Did Jesus need divine inspiration to realize that his life was in imminent danger? Discover how Jesus saw his vocation as the fulfillment of the suffering Servant and thus his death as an expiatory sacrifice of a unique kind. How could Jesus’ suffering and death be part of God’s plan? Explore the Kingdom of God in the Last Supper. Learn the significance of “Eli, Eli, lemah sabbachtani,” and see the Sacrifice of Jesus in new light and what it brings about.

1. Bible Alive: Jesus Christ Class Nine: The Kingdom and Jesus’ Death

2. The following presentation would be impossible without these resources

3. And most of all… By Father Roch A. Kereszty o. cist. Thank you Father Roch!

4. Setting the Tone “Is there a life after death?” … Nobody seems to be grappling with the problem of: Is there a life before death? Yet my experience is that it’s precisely the ones who don’t know what to do with this life who are all hot and bothered about what they are going to do with another life. —Anthony De Mello, S.J.

6. Setting the Tone When God wants to be what is not God, man comes to be. —Karl Rahner S.J.

8. Setting the Tone Wherever a person allows himself to fall into the abyss of the mystery of his own existence with ultimate resolve and ultimate trust, he is accepting God. —Karl Rahner S.J.

10. Let us Pray Merciful Father Thank you for inviting us to the Banquet of your Reign. Help us to see with eyes of faith Help us to listen with the Spirit of Humility. Help us likewise to go out and love our enemies, forgive others’ debts as you have forgiven ours. Poor in Spirit, we give you thanks for today and every day, By your Divine Presence, Amen.

11. Summarizing Last Class We explored the message of Jesus and his teaching method. We discovered what “Kingdom of God” means. We learn why the “Festive Banquet” is the central image of the Kingdom. We saw how metanoia (a complete change of heart) begins with accepting the invitation to the banquet. We also learned about Jesus’ miracles, called “dynameis” or “powerful deeds,” their historicity, and how these acts of power showed forth the hidden Kingdom. And we discovered how “the distribution of the loaves and fish” is the turning point in Jesus’ ministry.

12. Jesus’ Death When did Jesus begin to speak about his death? We cannot say. In all four canonical Gospels, however, the first reference to his impending suffering and death is made after the multiplication of the loaves and the confession of Peter. This is made to the inner circle of disciples who remained faithful to him.

13. How Jesus Saw His Death Mk 8:31— And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

14. How Jesus Saw His Death Mt 16:21— From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

15. How Jesus Saw His Death Lk 9:22— …“The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

16. How Jesus Saw His Death Jn 6:70-71— Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.

17. Multiple Attestation Fact: all four versions bear this link. The criterion of multiple attestation indicates that this tradition antedates the Gospels and may reflect what actually happened. A new call to discipleship is bound closely to this prediction of suffering— Mk 8:34 (cf. Mt 16:24 & Lk 9:23)—And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me…”

18. How Jesus Saw His Death To summarize—How can one show that Jesus saw his death as part of God’s Plan of Salvation? All four canonical Gospels first refer to Jesus’ impending suffering after the multiplication of the loaves and the confession of Peter, and it is addressed to his remaining faithful disciples. This link, multiply attested to, seems to pre-date the Gospel Traditions. Moreover, notice what the prediction of suffering is closely linked to: a new call to discipleship, an invitation to enter into the frightening mystery of his destiny.

19. The growing rejection is paralleled by an increased emphasis in his preaching on Judgment. This underlines the seriousness of Jesus’ offer of grace. The gracious proclamation of forgiveness is also a radical demand. It demands the most serious of decisions: to refuse means it becomes condemnation. In fact the more that God’s forgiving love is revealed in Jesus’ ministry, the more terrible the consequences of his rejection appear. Crisis: Kingdom or Judgment

20. Impending Judgment Lk 13:1-9— There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

21. Impending Judgment Mk 12:1-9 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed; and so with many others, some they beat and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son; finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.

