Disciples of the Kingdom

The “word” of the Son is superior even to the “word” of Moses, the “servant” in the house of Yahweh, the Great Lawgiver  -  Hebrews 3:1-6 .*  The letter to the  Hebrews  demonstrates the superiority of the Son by comparing his word to the “ word ” of angels and of Moses, his priesthood and sacrifice to the Aaronic priests and the repeated animal sacrifices required by the Levitical regulations, and the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus to the old one rendered obsolete by the ministry and exaltation of the Son - [ Dawn - Photo by  Nick Scheerbart  on Unsplash ].

The Apostle Paul links the bodily Resurrection of the saints with the New Creation. The promised redemption includes both – Romans 8:1-23 . Paul begins the second half of Romans by declaring that, for all those who are “ in Jesus ,” there is “ now no condemnation .” This happy condition is because the “ law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set them free from the law of sin and of death .” And the Apostle goes on to link the salvation of believers with the inheritance of Christ and the  redemption of the created order  - [ Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash ].

The equality of Jew and Gentile before God is a key theme throughout Romans – both stand or fall on the same basis   –   Romans 1:15-16 .  Paul wrote to the churches in Rome for two purposes: First, to prepare the ground for his planned visit to the city. Second, to deal with conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers. In the first half of the letter, he presents a detailed explanation of his gospel. In the last half, he deals with questions about the status of the Jewish people and the areas of conflict in the congregation - [ Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash ].

Jesus in the “son of David,” the heir to the Davidic throne, the beloved Son of God, and the “ruler of the kings of the earth.”  The  Book of Matthew  declares that Jesus is the “ son of David ,” but this is far more than an entry on his genealogical chart or one of his several messianic titles. In his gospel, Matthew demonstrates just what it means to be the “ son of David, the   Son of God .” Even the several individuals who call him “ Son of David ” hold deficient understandings of who and what he is - [ Narrow Path - Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash ].

In Jesus, the original and limited land promise to Abraham is transformed to encompass the entire creation – 2 Peter 3:10-14 .  In the Bible, foundational to redemption is the covenant with Abraham, including the promise of land for his descendants. Though originally confined to the small territory of Canaan, explicit in the promise was the inclusion of all nations, and the inheritance of the entire earth - (“ So shall be blessed in you all the clans of the earth ”) - [ Photo by Marc Schulte on Unsplash ].