“I love Jesus…do I really need a Church? Why do we need religion?” In this episode, Dr. Sri reveals how the history of the Kingdom of God is interwoven with the inseparable bond of Christ and his Church throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Snippet from the Show
You can’t love the king and ignore his kingdom.
Shownotes
The Most Important Teaching
Many of us think that the main reason Jesus came was to die for our sins, but we can forget that the main reason wasn’t the only reason.
During his public ministry, what did Jesus talk about the most? Salvation? Forgiveness? Love? No…it was his kingdom.
If all Jesus wanted to do was die for our sins, he could have done that very quickly and efficiently when he was a little baby.
Even as an adult, consciously choosing to willingly give up his life, there were many situations before Calvary where his death could have taken place. Why the wait?
He came to do more than just die.
If we want to receive what Jesus did for us in its fullest form, we must receive all the graces he won for us through the graces passed down through his Church.
The Kingdom of God in Scripture
Matthew 4:25
“So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.”
The Davidic Kingdom
2 Samuel Chapter 7: God promises David that he is going to have an everlasting dynasty, a kingdom that would reign forever.
For the Jews living in the first century, they lived under oppression with no king ruling over them, only nations, the Romans in particular.
When Jesus comes around announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, they knew what it meant: “We want to meet this guy. He’s the one. He’s the great king we’ve all been waiting for.”
Old Testament Kingdoms vs. The Kingdom of God
Old Testament: Visible structures, offices of authority, lines of succession.
The Kingdom of God: Visible structures, offices of authority, and lines of succession.
Old Testament: Liturgy and the Priesthood
The Kingdom of God: Liturgy and the Priesthood
Old Testament: The Prime Minister, whose authority was given by the king of the kingdom
The Kingdom of God: The pope, whose authority was given by the King of the Kingdom
(The Keys of the Kingdom: See Isaiah 22, Matthew 16)
Old Testament: The role of the queen mother, the mother of the king
The Kingdom of God: The role of the Queen Mother, the Mother of the King
Casting Lots in the Jewish Tradition
The Romans cast lots for Jesus’s garment. They rolled the dice, it was a game of chance.
In the Old Testament, casting lots was not just a game of chance. It was the way in which God’s will is made manifest for his priests. (See 1 Chronicles Chapter 24, Luke 1: 8-13, Acts 1:26)
Resources
- Visit Dr. Sri’s website at www.edwardsri.com and to book online events with Dr. Sri email events.edwardsri@gmail.com
- Find more of Dr. Sri’s episodes at www.ascensionpress.com/allthingscatholic
- Ascension is pleased to offer our new and improved online bible study programs and sacramental preparation programs digitally to help you minister with flexibility. Go to www.ascensionpress.com to view all our offerings
Dr. Edward Sri is a theologian, well-known Catholic speaker, and author of several best-selling books. His work with Ascension includes study programs such as A Biblical Walk Through the Mass, No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion and Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother. Several of Dr. Sri’s programs were filmed on-site in the Holy Land, and feature immersive video explorations of the sacred sites where Jesus, Mary, and the Apostles lived and died.
Dr. Sri is the host of the acclaimed Ascension podcast All Things Catholic with Dr. Edward Sri. Together with Curtis Martin, Dr. Sri is a founding leader of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), of which he serves as senior vice president of Apostolic Outreach.
Dr. Sri lives with his wife Beth and their children in Colorado.
I loved this talk! Dr. Sri referred to 2 Chronicles 3:18, “that the kingdom of God was entrusted into the hands of men” but I can’t find this passage in the bible. Can Dr. Sri clarify this? I would like to share this with others. God bless you!