22. Good News or Condemnation? This is not VINDICTIVE JUSTICE, but rather the absolute seriousness of Jesus’ demand: “Jesus’ offer was free, but he did not conceive a positive response to it being optional for Israel. On the contrary, the gracious proclamation was simultaneously a radical demand. On it hinged the status of Israel. Refusal would accordingly create an anomaly: the good news risked turning into a condemnation.” (Kereszty, p. 122—reproducing R. Pesch’s idea as approved of by B.F. Meyer in Das Abendmahl und JesuTodesverständnispp. 103-105)

23. Immanent Death a No-brainer How did Jesus view his impending death? How could he know its time was coming? Jesus did not need divine inspiration to realize that his life was in imminent danger. Everything that he was accused of carried with it the penalty of death: He was accused of blasphemy for forgiving sins. He was accused of performing magic by Beelzebul. He was accused of regularly violating the Sabbath. He was closely linked to the martyred John the Baptizer.

24. What Significance (if any) Did Jesus Attribute to his Death? Opinions are sharply divided. Rudolf Bultmann and his school claim that Jesus was ignorant of any meaning for his death. To them, even if Jesus broke down in despair on the Cross, none of the saving power is removed from the kerygma of the Cross.

25. Ignorance & Knowledge of Something Others say that any indications we read in the New Testament having Jesus being aware of his death as a saving event are creations of the early Church—the historical Jesus saw no saving significance in his death. But other exegetes indicate Jesus’ central concern for his life: the inauguration of the Kingdom, which surely, say these scholars, Jesus must have seen as initiated by his death. Still other exegetes and theologians differ. They hold that as far as its significance, Jesus saw his vocation as the fulfillment of the suffering Servant prophecies and thus his death as an expiatory sacrifice of a unique kind.

26. Karl Rahner’s Insight Karl Rahner is perhaps the most influential theologian of the 20th Century. Karl Rahner—If Jesus had not been aware of his death as a saving event, we would not have been redeemed by a human act, conscious and free. But is not this unlikely given the general pastern of God’s action in history? When God called and sent a prophet, God always asks for a conscious and free response. Granted that once called, the prophet had to be ready always for ever new surprises, for having his life turned topsy-turvy, even ending violently. Yet his faith illuminated that the ultimate failure of his mission was part of God’s plan. Could God have granted any less to Jesus? Indeed Jesus often compared his life and mission to that of the prophets. He could not have expected anything less for himself other than their violent end and rejection.

27. Implications of the Rebuke Mk 8:31-33—And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.” Mt 16:21-23—From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” (cp. Mt 4:10)—Then Jesus said to him, “Be-gone, Satan! for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

28. A Divine Must In the perspective of Jesus his death was NOT ONLY unavoidable because Israel always rewarded prophets that way but also because it constituted a Divine “dei” or “must”—i.e., Jesus’ suffering and death is part of God’s plan. When does this become clear to us? In Jesus’ harsh rebuke to Peter (Mk 8:33; Mt 16:23 cp. Mt 4:10). Jesus reprimands Peter because he wanted to prevent Jesus from suffering in Jerusalem. He calls Peter Satan because for that moment, he was Satan’s instrument. Criterion of Embarrassment—This rebuke had to have been uttered by Jesus himself. The churches in which Mark and Matthew were written esteemed the first Apostle Peter so, they hardly could have invented this stinging reprimand. Luke omits it entirely! But if Jesus’ rebuke to Peter is historical, so too must be Peter’s prior provoking it in the first place! Peter is reprimanded because he wants to prevent Jesus from suffering in Jerusalem. Peter has become Satan’s instrument—he seeks to block the Divine Plan by giving Jesus an out from being the Suffering Servant. This is just like the Temptation Narratives!

29. The Last Supper & the Kingdom

30. Not Drinking Mk 14:25—“…Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” How do the words of Jesus at the Last Supper (Mk 14:22-25; cf. Mt 26:29 and Lk 22:18), generally regarded to be historical, and his actions at this Supper, shed light on Jesus’ understanding of his own death? We see herein a connection between Jesus’ death and the Kingdom. On the night before his death, although it becomes ardently clear that his mission to Israel was a failure, Jesus announces his unshaken trust in his imminent entrance into God’s Kingdom. The historical saying about “not drinking the fruit of the vine…” implies that only his death stands in the way of partaking in the banquet of the Kingdom.

