O'Donoghue MTh_Thesis-FinalCopy.pdf - South African Theological ...

Kingdom requires its citizens to have compassion on others (Matt.18:33). In thepicture Jesus paints of final Judgment citizens of the Kingdom are portrayed aspeople whose lives were defined by their hospitality, compassion for the poor andcare for those in prison (Matt. 25:35-40).Obedience in the Kingdom requires personal sacrifice (Mark 9:47). In Mark 10:24Jesus teaches His disciples that it is hard for people who trust in wealth to enter intoHis Kingdom. Disciples of Christ are co-labourers with God in the extension of HisKingdom (Col 4:11). Disciples are to live lives worthy of citizenship in Jesus’Kingdom (1 Thes 2:12). In Acts God speaks about the Apostle Paul and says, “For Iwill show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake,” thus it followsthat to be a citizen of the Kingdom may require one to suffer (Acts 9:16).John’s Gospel moves away from the idea of the Kingdom of God and replaces it withthe idea of eternal life (Marshal 2004:581). John’s Gospel describes eternal life asconscious and intimate communion with God, thus God’s Kingdom includes disciplesin communion with God (John 17:3).As the literary analyses drew a contrast between the God of the Kingdom and pagangod’s it is worth noting how the Kingdom is at time portrayed over and against evil.When Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God He portrayed it as the reign of God,“through which evil is defeated (Bowden 2005:690).” The literary analyses showedthat the disciple can add the moral evil of idolatry to any given day by unnecessaryworry over material wealth. Thus the advancement of God’s Kingdom would see thismoral evil defeated.Marshall (2004:61) notes that the scriptures also use kingdom terminology to refer toSatan and his kingdom. Marshall then concludes that as Jesus is using Kingdomterminology it includes the implication that there is “an invasion and the recovery ofterritory and people from the enemy who controls them.” Jesus does at times usewar like terminology when He talks of delivering captives.Marshall (2004:61), rightly goes on to note that people are not portrayed as passivecaptives, but are “to some extent” willing to be captive. The positive response to74