Running head: JESUS KINGDOM ACTIVITY
Jesus Kingdom Activity
Susan Roark
New Testament Survey 123
01/17/09
Jesus’ Kingdom Activity
Every action Jesus took during His ministry on earth was well thought out, organized and executed. Each parable, and each healing pointed to who He was, what He came to accomplish, and the Kingdom He was setting up. The Galilean Ministry of Jesus was marked by one profound event after another. We will explore three of those in this essay.
With Caesarea Philippi as a backdrop we have a dramatic picture of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was standing on a road in an area littered with the temples of the Syrian gods, a place where the Greek gods looked down,( Maier1994) a place where the most important river in Judaism sprang to life, a place where the white marble splendor of the home of Caesar-worship dominated the landscape. Here, of all places, He stands and asks the disciples who they believe Him to be. Peter boldly answers, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). Devries (1997) suggests that it is as if Jesus deliberately set Himself against the background of the world's religions in all their splendor and glory and demanded to be compared with them. The greatest and most important feature of the Kingdom was about to be revealed; Jesus’ Son Ship and Deity. Peter’s declaration, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," challenged the gods in the niches of the cliff and their devotees who worshiped these gods as though they actually existed. “The expression of a faith like Peters was foundation on which Jesus would build the church.” (Niswonger 1992)
After His authority is established, Jesus announced His purpose. He has come to build an ekklesia (Church), a community of the redeemed, called out to be His Body on earth, to witness to Him while He was absent. The Church or ekklesia is vital to the Kingdom, because the church build the kingdom, and ensures proper functioning....