31. Not Drinking Mt 26:29—“…I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” In Matthew’s theology, the addition of “with you” there is indication that the disciples will be closely associated with Jesus in the Kingdom. Lk 22:18—“…for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Luke’s theology makes EXPLICIT that this final Passover of the disciples with Jesus ALREADY anticipates the banquet in the Kingdom of God–and it will be fulfilled there.

33. Ultimate Service The Eucharistic words and gestures symbolize and anticipate this ultimate service of giving his body and blood for his disciples. The Pauline-Lucan Tradition: 1 Cor 11:23-25—For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Lk 22:19-20—And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood…” (Cp. Jer 31:31-34): "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

34. Ultimate Service The Markan-Matthean Tradition of the Eucharistic Institution narrative: Mk 14:22-24—And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many…” Mt 26:26-28—Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins…” (Cp. Ex 24:4-11)—And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

35. The Johannine Theology of the Eucharist: Jn 6:51-58—“…I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” Ultimate Service

36. Eucharist: Ultimate Service The Eucharist is a prophetic sign-act—it signifies what is to come (“sign”) but also effects it (“act”). Ultimate Service is being symbolized and anticipated by the Eucharistic words and gestures. What is this “Ultimate Service”? It is the self-gift of Jesus, his giving his life, his body and blood “for a multitude” or “for you”—you meaning his disciples. Jesus himself begins entering the Kingdom and making his disciples share in it by giving his body and blood as food and drink. The disciples truly share in the body-person of Jesus THROUGH the bread and wine; they enter into communion with each other as Jesus offers them his life. The ultimate mystery of the Kingdom according to Kereszty: giving oneself over to God THROUGH giving one’s life for one’s neighbor and thus achieving communion with God (vertical) and with one’s neighbor (horizontal). Kereszty: FIRST, Jesus alone is able to accomplish this, but he then calls all disciples to follow his example and participate in what he has done.

37. So far we see… We now see that even if we accept as factual-historical (Stage One Gospel Formation) only a small number of Gospel texts, it seems that Jesus considered his immanent death as his ultimate service and fulfillment of the Divine Plan by which he was to enter the Kingdom and make others (“the many” or “his disciples”) share in it. Double movement: Jesus enters the Kingdom through the voluntary offering of his life / the Kingdom is made present for his disciples through this act of voluntary death. The Last Supper both anticipates and already realizes this, albeit in a way that is HIDDEN.

38. The Divine Economy It appears that Jesus considered his imminent death as part of God’s saving plan, as his ultimate service by which he was to enter the Kingdom and make others share in it. The institution narrative contains allusions to Israel’s Suffering Servant (see Is 53:11-12), Jeremiah’s promise of a New Covenant with a restored Kingdom of David, and the Covenant at Sinai (see Ex 24:8). This has led exegetes to believe that Jesus saw his death as establishing a new covenant in his blood as an expiation for the sins of the world by carrying out the self-offering of the Servant. The pre-Pauline Kerygma refers to the fact that Jesus saw his death as expiating all sins. If Jesus had not understood his death as fulfilling the Servant’s offering of his life for the forgiveness of all sins (cf. Is 53:10,12), how does one explain the origin of the earliest pre-Pauline kerygma? Easter also confirms this through the commission he gives the Apostles. They were convinced that Baptism in Jesus’ name forgave all sins. If not from Jesus prior to his death, from where did this conviction arise?

40. Kereszty explains they establish opposing camps between what they call the Early Church’s interpretation of Jesus’ death and Jesus’ own free offer of forgiveness as illustrated in his parables of divine mercy.

