Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Reign of Enduring Love


In the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate (John 18:33-37) Jesus will not accept the title "king" and speaks instead of his "kingdom."  The Greek word means "reign" or "rule," more an action than a place.  John, unlike the other three Gospels, has not talked about the "kingdom" until now.  He is beginning here to present Jesus as a kind of king.  Jesus takes care to qualify the title.
What he does say without qualification is that his purpose is to reveal Divine Truth, "The reason I have been born, the reason I have come into the world, is to testify to the truth."  The purpose of John's whole Gospel is to show Jesus as the revelation of God.  In John 1:14&18 the author says "And the Word became flesh and made his home among us.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of an only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love....this enduring love came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God; it is God the only Son, ever at the Father's side, who has revealed Him."
"Enduring love" is Ray Brown's translation of two Greek words often translated "grace and  truth."  The truth that Jesus reveals in the flesh is that God is Enduring Love.  The Reign of Jesus is the reign of Enduring Love.
(This closeup of a blossom on my hibiscus plant reveals more of the blossom than I see when I look at the plant.  I also thought it looked kind of royal.)

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