On one occasion during the final days of Jesus’ ministry, the mother of Jesus’ close disciples James and John came to Jesus and said: “Give the word that these my two sons may sit down, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” (Matthew 20:21) Clearly, she was not speaking about something in the heart of her sons. She understood that the Kingdom involved rulership with Jesus, and she wanted her sons to have a share in it. In fact, Jesus did promise his 11 faithful apostles that they would be in his Kingdom and “sit on thrones” and “judge” with him. (Luke 22:30) To his followers, then, Jesus’ Kingdom was to be a real rulership—an administration, a government.
What about the people in general in Jesus’ day? Did they understand the Kingdom to be just a personal transformation, or did they expect something more? Well, shortly before Passover 33 C.E. when Jesus was entering Jerusalem riding a colt, the crowd welcomed him and some cried out: “Save, we pray, the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9) Why did they cry out that way? No doubt they had come to recognize that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that God would give him an everlasting Kingdom, “the throne of David his father.” They longed for the salvation, peace, and justice that they Kingdom would bring.—Luke 1:32; Zechariah 9:9.
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