42. Continuity: Forgiveness & Sacrifice Jesus’ death, an expiating sacrifice, is not opposed to his initial announcement of freely offered forgiveness. Jesus’ blood that seals the New covenant is compared to the voluntary giving of his life by the Servant of the Lord. However, if sacrifice is understood in the existential sense of offering one’s life to God in order to obtain forgiveness for humankind, then the continuity between Jesus public ministry and the Last Supper as sacrificial meal becomes evident.

43. Right from the Start… Jesus’ free offer of forgiveness was an act of solidarity with sinners from the beginning. Jesus’ life is a service for regaining sinners in obedience to God’s will. Acts of solidarity always require the GIFT of SELF. It was Jesus’ free offer of forgiveness that revealed the intractable nature of sin and its apparently unbreakable power of resistance. Jesus deepened his involvement with his sinful people. He freely accepted death as an ultimate act of solidarity with his people. In order to fulfill his Father’s will, he went right into the midst of his enemies, exposing their wrath.

44. Gift of Self for Sinners Jesus obeys the Father’s will that prefers mercy to the Temple sacrifices. Mt 9:13, 12:7—“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” … “And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” In doing this he discovers the Lost Sheep which he carries back on his shoulders. Lk 15:3-5—So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing…” Jesus’ life is one of service in which he re-gains sinners in obedience to God’s will.

45. Lifelong Sacrifice Jesus’ preaching and miracles failed to convert the masses. By being in solidarity with prostitutes and sinners, Jesus evoked the wrath of the Authorities of his people. Jesus’ free offer of forgiveness revealed the apparently unbreakable power of sin. Israel hated and rejected Jesus. But unlike the Essenes who hid out in ghettos of likeminded people, Jesus gave more and more of himself for his sinful people. By entering Jerusalem, city that murders prophets, we see this act of freely accepting death is the CONSUMMATION of his gift of self to God for his people. Seen this way, Kereszty notes that there is no opposition between his death as expiating sacrifice and his initial proclamation of God’s loving forgiveness. His death complete his lifelong sacrifice.

46. Hebrews 10:5-10 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book.”When he said above, “Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Lo, I have come to do thy will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. According to the theology of the Letter to the Hebrews, Jesus began his sacrifice from the first moment of entering the world.

47. Loving Enemies The Matthean and Lucan Jesus-sayings about loving one’s enemy give us a clue about the meaning of his death—even if the Synoptic Gospels as to whether Jesus entered death out of love: Mt 5:38-48— “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

48. Love all the Way Arriving at Jerusalem, he entered the Temple to denounce the Sadducees, knowing it would provoke them, exposing himself to their wrath. His death is only the final act of his self-gift of love by which he embraced the repentant sinner and rebuked the hardened self-righteous in order to save both from certain destruction. The baptism at the Jordan dramatized Jesus’ solidarity with the sinful people; now dying as a criminal between two condemned sinners, this solidarity reaches its consummation.

50. Mk 15:34—And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?

51. Mt 27:46—And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”It is hardly conceivable that such a cry of despair would be the creation of the community, which had a hard time in reconciling the abandonment of Jesus by the Father with Jesus’ divine dignity. It does seem likely that Jesus prayed on the cross the Psalm that most closely corresponded to his life situation, Psalm 22.

52. Fortelling the Resurrection

54. Jesus’ view on Resurrection Jesus announces his IMMEDIATE partaking in the Banquet of the Kingdom after his death: Mk 14:25—“Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” He implied his death would usher in the Kingdom of God: Mt 26:64—Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” All four canonical Gospels testify to Jesus’ agreement with the Pharisees AGAINST the Sadducees in his belief of the resurrection of the dead: Jn 6:54—“…he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

55. Continued… Mk 12:18-27 (cf. Mt 22:23-33 & Lk 21:27-40)—And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no children; and the second took her, and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” Jesus said to them, “Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”

56. How can this Be? Yet, if Jesus DID predict his resurrection, how could he truly suffer anguish? How is the Passion true? The confidence that Jesus may have felt that his death signified his entrance into his Reign did not eliminate the anguish and agony he experienced before his death. The transcendent power of his love enabled God to become so truly and really man that he fully experienced the value of our human life in his world and the horror and of having to give up his life. JESUS WAS TRULY MAN, truly attached to empirical certainties, truly on the side of our human life divided from the invisible transcendent world of God. He remained God while living a human life. According to all four Gospels and the Letter to the Hebrews, it cost Jesus all his strength to put his human life—and through it his whole self—“with no strings attached” into the Father’s hands.

