THE KING’S BUSINESS
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creates our problem in this particular phase of Eschatology. The use of the terms “ at hand” and “ come upon you” has led scholars to contend that Jesus actually expected the immediate consummation of the Kingdom. But this is surely a hasty conclusion which loses sight of the relations in which Christ came to the world. We must not forget that Jesus came to the world as the Jew ish Messiah and in line with Hebrew prophecy and Jewish hopes* He. very definitely offered Himself to the He brews as such. In so doing He spoke of the Kingdom as at hand and ready to be set up if they would only ac cept Him as their Messiah and the hope of Israel. In casting out devils and in other ways He demonstrated that the power of God was upon Him and in that sense the Kingdom was actually come upon them. Its powers and realities were present in the work that Jesus was actually accomplishing. The Jews, however, deliberately and persistently rejected the Kingdom as represented in the King, so that while it was “at hand” and literally “ come upon them,” 'it could not be consummated because of their refusal to receive Jesus. The teachings of the New Testament throughout con firm the conclusion that there was a very vital relationship between Christ and the Jewish nation which funda mentally affected the carrying out of His program. Therefore, to this na tion the Kingdom was at hand and the King present ready to be received as their Saviour, but they rejected Him, and thcti made a fundamental difference. Another of the terms which has caused considerable misunderstanding is “ the Kingdom of God •is within you.” A careful study of this pas sage (Luke 17:20-21) will show you
this serious conclusion by saying that as the man Christ Jesus He was a child of His time and was therefore influenced by the conception held by the men of His time. But as a mat ter of fact He was not a child of His.time. On the contrary He was crucified because He would not accept the interpretation of life and truth held by the teachers of His day. It is simply futile to try to prove that the teachings of Jesus were deter mined by the thought of His day. He certainly used many of the forms o f speech and thought familiar to the men of His day, but His interpreta tions were original and unique and in the very truth of the current philoso phy and theology. In the second place, the idea that Jesus was mistaken in this matter is not true to the facts as they now stand. While there are very serious difficulties connected with the subject which ought to be most frankly faced, we contend that a comprehensive grasp of the details will show that there are no contradictions or incon sistencies. It is very difficult to get such a grasp of the subject in an ad dress like this. However, I shall try to give a broad outline that will sug gest the line along which the solution of the problem is to be found. The first thing that is necessary is to get it clear in our minds that Christ’s great mission was to save men and to set up the Kingdom of God in the world. The Kingdom of God means at the very least the rule of God in life. The Lord’s prayer is “ Thy Kingdom come: Thy will be done.” That certainly means the rule o f God in life. Jesus spoke of this Kingdom in several different ways. He spoke of it as “ at hand,” “ come upon you,” “ in the midst of you,” and as “ coming.” It is the use that Jesus made o f these expressions that
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