Note on ‘The Kingdom of God’

An interesting aspect of Jesus’ kingdom-sayings and parables in Luke is that none of them make any reference to the great Jewish symbols – none of the parables/sayings are tied to the land, or Torah, or nationalistic hope of liberation. Jesus has redefined the kingdom (Luke is full of redefinitions – the most prominent ones being the redefinition of the family and the people of God) away from the traditional symbols and the hope of national vindication , and by way of odd little sayings and parables, shows and tells that not only is the kingdom at hand and the end of the exile near but is happening through his own work.