Page 21 - Basel Chronicles_APRIL_36_Pages

BASEL CHRONICLES | EDITORIAL | APRIL 2021

through the temple structure, beneted
both the Jewish elite and the Roman over-

lords. It was different for the common
people, who seethed with anger toward
imperial Rome and its Jewish collabora-

tors. Day and night, they dreamed of
deliverance from the oppression of the

empire.

Into this disputed territory of religious
Pharisees and political Herodians con-
tending for the loyalty of the common

people came Jesus, son of a carpenter in
Nazareth, announced by a prophet in the

wilderness named John the Baptizer. As
Jesus begins His ministry, it was not a

comforting prospect. As for Jesus, what
was His message? " The time is fullled

and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent and believe in the good news"

(Mark 1:15). This was familiar language
to his listeners; Basilea was Greek,

translatable as “kingdom, kingship,
empire, government.” It denoted how
humans organize society and try to run

the world. So Jesus started with the
familiar words in Israel's memory -

kingdoms and empires remembered from
Egypt, Israel under David and Solomon,

Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and the
Greeks-and then added the words "of

God." That was a startling and bold modi-
cation of kingdom! From there, the rest
of his teaching and career was a dra-

matic process of giving content to that
little phrase "of God." Jesus said, "My

kingdom is not from this world" (John

18:36).