57. The Kingdom & the End of This World

58. Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer (d. 1965), remember him (see Class One, slide 33)? He ALSO originated the idea that Jesus expected and predicted the immanent and catastrophic end of the world, and more, that he went about proclaiming this—something Jesus was obviously mistaken on. Ever since postulating this idea, exegetes have been attributing this mistake to Jesus. Many exegetes, following Schweitzer’s lead, claim that that the following verses can only mean that Jesus believed in a chronologically immanent end of the world

59. END of the WORLD?? Mk 9:1—And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are somestanding here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Mt 16:28—“Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” Mk 13:30—“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place.” Mt 24:34—“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.”

60. Limitations Kereszty admits that he can only explore the relationship of the Kingdom in the message of Jesus and in the understanding of the early Church IN OUTLINE FORM. It is a well established fact that the early Church and Paul, especially in his early letters, expected the Parousia (the glorious coming of the Lord that would put an end to history) to occur in his lifetime. Regardless, it CANNOT be proved that Jesus himself taught such a chronologically immanent end.

61. Kingdom & Cross There is evidence for an early and widely-known tradition linking the coming of the Kingdom to the death of Jesus and a sharing in the Kingdom to a sharing in the Cross of Jesus. Mk 9:1 (together with its Synoptic parallels), speak of the coming of the Kingdom of God in power appear in the context of an injunction to follow Jesus on his way of the Cross. When the sons of Zebedee desire to sit at the right and left hands of Christ in the Kingdom, Jesus asks them, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” (Mt 20:20-28; cf. Mk 10:35-45). Luke shows us before his death, Jesus promises his disciples who stood by him in his trials a sharing in the Banquet of the Kingdom (Lk 22:28-30).

62. The Insight of C.H. Dodd C.H. Dodd (d. 1973) sees a parallel between Mk 9:1, “The kingdom of God come in power,” and the ancient pre-Pauline kerygma preserved in Rom 1:4” “…established Son of God in power … through resurrection from the dead.” Kereszty says this parallelism may be the result of the intuition of the Early Church that “the Kingdom of God come in power” means “the risen Christ established as Son of God in power.” Matthean theology makes the Christological dimension even more explicit: Mt 16:28—“Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

64. Mt 16:28—Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

65. Mt 28:18-20—And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” This Kingdom is provisional and becomes visible in the Church. This Kingdom contains both good and bad and at the end it will yield to the Kingdom of the Father. Mt 13:43—Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.(Cp. with 1 Cor 15:24-28 & Col 1:13)

66. Meaning for Matthew? What does this mean for Matthew? Kereszty says this becomes clear in Jesus’ reply at his trial before the Sanhedrin. He distances himself from the claim the high priest wants to attribute to him: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?” And Jesus’ reply: “You have said so.” Kereszty explains this as meaning “these are your words, not mine; you are attempting to impose a claim on me, not necessarily my claim.” Then Jesus adds: Mt 26:64—“…But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Hence, in the Matthean account, it is precisely in his condemnation and crucifixion that Jesus is established as the heavenly Son of Man, the transcendent king who shares in God’s power and dominion according to the apocalypse that is Daniel: Dan 7:13-14—I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

67. Johannine Understanding This Matthean understanding is not that different from that of the community of the Beloved Disciple. In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus gets exalted as the Son of Man, the universal eschatological king, as he is lifted up on the Cross. Jn 12:31-33—“Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show by what death he was to die.

68. Conclusion about Mk 9:1 & Mt 16:28 Kereszty says we must conclude then that the saying behind Mark 9:1 and Matthew 16:28 does not necessarily mean that the coming of the Kingdom equals the catastrophic and immanent end of the world. It can mean the rule of the Son of Man established through his death and resurrection.

