-theological-commentary.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 4:12-17; Jesus Begins to Preach (Theological Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The phrase, \u201ckingdom of heaven\u201d appears only in Matthew\u2019s gospel, but it is used synonymously with \u201ckingdom of God\u201d found elsewhere in Matthew and in the other gospels. One theologian defines this term as meaning, \u201cthe spiritual rule of God in the hearts of believers.\u201d While technically accurate, this definition falls short of the immediacy…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/07\/matthew-412-17-jesus-begins-to-preach-theological-commentary.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-07T12:00:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-05-23T22:00:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/files\/2014\/05\/Sunrise.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike Nappa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Matthew 4:12-17; Jesus Begins to Preach (Theological Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/07\/matthew-412-17-jesus-begins-to-preach-theological-commentary.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Matthew 4:12-17; Jesus Begins to Preach (Theological Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds","og_description":"The phrase, \u201ckingdom of heaven\u201d appears only in Matthew\u2019s gospel, but it is used synonymously with \u201ckingdom of God\u201d found elsewhere in Matthew and in the other gospels. 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