[This reflection by Michael Goble was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 22/Mar/2026]
There is no doubt that Jesus first came to this world at the best time, as He had decided. The city of Rome and its emperors ruled over a vast empire including Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and our country too. The Romans had built a massive road network for their army to keep control over the whole area, and as a result there was peace over the whole empire. If God was going to bring the truth of His Kingdom into the world in people’s hearts it was 2000 years ago.
We have to remember this when we consider that Jesus was born into the Roman-occupied country of what is now Israel. As He taught about the coming of His Kingdom into the world from then on, the good news of His teaching and miracles, His sacrificial death for our wrongdoings on the cross and being raised from the dead to give us new eternal life, spread across the empire and to us today.
This is quite a contrast to today when we think of the ministry of Jesus in the small province of the land of Israel, which was based on the land and culture that He lived in. It helps us to understand the parables, or stories, that He used to teach the truth of His coming Kingdom. He could point to the farmer sowing seed, the shepherd and his sheep, the water in the well, the need for healing and meeting the needs of a poor society. He fulfilled in His teaching and deeds all that the Jewish scriptures, the Old Testament, foretold about the coming of His Kingdom over Israel and the world.
But what if He came in the 21st Century instead. His parables would have reflected the society in which we live. Perhaps the ‘Parable of the Sower’ in Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23 could have been told in this way.
“A multi-billionaire gave gifts of a car to those he loved.
The first person didn’t drive his car. He left it outside his house and the vandals came and smashed the windows, took off the wheels and tyres, and stripped the engine for parts. He couldn’t drive it anywhere.
The second person received his car with joy. He jumped in it and roared off down the road driving faster and faster wearing the tread off his tyres. Taking a corner too fast he skidded off the road and never drove again.
The third person drove off but he worried about all the traffic around him. Everyone seemed to be driving against him, and then he crashed into several of them and his car was a write off.
But the fourth driver received his car gratefully. He looked after it, and drove it carefully, having it regularly serviced. He drove at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and even 70 miles an hour according to the speed limits. He became a driving instructor and many other drivers followed his example.”
I must admit that I prefer the parable of Jesus of course to the one that came to me, but at least it is good to think in a different way of what Jesus teaches us about receiving His Kingdom into our hearts, until the time comes when He returns to reign over this world.
The teachings of Jesus, and believing them, are so important to us today as they were in the times of the Roman Empire. Remember that the next time you travel in your car.
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Last Sunday’s reflection: Good Friday – Good Holiday? by Martin Shorey
Contributed by Michael Goble; © Michael Goble