When Jesus himself talks about the good news, he frames it primarily in terms of âthe kingdom of God." ⌠As N. T. Wright and other New Testament scholars have shown, itâs important to understand that kingdom terminology refers not to some faraway paradise filled with disembodied souls, but rather to the will and reign of God, unleashed into the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
"Godâs kingdom in the preaching of Jesus,â explained Wright, ârefers not to postmortem destiny, not to our escape from this world into another one, but Godâs sovereign rule coming âon earth as it is in heaven.â . . . Heaven, in the Bible, is not a future destiny but the other, hidden dimension of ordinary lifeâGodâs dimension, if you like. God made heaven and earth; at the last he will remake both and join them together forever.â (Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, 19)
What this means precisely remains something of a mystery, for Jesusâ favorite way to speak about the kingdom is through story, riddle, and metaphor.
The kingdom, Jesus taught, is right hereâpresent yet hidden, immanent yet transcendent. It is at handâamong us and beyond us, now and not-yet. The kingdom of heaven, he said, belongs to the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful, and those who hunger and thirst for God. It advances not through power and might, but through missions of mercy, kindness, and humility. In this kingdom, many who are last will be first and many who are first will be last. The rich donât usually get it, Jesus said, but children always do. This is a kingdom whose savior arrives not on a warhorse, but a donkey, not through triumph and conquest, but through death and resurrection. This kingdom is the only kingdom that will last.