1. Scriptural description about the Kingdom of God.

Matthew Mark Luke John

Matthew 13: The Mark 1:14-15 (NIV): Luke 13:18-21 NIV John 3:3-5 NIV
Parables of the At the start of Mark’s [18] Then Jesus [3] Jesus replied,
Kingdom Gospel, Jesus asked, “What is the “Very truly I tell you,
Jesus uses various declares the arrival of kingdom of God like? no one can see the
parables in Matthew God’s kingdom as He What shall I compare kingdom of God
13 to describe the enters Galilee. He it to? [19] It is like a unless they are born
character of the calls on people to mustard seed, which again.” [4] “How can
heavenly kingdom. repent and embrace a man took and someone be born
These parables faith because the planted in his garden. when they are old?”
include the Sower's kingdom is at hand, It grew and became a Nicodemus asked.
Parable, the Wheat bringing the good tree, and the birds “Surely they cannot
and Weeds Parable, news. perched in its enter a second time
the Mustard Seed branches.” [20] Again into their mother’s
Parable, and the Mark 4:26-29 (NIV): he asked, “What shall womb to be born!” [5]
Yeast Parable. These In this parable, Jesus I compare the Jesus answered,
parables focus on the explains that the kingdom of God to? “Very truly I tell you,
development and kingdom of God is [21] It is like yeast no one can enter the
influence of the comparable to a that a woman took kingdom of God
kingdom as well as person who sows and mixed into about unless they are born
its occult and seeds in the ground. sixty pounds of flour of water and the
transforming Day and night, the until it worked all Spirit.
elements. seeds germinate and through the dough.”
grow on their own, John 18:36 NIV
Matthew 5-7: The without the sower Luke 17:20-21 NIV [36] Jesus said, “My
sermon on the mount understanding the [20] Once, on being kingdom is not of this
Jesus outlines the process. Eventually, asked by the world. If it were, my
moral and ethical the soil yields a crop, Pharisees when the servants would fight
tenets of the kingdom starting with the stalk, kingdom of God to prevent my arrest
in the Sermon on the then the head, and would come, Jesus by the Jewish
Mount. The finally the mature replied, “The coming leaders. But now my
Beatitudes, which kernel. This parable of the kingdom of kingdom is from
describe the traits of illustrates the natural God is not something another place.”
individuals who are a and enigmatic that can be observed,
part of the kingdom, development of the [21] nor will people
fall under this kingdom of God. say, ‘Here it is,’ or
category. They ‘There it is,’ because
emphasize traits like Mark 10:13-15 (NIV): the kingdom of God
mildness. People were bringing is in your midst.”
young children to
Matthew 6:9-13: The Jesus, hoping He
Lord’s Prayer would bless them by
In the Lord’s Prayer, laying His hands on
Jesus instructs his them. However, the
disciples to pray for disciples tried to
the arrival of God’s prevent this. Jesus
kingdom and for His became upset and
divine plan to be told them not to
fulfilled on earth just hinder the children
as it is in heaven. from coming to Him
This prayer conveys because the kingdom
the longing for God’s of God is meant for
rule to be established those who possess
and realized here on the innocence and
earth. humility of children.

Matthew 16:19 (NIV): Mark 10:23-25 (NIV):