69. What About Lucan Theology? Kereszty notes that Luke’s synoptic parallel to Mk 9:1 and Mt 16:28 is applied to the Transfiguration of Christ rather than the risen Christ. Lk 9:26-28—“…For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. Unlike Matthew, Lucan theology does not designate the Church as the Kingdom of the Son of Man. The in-between period following the resurrection BUT prior to the end of all things is the time of the Church. “Kingdom” for Luke refers exclusively for what will come at the End. Yet from the moment of his condemnation, Luke sees the Son of Man enthroned in heaven. Lk 22:69—“…But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” For Luke, Jesus as Son of Man rules his Church in this age with sovereign power through the Holy Spirit. Kereszty notes Stephen, at the moment of his martyrdom, seeing the Son of Man standing at the Right Hand of God: Acts 7:56—“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

70. Immanent End? Kereszty says that the precise time for the Final Judgment and the end of all things in the eschatological discourses of Jesus remains obscure. Even though Mk 13:30 and Mt 24:34 suggest that “all these things” will occur PRIOR TO this generation passing away, the expression “all these things” (in Greek tautapanta) seems to refer to destruction of Jerusalem, and its Temple, which anticipates the destruction of the world. In fact, this saying is immediately preceded by the Parable of the Fig Tree, which finishes with the statement, “He is near, at the gates” (Mk 13:29; Mt 24:33). According to Kereszty, this last statement RESTRICTS the meaning of “all these things” to the assertion that the Judge of All Things—the Son of Man—is close by!

71. “…ALL THESE THINGS???” Kereszty explains that this phrase certainly includes the condemnation of Jerusalem by the Son of Man In AD 70, the destruction of Jerusalem happened, one genea (genea or generation, roughly 40 years) from when Jesus presumably spoke this. Jesus describes the destruction of the temple and city as a prophet or apocalyptic visionary. Jesus therefore announces the beginning and guarantee of the end of all things and the judgment on the world in his pronouncement of the destruction of Jerusalem. Indeed, the Son of Man is at the door when Jerusalem falls; the world is about to Passover into a New Springtime.

72. Later Theology of the New Testament Only in the final writings of the New Testament does it become clear that the constantly threatening immanence of the Son of Man does not mean a chronological nearness: Jn 21:22-23 (written AD 100)—Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” The saying spread abroad among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” 2 Pet 3:3-14 (written AD 100-130)—First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.” They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

73. Early Parousia? Kereszty explains that the widespread belief in the Early Church regarding the early Parousia may be attributed by popular Jewish belief which linked the end of the world with the resurrection of the dead. Jesus himself has risen—the End must therefore be NEAR. Another reason for this widespread expectation? Possibly the obscurity of Jesus’ own words. He himself, “the Son,” confessed ignorance as to the day and hour of the final consummation of all things. Mk 13:32—“But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Mt 24:36—“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Jesus simultaneously WAS aware and DID announce that his own “consummation” through death was chronologically immanent: Lk 13:32-33—“Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.”

74. Day of Judgment—“Home Invasion” Kereszty asserts that about the day of the final judgment and the end of the cosmos, Jesus claimed ignorance—he said that the Day of Judgment cannot be calculated. He says that it will come “like a thief in the night.” It occurs in five places throughout the New Testament documents, giving multiple attestation to its origin in Jesus himself (Stage One): Mt 24:42-44—“Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Lk 12:39-40—“But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour.” 1 Th5:1-2—But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Rev 3:3—Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. 2 Pet 3:10—But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.

75. God is NOW This image is violent, more so than the antiquated “thief in the night” expression—Jesus is comparing the Day of Judgment to a home invasion. What could possibly be the only correct attitude to have given this reality? Kereszty says: live every moment as though it was your last. Here we see and should commend the strong New Testament foundation Rudolf Bultmann had in his existential eschatology. Nonetheless, a crucial error of his is his REDUCTION of the eschatology of the New Testament to this one dimension.