What is the true kingdom?
John 18:33-38
33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ 34 Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ 35 Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ 36 Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ 37 Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ 38 Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’
The event described was part of the series of trials Jesus faced between his arrest on the Thursday night and 9 am on Good Friday when he was executed by crucifixion. This trial was before the Roman governor, Pilate. The Romans, the supreme power in Palestine at the time, had reserved for themselves the authority of capital punishment and so for Jesus to be crucified, Pilate needed to sign off and assign a group of Roman soldiers to kill Jesus.
The dialogue between Jesus and Pilate is fascinating. The debate starts with a discussion about what kind of king Jesus is. Pilate imagines kings as having power in this world, military strength, the power of the sword/gun. But Jesus points to a different kingdom, a kingdom greater than this world, a kingdom that does not need to use the power of the sword/gun, that does not care about this world’s military powers. That is the backdrop to the real question – which kingdom is the true kingdom? The kingdom of the sword that can execute people? Or the kingdom that Jesus is talking about that can raise people to life again? Is the kingdom that is limited to the here and the now, the material we can touch world, is that the true kingdom? Or is the kingdom that reigns over both the here and now, material reality and also reigns the spiritual powers of the world as well?
Jesus is making a claim that we know is accurate, for we know there is a world beyond what can be seen and measured, a world that is true even though it is not discernable by eyes or ears. That ultimate truth is what Jesus reveals to us – not just in the life to come, but even now as his kingdom is breaking into the here and now, material world.
PRAYER:
Lord God, your Son Jesus Christ spoke of your coming kingdom, the true kingdom. Teach us to know and believe in this coming kingdom as the true kingdom. Help us to not only see the truth, but to know the truth in our inner spiritual lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.