Here we have three Scriptures of the same scene, the scene of Jesus telling the disciples the purpose of parables. As I would expect, Matthew uses “the kingdom of heaven” language and both Mark and Luke use “the kingdom of God”. Again, pointing to the fact that both the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are one and the same.

Let’s look closer at Jesus teaching the disciples the purpose of parables. In context, we will be looking at the following Scriptures: Matthew 13:10-17, Mark 4:10-12 and Luke 8:9-10. Read More | Comments

As we continue on in our study look at the kingdom of heaven/kingdom of God we come to the story of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples in the Gospel of Matthew 10:1-15. We find this same story recounted also in the Gospels of Mark (Mark 6:7-13) and Luke (Luke 9:1-6). Read More | Comments

The next place that Jesus teaches and mentions the kingdom of heaven/kingdom of God is in the Gospel of Matthew 8:11. He also speaks of the kingdom in a parallel verses in the Gospel of Luke 13:28-29. This again is a clue that the two kingdom phrases are synonymous. We will look at this closer later, right now let’s look at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 8, verse 11 in context, we will look at verses 5 through 13 as Jesus tells us about the faith of the Roman centurion:

Mathew 8:5-13: Read More | Comments

“Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry”

Let’s look at the Gospel of Matthew 4:17

In context, we will look at Matthew 4:12-17:
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali– 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles– 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  (emphasis added)

We should also look at this parallel story told by the apostle Peter’s disciple Mark in his Gospel, Mark 1: 14-15:
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

This is the beginning of Jesus Galilean preaching ministry as it is relayed by the apostle Matthew. Read More | Comments

As we have seen, The “kingdom of heaven” is mentioned 30-32 times in the Bible, all in the Gospel of Matthew. The “kingdom of God” is mentioned 65-69 times in the Bible, all in the New Testament and of these, 4-5 times in the Gospel of Matthew. So, what, if any, is the difference between the meaning of the two phrases? Having not completed this study, I am not prepared to give what I would consider is a definitive answer. However, I have found some clues:

– The Gospel of Matthew was primarily written for a Jewish audience. In writing to a predominantly Jewish audience, he used language that they would most likely understand, that would bring out the full meaning to his readers. The “kingdom of heaven” was typical Jewish terminology.

– Secondly, out of reverence, Mathew may have used the “kingdom of heaven” rather than the “kingdom of God”. I notice that my Jewish readers today on my blogs often will not type the name of God, rather they use G*d or similar substitution. Read More | Comments

The principal theme, especially in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) within Jesus’ message was and is “The Kingdom of God”. The Gospel of John refers only once to the kingdom expressly, although it is repeated. And in this instance (John 3:3-5), the kingdom is presented as something that even the Pharisee Nicodemus is assumed to understand. The point in the Gospel of John is not the nature of the kingdom, but the way in which it is entered. This kingdom constitutes a primary focus of Jesus’ theology. Read More | Comments

The “kingdom of heaven” and the “kingdom of God” are synonymous, they are one and the same. The Apostle Matthew used the term “the kingdom of heaven” primarily because it was a term his Jewish audience would better understand.

 These are the major questions we are trying to answer:
1. What is the character of the people who belong to God’s Kingdom?
2. What does entrance into this kingdom require of us?
3. What is the nature of God’s Kingdom?
4. WHAT is the Kingdom of God/The Kingdom of Heaven? Are they synomonous?

NOTE:
– Clues to the answers of these questions will be noted below by question number and parallel passages are grouped together. Read More | Comments