1. "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mk 1:15). With these words Jesus of Nazareth begins his messianic preaching. The kingdom of God, which in Jesus breaks into human life and history, constitutes the fulfilment of the promises of salvation, which Israel had received from the Lord.
Jesus reveals himself as Messiah not because he aims at temporal and political dominion according to the conception of his contemporaries, but because with his mission, which culminates in the passion - death - resurrection, "all the promises of God have become 'yes'" (2 Cor 1:20).
2. To fully understand the mission of Jesus, it is necessary to recall the message of the Old Testament that proclaims the salvific kingship of the Lord. In the canticle of Moses (Ex 15:1-18), the Lord is acclaimed "king" because he has admirably delivered his people and led them, with power and love, to communion with him and with their brothers and sisters in the joy of freedom. The very ancient Psalm 28/29 also testifies to the same faith: the Lord is contemplated in the power of his kingship, which dominates all creation and communicates to his people strength, blessing and peace (Ps 29:10). It is above all in the vocation of Isaiah that faith in the Lord 'king' appears totally permeated by the theme of salvation. The "King", whom the prophet contemplates with the eyes of faith "on a high and lofty throne" (Is 6:1), is God in the mystery of his transcendent holiness and his merciful goodness with which he makes himself present to his people, as the source of love that purifies, forgives and saves: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, God of hosts, all the earth shall be full of his glory" (Is 6:3).
This faith in the Lord's saving kingship prevented monarchy from developing in the covenant people as it did among the other nations: the king is the chosen one, the Lord's anointed one, and, as such, is the instrument through which God himself exercises his sovereignty over Israel (cf. 1 Sam 12:12-15). "The Lord reigns," the psalms continuously proclaim (cf. Ps 5:3; 9:6; 29:10; 93:1; 97:1-4; 146:10).
3. Faced with the painful experience of human limitations and sin, the prophets announce a new covenant, in which the Lord himself will be the salvific and kingly leader of his renewed people (cf. Jer 31:31-34; Ez 34:7-16; 36:24-28).
In this context arises the expectation of a new David, whom the Lord will raise up to be the instrument of exodus, of deliverance, of salvation (Ez 34:23-25; cf. Jer 23:5-6). From this moment on, the figure of the Messiah will appear in intimate relationship with the inauguration of the full kingship of God.
After the exile, even though the institution of the monarchy disappears in Israel, faith in the kingship that God exercises in his people continues to deepen and will extend to the "ends of the earth". The psalms singing the Lord King constitute the most significant testimony of this hope (cf. Ps 96 and Ps 99).
This hope touches its maximum intensity when the gaze of faith, directing itself beyond the time of human history, will understand that only in the future eternity will the kingdom of God be established in all its power: then, through the resurrection, the redeemed will be in full communion of life and love with the Lord (cf. Dn 7:9-10; 12:2-3).
4. Jesus refers to this Old Testament hope and proclaims it fulfilled. The kingdom of God constitutes the central theme of his preaching as the parables in particular show.
The parable of the sower (Mt 13:3-8) proclaims that the kingdom of God is already at work in Jesus' preaching, and at the same time directs one to look forward to the abundance of fruit that will constitute the superabundant wealth of the Kingdom at the end of time. The parable of the seed that grows by itself (Mk 4:26-29) emphasises that the Kingdom is not a human work, but solely the gift of God's love that acts in the hearts of believers and guides human history to its ultimate fulfilment in eternal communion with the Lord. The parable of the tares in the midst of the wheat (Mt 13:24-30) and the parable of the fishing net (Mt 13:47-52) point first of all to the presence, already at work, of God's salvation. Together with the "children of the Kingdom", however, there are also present the "children of the Evil One", the workers of iniquity: only at the end of history will the powers of evil be destroyed and those who have welcomed the Kingdom will always be with the Lord. Finally, the parables of the hidden treasure and the precious pearl (Mt 13:44-46) express the supreme and absolute value of the kingdom of God: those who understand it are willing to face any sacrifice and renunciation to enter it.
5. A very enlightening richness appears from Jesus' teaching.
The kingdom of God, in its full and total realisation, is certainly future, "it must come" (cf. Mk 9:1; Lk 22:18); the prayer of the Lord's Prayer teaches to invoke its coming: "Thy Kingdom come" (Mt 6:10).At the same time, however, Jesus affirms that the kingdom of God "has already come" (Mt 12:28), "is in your midst" (Lk 17:21) through Jesus' preaching and works. Moreover, from the entire New Testament it appears that the Church, founded by Jesus, is the place where God's kingship is made present, in Christ, as a gift of salvation in faith, of new life in the Spirit, of communion in charity.
Thus the intimate relationship between the Kingdom and Jesus appears, a relationship so strong that the kingdom of God can also be called "the kingdom of Jesus" (Eph 5:5; 2 Pet 1:11), as Jesus himself affirms before Pilate, asserting that "his" kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36).
6. In this light we can understand the conditions that Jesus indicates for entering the Kingdom. They can be summed up in the word "conversion". Through conversion man opens himself to the gift of God (cf. Lk 12:32), who "calls to his kingdom and to his glory" (1 Thess 2:12); he welcomes the Kingdom like a child (Mk 10:15) and is willing to make any renunciation in order to enter it (cf. Lk 18:29; Mt 19:29; Mk 10:29).
The Kingdom of God demands a deep or new "righteousness" (Mt 5:20); it requires commitment to do the "will of God" (Mt 7:21); it demands inner simplicity "like a child" (Mt 18:3; Mk 10:15); it involves overcoming the obstacle of riches (cf. Mk 10:23-24).
7. The beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus (cf. Mt 5:3-12) appear as the "magna charta" of the kingdom of heaven that is given to the poor in spirit, the afflicted, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for the sake of righteousness. The beatitudes do not only indicate the demands of the Kingdom; they manifest first of all the work that God does in us by making us like His Son (Rom 8:29) and capable of having His sentiments (Phil 2:5ff.) of love and forgiveness (cf. Jn 13:34-35; Col 3:13).
8. Jesus' teaching on the kingdom of God is witnessed by the New Testament Church, which lived it in the joy of its Easter faith. She is the community of the "little ones" whom the Father "has delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Col 1:13); it is the community of those who live "in Christ", allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit in the way of peace (Lk 1:79), and who struggle not to "fall into temptation" and to avoid the works of "the flesh", knowing full well that "he who does them will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal 5:21). The Church is the community of those who proclaim, with life and word, the same message of Jesus: "The kingdom of God is at hand" (Lk 10:9).
9. The Church, which "throughout the ages tends unceasingly to the fullness of divine truth, until the words of God are fulfilled in it" (Dei Verbum, 8), prays to the Father in every celebration of the Eucharist that "his kingdom come". It lives in ardent expectation of the glorious coming of the Lord and Saviour Jesus, who will offer to the divine majesty "the eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace" (Preface on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe).
This expectation of the Lord is an unceasing source of confidence and energy. It stimulates the baptised, who have become sharers in the royal dignity of Christ, to live each day "in the kingdom of his beloved son", to witness and proclaim the presence of the Kingdom with the same works of Jesus (cf. Jn 14:12). By virtue of this witness of faith and love, the Council teaches, the world will be imbued with the spirit of Christ and will reach its goal more effectively in justice, charity and peace (cf. Lumen Gentium, 36).
[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 18 March 1987]
