m of heaven is at hand! and, in so doing Jesus is, according to Keener, employing typical Jewish periphrasis for God and emphasising the cruciality of Jesus ministry as bringing about the awaited for the reign of God. This idea of the immanence of the kingdom is especially paramount in Matthew more so than in any other gospel with its emphasis in the parables of the kingdom. Jesus in these parables emphasises that while Gods reign is not complete, in His followers the kingdom is present and expanding, this is especially true of the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast. In addition, Jesus is described not just as an emissary of the kingdom, the kingdom-bringer. He is also shown to be the king Himself. Jesus is described as being of royal lineage, He is the Son of David and the Son of Man Judaism was anticipating. Such references would not be lost to the Jewish hearers, Jesus is King of the Jews (26:64) and thus the king of the kingdom was present.This motif in Matthew of the presence of the kingdom is exemplified in the way Jesus is depicted as a miracle worker, one who is ushering the kingdom into physical reality. Matthew depicts Jesus miracles as evidence of this inauguration of the kingdom (11:2-6; 12:28). As Son of David Jesus is shown to be bringing the kingdom through his healings (9:32-34; 12:24). Perhaps the clearest example of this inauguration of the kingdom through Jesus actions is Matthews description of the presence of the kingdom in the passion. The passion as the means of forgiveness of sins and thus fulfilment of the prophetic kingdom hope of Isaiah 53 is displayed to be a primary means of the inauguration of the kingdom and an anticipation of the kingdoms final consummation. Further, Matthew portrays the resurrection in a typical Jewish apocalyptic linguistic. The description of the angels descent, the earthquake and the fearful guards makes 28:2-4 appear to recount the events of Easter morning as though they wer...
