John 18:36
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from this world.”
Pilate must have been relieved. He had been told that this popular man from Nazareth was claiming to be King of the Jews…and since the Jewish people were under his authority as a Roman Governor, that surely would have been a problem. Pilate had been tasked with keeping this stubborn people group under control, and the last thing he needed was another insurrectionist like Barabbas. Still, he was interested as to why the Jewish leaders were so upset about this small-town carpenter. What could he have done?
From the Enduring Word commentary:
“Romans thought they knew about kingdoms and their might; that armies, navies, swords, and battles measured the strength of kingdoms. What Jesus knew was that His kingdom – though not of this world – was mightier than Rome and would continue to expand and influence when Rome passed away.”
Far too often, American Christians suffer from what I call “Pontius Pilate Syndrome”—we believe that our kingdom should be wielding political force and impact. We should be ruling over the earthly kingdoms of media, art, finance, and politics. Mistakenly, we believe the lie that without earthly “power” we have no REAL power. Of course, we give lip-service to prayer and evangelism and discipleship…but in order to effect REAL change, we need to control the levers of cultural influence.
“My kingdom is not of this world.”
Augustine observed from this verse that earthly kingdoms are based upon force, pride, the love of human praise, the desire for domination, and self-interest…all displayed by Pilate and the Roman Empire. The heavenly kingdom, by contrast, is exemplified by Jesus and the cross, is based on love, sacrifice, humility, and righteousness – and is to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness (1 Cor. 1:23).
Which kingdom are you pursuing?
Spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative Christians turned out in mind-boggling numbers to vote for President Trump in November of 2020. I am one of them. A staggering 99% of us showed up at the polls and put 23 million votes in his column—fully 1/3 of the president’s total vote count. Yet, when Joe Biden was inaugurated to be the 46th President, a significant portion of this group went into despondency, rage, and disbelief. Could it be that they were thinking more like Pilate and less like Jesus? I don’t know for sure, but it most likely was a rather significant portion.
Jesus’ Kingdom is not FROM this world, but it certainly includes this world. His Kingdom is more powerful than this world but has restrained itself until the final day of judgment arrives. Rest assured, Jesus’ Kingdom IS ADVANCING, even if our earthly political power is waning. One does not rely upon the other, and you can rest assured, even in the face of trials and losses, that God’s Kingdom has already won the war and it’s just a matter of time before every person on earth knows it and accepts it.
