Disclaimer: About This Blog

THIS BLOG IS: my personal journey of how I am rethinking some of my spiritual beliefs.
THIS BLOG IS NOT: intended to point fingers at people who I think are wrong.
I do not believe the final judgement will be based on how many correct answers we get on a theology exam. I believe many people throughout history have had genuine relationships with God, despite holding questionable beliefs and practices. I make no claim to having it all figured out or being your judge. If we end up disagreeing over these topics I pray we can find a way to demonstrate grace.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Throne of his father David

I'm just taking a fresh look at the Christmas story. Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom of God. Does anything in the Christmas story point to this message as well?

Luke 1:30-33 (NIV)
But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Now, I'm not 100% sure on this. I'd rather if this said "The Lord God will give him the throne of our hearts", and "he will reign over those who follow him forever".

But I'll take a stab at understanding what this may mean.

Option 1:

It could be still a future prediction. That Jesus will reign in Isreal over the Jewish nation.

But if this is so, I find it odd that this is what the angel says to Mary before Jesus is born. And then add to that that Jesus spent his life teaching about the present realities of the good news of the kingdom of God.

Option 2:

What was the throne of David? It was the throne of the kingdom of Israel. And the kingdom of Israel was the nation who had God's revelation given to them so they could share God with the world.

So could the throne Jesus claims be the throne of the people whom God has revealed himself to?

It would then make sense that He would reign over these people forever, and this kingdom would never end.

Are we as followers of Christ part of this present kingdom of God? Does Jesus reign in our lives now and into eternity?

John 18:36 (NIV)
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
Matthew 21:32 (NIV)
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Luke 17:21 (NIV)
"nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Are there any other ways to interpret this?

Related Posts:
Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)