“I will give you the Jesus observed
keys of the kingdom those around Him
of heaven; whatever and commented to
you bind on earth will His disciples,
be bound in heaven, expressing how
and whatever you difficult it is for
loose on earth will be wealthy individuals to
loosed in heaven.” - enter the kingdom of
Jesus grants God. His disciples
authority and were astonished, but
responsibility to His Jesus reiterated that,
disciples in the in fact, entering the
context of the kingdom of God is
kingdom of heaven. challenging for all,
emphasizing the
Matthew 18:3 (NIV): importance of
“And he said: ‘Truly I humility for this
tell you, unless you endeavor.
change and become
like little children, you Mark 12:34 (NIV):
will never enter the Recognizing the
kingdom of heaven.’” scribe’s wise
- Jesus emphasizes response, Jesus
the need for childlike remarked that the
humility and scribe was
dependence to enter approaching the
the kingdom. threshold of the
kingdom of God.
Subsequently, no one
dared to inquire
further, as Jesus’
response conveyed
that the scribe was in
proximity to grasping
the kingdom’s
essence.
2. Do you see these particular descriptions about the KOG in the following:
a. World/Global setting
 Matthew saw KOG as a place of righteousness, transformation, and
faith. By human standards, it is according to the conformity of behavior
within the regulation—the quality of being morally true and justifiable,
righteousness can be seen. It is within the world's justice system that
judges what is right and wrong. Transformation is present in the world
with modernization, making everything compact but very useful. Faith is
present and is continuing to grow, resulting in uncountable numbers of
religious organizations. In these times of crisis and war within the world,
we must increase our faith and pray to God.
 For Mark, repentance, humility, and mystery surrounds the KOG.
Repentance is present as faith in Jesus naturally leads to it. It is
strongly encouraged and news/prediction about the coming of Jesus is
widely spread. Humility is not present. Because of existing and ongoing
wars. Mystery is present. The world is yet to be fully discovered. Growth
and impact are yet to be known.
 John describes that regeneration is possible with the grace and love of
God. John also described KOG consists of love and peace. In today’s
world, grace and love are present, and though they can't be seen in
everyone, there are plenty who are passing and sharing them around
by means of charity and donation. However, peace is not present, for
there are ongoing conflicts in the world right now, ranging from drug
wars, terrorist insurgencies, ethnic conflicts, and Civil Wars.
 Luke describes KOG as a place for growth, faith, and transformation.
Growth is present and evident in the global world. In population, trends,
and even the numbers of religious organizations. Faith is present in the
world, listing different kinds of religious organizations, with the biggest
four being Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Transformation
is present in the global world, far from what it was. Modernity and
technological trends are greatly helpful for making the world what it is
now.
b. Country
 Following Matthew’s perspective, few cities are conforming with
righteousness. The justice system that acts as a measure of being just
or rightful is twisted in a way that only benefits the powerful. Due to
some problems in the government's allocation of funds, the country has
not flourished fully which makes the transformation slow and not
accessible to all. Faith is present in the country, which is known for its
strong religious faith. Manifested through celebrations of Advent, Lent,
Easter, various fiestas and other religious activities like Eid al Fitr & Eid
al Adha (Islam) that are also celebrated.
 In accordance with Mark, Repentance is present especially during the
Lenten season as it is regarded as one of the most important religious
events we observed. Humility is present as it's closely associated with
Philippine values such as fellowship, respect and acceptance. In current
terms, growth is still to be discovered because in our country they might
always see the solutions present, but they never perceive, and they
might always hear, but they never understand.
 According to John’s perspective, grace and love is currently present
within the community and Filipino families that are known to be
hospitable to everyone visiting the country, sharing grace and love to
one another, especially during Christmas time. For now, peace is
present in the country despite the ongoing territorial dispute against
West Philippine Sea.
 As indicated in Luke’s perspective, Philippines’ growth is stagnant but
faith is widely present in the country with it being the only Christian
nation in Asia. Christianity is the predominant religion in the Philippines.
Regarding transformation, the country is having a slow transformation
and it needs to keep up with the current trends in the global community.
c. Locality – Baguio
 In the light of Luke’s point of view, Baguio City is a righteous city based
on the past events regarding the justice system and the transparency of
current city officials. it is also a progressive city which makes
transformation evident. Faith is present as Baguio City is a place for
sacred and religious sites.
 As a devout and compassionate people, Filipino traditions and customs
demand that we always act with humility and repentance. In terms of
mystery, growth and the effects of upcoming events remain to be seen.
The LGUs are contributing to the progress so that it is tangible and not
simply a metaphor. In accord with John, grace and love is present in
Baguio City. As an example, within peers that we haven't known for long
but are giving us aid when we need it. However, peace is not present
with the increase in the number of people missing within the city.
 Based on Luke’s, faith is present in Baguio City because it has places of
sacred & religious sites that people within the country & other countries
visited and prayed to. Also, transformation within the city is present and
at the same pace as the country. Unlike other places (rural) within the
country that have not yet reached civilization.