13 March 2021
In studying the gospels, the claims of Jesus in His life and Mission come across afresh and in a refreshing manner. It would be impossible to list all of them in short ‘reflections’, but it would be helpful to ponder over some of those which make an impact in deepening our ‘discipleship’.
Jesus claimed to be the fulfilment of Old Testament Scripture.This sense of fulfilment was reflected in His self-consciousness throughout His public ministry. His first recorded words were: ‘The time has come (has been fulfilled)…the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’ (Mark 1:15 – paraphrased). He claimed that the kingdom or rule of God, promised in the Old Testament had arrived and He Himself had come to usher it in. He further proclaimed that if people would but humble themselves, repent and believe in Him, they could ‘enter’ the kingdom of God there and then.
Jesus (God) became ‘flesh’ to heal the breach between God and creation – Jesus, in becoming ‘flesh’, shows us what perfected human longing seeks – He exposes and condemns our corrupt human longings after the ‘Fall’ and He came not to destroy us but to destroy our corruptions. The coming of God’s kingdom in Him is also the redemption of creation and those who believe as part of that creation. When our longings for creation are corrupt, we seek to preserve creation, not out of the peace and joy that come from participating in the work of God’s kingdom but out of fear that human survival depends on our power and ability. It is precisely human power and ability that have brought us to the point of destruction.
Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom is good news because He proclaims the kingdom as a reality, as something present, actual and everlasting.The kingdom is revealed to be a gift, a work of God, not an achievement of humanity. God’s demands for obedience, justice and holiness have been met by Jesus’ own life of obedience; God’s own action has met the demands as revealed in the Old Testament and also fulfilled the promise of a Messiah who would save the people of God. God, in love with us, refuses the compromise that would simply perpetuate or readmit sin into our world; Jesus’ reaffirmation of God’s standards tells us that God meets them through God’s own action. God in Jesus meets the demands; Jesus proclaims the absolute demands of God’s holiness and announces that the demand has been met in Himself and that the promise of ‘salvation’ has been fulfilled in Him. Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s promises, that is, to fulfill God’s promises with God’s own meaning and purpose/