Mar
12
2007
A Kingdom Not from This World
“My kingdom is not from this world.
If My kingdom were from this world, My servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.
But My kingdom is not from the world.”
- Jesus, in answer to Pilate during His trial (John18:36)
As Jesus faced interrogation during His Roman trial, Pilate asked Him what He had done to push the members of His own nation to hand Him over to Roman authority. Who could conceive of a so-called king of an occupied nation being treated as a death-deserving criminal? Jesus’ answer brilliantly affirmed His own kingship while denying the type of kingdom Pilate had in mind.
Jesus truly was the King of the Jews, but not in the earthly sense that most Jews were anticipating. His kingdom encompassed much more than a few people fighting for their land and trying to wiggle out of Roman rule. His reign was “other-worldly” in nature; not like the kingdom of Rome or even Israel. Had Christ’s kingship been of the world, His servants would have been protecting Him from any harm, fighting in defense of their king.
As Jesus stood before Pilate that day, the contrast between the world’s kingdom and God’s kingdom could not have been clearer. Here stood the kingdom of man, propelled by the military force and imperial might of the Roman Empire. Yet there in the palace of human pride and ambition stood the kingdom of God, whose innocent King faced the mockery and punishment reserved for lawbreakers. This King would reign by being lifted up on a Roman cross to suffer the punishment brought on by the sin of His people and ultimately, the world.
The power of the King we worship far exceeds that of the rulers we submit to on earth. His methods and way of ruling confound the powerful and self-proclaimed wise men around us. His kingdom will never be enlarged by the use of weapons, in a physical war between God’s kingdom-citizens and the world’s earthly might. Instead, the kingdom of God is furthered whenever we, like Jesus, sacrifice our own desires, ambitions and earthly loves – putting down our weaponry so we can pick up our cross.
written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog