Most folks, when asked to define “the kingdom of heaven” would probably answer, “Heaven is the realm where good people go to spend eternity after they die.”  But in the Bible, when Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God (the terms are synonymous and interchangeable), he is clearly referring to something much more immediate and accessible--a realm that is already among us (Luke 17: 20) and that can also be experienced, and maybe more importantly so, this side of the grave.In this article we will attempt to make clear the meaning of the “Kingdom of Heaven,” also known as the “Kingdom of God, or “Commonwealth of God.”

“Now after John [the Baptist] was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled; the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the good news.”
                                                                                        --Mark 1:14-15

In the Gospels the Kingdom of God (in Greek, he basileia tou theou) takes its meaning from the fact that in Palestine in the time of Jesus there was already a “kingdom” --the Roman Empire--that controlled the destiny of most of the people of the Western world at that time. The basileia of Rome was a commercialized agrarian economic and political empire in which a small elite (1-2% of the population) took 50-65% of the value of agricultural production through enforced taxation, leaving most of the people, in Palestine for instance, as landless peasants and indentured servants. The local Jewish King Herod collaborated with Rome and benefited personally by helping to assure that the poor in Palestine did not rise up in protest against this injustice.

But when Jesus began his ministry of preaching and healing he announced the immediacy of an alternative kingdom--the kingdom (or realm, or commonwealth) of God (Heaven). In this alternative kingdom, neither Caesar, nor Herod, nor the religious elite of the Holy Land were rulers who deserved to be feared or obeyed; In God’s new realm, God alone would be recognized as sovereign, and God’s benevolent will would henceforth be the only will that, in Jesus view, could rightfully command the loyalty of the people to whom Jesus was addressing his message.

The Roman and Jewish authorities were so jealous and afraid because of Jesus’ challenge to their authority, that they eventually arranged for his execution. Yet Jesus had never advocated the overthrow of these unjust rulers by violence. Instead he encouraged his followers simply to withold their consent and cooperation with the schemes of these rich and powerful rulers. He encouraged his hearers to let God show them the way to live together day by day by sharing everything they had, regarding each other as equals, offering and receiving forgiveness, loving enemies, healing the sick, and welcoming strangers.

Jesus challenged people to trust in God and not to become anxious about food, clothing and other necessities. He told them to seek first the kingdom of God (Heaven) and God’s righteousness, knowing that all the other things they worried about would be available to them as well (Matthew 6:33), through the commonwealth of love and peace that God would enable them to create together.

In our church in Portland, Oregon we like to speak of the kin-dom of God, thereby reminding ourselves that in God’s commonwealth we are all kin, or family,--with no distinction between male or female, Jew or Gentile, white, brown, black, gay or straight, healthy or sick, or those who are different in any other way.

How can we enter the Kin-dom of Heaven today?

Jesus’ invitation to enter into God’s commonwealth still stands. Jesus said, “It is [God’s] good pleasure to give you the kin-dom.” (Luke 12:32). And we don’t have to wait until we die, or until Christ comes again to get a taste of this kin-dom, for, as Jesus said, “The Kin-dom of God is [already] among you. (Luke 17: 20)

But Jesus also warned that we may not be able to enter the new commonwealth unless we are prepared to forsake private wealth (Luke 18:24-25, Luke 6:20) become like children in our simple trust in God (Luke 18:16-17), and give up our past harmful behaviors and relationships with no qualifications or regrets (Luke 9:62).

In the scripture passage quoted above, Jesus announces that the Kin-dom of God is at hand. He then urges his hearers to “repent,” (in Greek, metanoiete) which means to start thinking and behaving differently. That’s good advice for us as well in the 21st century. If you would like to learn more about what this different behavior might look like, contact us and we’ll be happy to share our growing understanding about this!