Jesus is a mythic hero. All of us who believe in Him, believe mysterious, mystical things about Him—that while born as an ordinary baby to a poor family, He is actually God and was fully God as a baby; that He died and came back to life and is still alive somewhere we cannot see; that this death and resurrection is relevant to each one of us; and that He is coming back some day and we will be with Him in a perfect world different from this world. I believe all these things. I even believe that He can communicate with me (and vice versa) in my ordinary daily life. Looked at somewhat objectively, someone who doesn’t believe could say I, and other Christians, believe in myths.

As a child C.S. Lewis’ mythical world of Narnia deeply appealed to me—the talking beasts, the noble kings, the dangerous adventures, the wisdom of the Lion. One day, after immersing myself in the books for several hours, I thought, “It’s too bad the real word is not like this!” Suddenly, the thought that our planet hurtling through the vast stretches of space had been visited by God as a small baby struck me as astonishing and wonderful as the Narnian world. “We don’t see how wonderful it is because we’re used to it!”

Similarly the “Lord of the Rings” books (and now movies) present a world of myth, adventure, and the terror of evil and joy of good. While not an allegory as Narnia, nevertheless Tolkien created masterful literary Christ images: Gandalf who dies and rises again, Frodo who suffers and bears the sin of the world, and Aragorn who is a king fighting for his throne and waiting to marry his bride. Yet this world of imagination and many other imaginary worlds seem disconnected from our spiritual lives. Our obedience to Christ may seem more like a set of duties than engagement in a world as exciting as Tolkien’s.

Our immersion in imagination connect us fleetingly to myth. Yet Jesus offers us a permanent and secure connection. Mythic hero is, of course, not the theologically correct term for Jesus, and one could easily think that attempting to make this connection is contrary to His presentation of Himself to us. But, in the gospels, He makes that connection Himself.

The term Jesus most frequently used to describe himself, “Son of Man”, causes us to think of his humanity in contrast to his divinity, but the term actually comes from Daniel 7 in the context of a vision. It’s as though Daniel had been watching a movie full of mythical monsters—a winged lion, a devouring bear, a four-headed winged leopard, and something that sounds like an iron robot. Into this Tolkienesque movie comes a great hero who rides in on clouds and is presented to an awesome figure on a fiery throne with millions of angel attendants. The hero, the Son of Man, is given power over everything and made king.

Jesus knew the Old Testament scriptures, so to identify himself as “Son of Man”, is telling us He is more like a mythic hero from an epic fantasy than like someone from our everyday world. This phrase, “Son of Man” transports us out of the humdrum world of first century poverty and into the world of imagination. It even transports us out of a conception of our spiritual lives as tedious duties. Jesus refers to “the Son of Man coming in the clouds” at the end of the world (Mt. 24:30), clearly connecting himself to the scripture from Daniel, and identifying Himself as a mythic hero. Another reference to coming, includes judgment and the kingdom, both very reminiscent of the passage in Daniel.

Matthew 16:27-28 For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds. And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see me, the Son of Man, coming in my kingdom.

Daniel 7:13 As my vision continued that night, I saw someone who looked like a man (Aramaic reads “a son of man”) coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and royal power over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

By claiming the title “Son of Man”, Jesus also claimed to be the coming King. At His crucifixion he was mocked and taunted for that claim. Yet when Pilate asked him if he was King of the Jews, Jesus responded “I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

What is this Kingdom, not of this world, of which He speaks? Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven occur 113 times in the Gospels and so must be central to Jesus' message to us. Our concept of a “kingdom” tends toward medieval knights and fairy tales, battles between good and evil, the prince rescuing the princess, and everyone living happily ever after with the wicked characters defeated. Perhaps our imaginations are actually useful in this picture, because if we read the Old Testament prophets, the kingdom they speak of is much like this.

A perfect Kingdom is ruled with justice by God himself as King after he has defeated all evil and removed all enemies. The resulting land is peaceful, prosperous, safe, full of fruitful gardens, vineyards, flowers, and healthy happy people who spend their time resting, celebrating, singing, feasting, and dancing. There are no more armies, no more dangerous animals; there is no more sadness, no more oppression or injustice. Instead, the land is lush and beautiful, people live quietly at home at rest with their gardens and vineyards, and they are full of joy.

At times I try to imagine a perfect world, and in my particular imagination it tends to include New England greens, Ideals magazine or Norman Rockwell images, mid-west community picnics vaguely connected to Tom Sawyer or Little House on the Prairie, and Guatemalan landscapes. I’m sure each of our imaginations puts together slightly different images of perfection. But the Old Testament imagery touches on something we deeply feel is the way things should be; peaceful, restful, beautiful places with contented people fulfills some deep desire.

My daughter bought a secondhand book describing bed and breakfasts across the US. Despite the unlikelihood that I will ever visit these places, I read the whole book and have even reread portions of it. Excellent food, flowers, gardens, rest, striking landscapes, congenial conversation, evenings by a fire—even reading about them is restful! When I traveled to the east coast I made a point of stopping for supper at one of the inns in the book. I wasn’t disappointed. Tasty food, book-lined rooms with a fireplace, and a history starting in 1776 are not the perfect world, but certainly are cozy and comfortable enough to assure us that world is possible.

We have become so accustomed to think in terms of Jesus’ first coming in contrast to His second coming, that perhaps we’ve relegated the fulfillment of the Kingdom to the future and have ceased to focus on this aspect of his teaching. But Jesus made it central and immediate, announcing “The Kingdom of God is near!” (Mark 1:15) and told his followers to tell others “The Kingdom of God is near you now.” (Luke 10:9) It was his first public communication and his last and recurs over and over in the gospels. Does He really mean that we are touching this perfect world in some way when we become his followers?

The golden age of kingship to which the people of Jesus’ day looked back was to that of David 1000 years before, not unlike our looking back to the medieval kings such as Arthur 1000 years before us. Seen as an idealized past, it is also projected into a glorious future. God promised David a lasting dynasty, (I Chron. 17) and the prophets reiterated this, that the coming King would be a descendant of David (Is. 9:7) who would bring this perfect Kingdom into being. Those in the gospels who addressed Jesus as “Son of David” were expressing their faith that Jesus was the coming King.

To get a full image of the kingdom, one needs to read through all the passages in the prophets that refer to the kingdom. There will be great battles in which Israel triumphs. The nation of Israel, and the City of Jerusalem, become the center of the world, the center of the King’s presence, and are full of honor. Any former enemies are humbled, so peace, no violence, fills the land. People will be happy and dance merrily with tambourines, sing songs of joy, be radiant from all the gifts they have received, young women will dance for joy, people will no longer be fearful or ashamed, they will be filled with light, hearts will be happy as if by wine, and will sparkle in His hand like jewels in a crown. There will be prosperity and everlasting joy since God Himself will be our King.

When Jesus spoke to the men on the road to Emmaus he said, “You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory?” Then Jesus quotes passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself. (Luke 24:25-27) After his resurrection he appeared to his disciples during 40 days, and “on these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3) What did he teach them?

To attempt to assimilate this teaching we have spiritualized and personalized, making the Kingdom an interior experience. But if we return to the actual words of scripture, take them seriously, perhaps some aspects of our thinking need to change. The promises for the future are utopian and beautiful, and Isaiah and the others describe something that we really want.

Is. 65:17-25
Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth—so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more.

No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only sinners will die that young! In those days, people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. It will not be like the past, when invaders took the houses and confiscated the vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees and will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken!