As you explore the four Gospels, you encounter the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus began his ministry after being baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan river and continued up until his Death and Resurrection. This means his work lasted only about three years. Isn’t it astonishing that only three years of work has had such an incredible impact on the world? He travelled throughout Galilee teaching, healing the sick, performing miracles, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God

In Matthew, because his audience were Jewish, the phrase Kingdom of Heaven is used. This makes us think that Jesus was describing Heaven, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Jesus was quite ambiguous when he spoke of the Kingdom of God. Did he mean Heaven, or the end times, or some utopia that is achievable on Earth, or did he mean the Church? In some passages the Kingdom was present with him, and in others we read that the Kingdom is yet to come. Is this Kingdom on Earth? Or does it belong on some Cosmic plain that will remain hidden until Christ returns?

"Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was to come, he gave them this answer, 'The coming of the Kingdom of God is not as it is expected: and they will not say, "Look, it is there!" For look, the Kingdom of God is among you.'"Luke 17:20-21

Whatever the time and space of the Kingdom of God, it is the message behind the phrase that is important. It is the central theme of Jesus’s teaching. The message was new and didn’t always reflect Jewish laws, which is one of the things that got Jesus into so much trouble. He spoke about the Kingdom of God with such authority that his role within that Kingdom was clear.

Parables

One of the ways that Jesus taught us how to behave was through parables that described the Kingdom of God. In Luke, there is a large section of these, including famous stories such as the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the Parable of the Sower. The parables are stories that at first seem to obscure the truth, but the more we read them, the more we understand the many truths that are written into them. 

"He told them, 'To you is granted the secret of the Kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables.'" Mark 4:11

Through the Parables, we are taught forgiveness, tolerance, mercy, kindness, compassion. We are reminded to not waste our God-given talents, and we are told to trust the Lord. We must not serve other Gods such as money, and stay alert to the will of God.

Children

Jesus was clear that we are to love and protect children, and that we can learn much from their faith and innocence. 

"Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is such as these that the Kingdom of the God belongs. Amen I say to you, whoever does not welcome the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Luke 18:16-17

So what does this mean?  Children are loving and trusting, and this is what Jesus expects of his disciples. Jesus teaches that the most humble and lowly are the greatest in the Kingdom of God, and this is reflected in children.

This gives us permission to let go of our vanities and secular drive for status, and turn away from the temptations that cause us to sin. Jesus gives us all permission to be like children: to play a little and love a lot.