John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Very important words of Jesus, my Friends! That’s His answer to Pilate’s question; ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ The Jews took Him before Pilate, the Roman governor, because they wanted Him sentenced to death, but had no authority to do so. But all Pilate was concerned about was if He had stirred up rebellion against Rome, and He certainly had not done that. ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ That people, is the first thing we’ve got to understand about Jesus. He’s a king, but in the spiritual realm, not like our earthly kings who deal with physical matters. And that’s where the Jewish people made a serious mistake, by assuming that because the Bible talked about the Messiah as a king coming to save them, they could only envision an earthly warrior king, like what they were accustomed to. They figured the saving was to be physical from the oppression of the Romans, and not spiritual as it turned out. But Daniel pointed the way to other possibilities. And it’s interesting to note that before Daniel interpreted king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, his own Chaldean people claimed that nobody could do it. ‘And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.’ (Dan.2:11) They didn’t know how right they were, cause eventually it was the spiritual God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who showed Daniel the interpretation that saved their lives. And part of it related to Jesus’ kingdom. ‘And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.’ (Dan.2:44) The same goes for Daniel’s own dream about four beasts. ‘I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ (Dan.7:13-14) How could it be everlasting and not pass away and be physical and earthly eh? But I guess if you’re constantly being ruled and oppressed by other nations, and you have a promise of a saviour, you’d expect an earthly person to physically wipe away the oppression, rather than a spiritual redeemer. And although Jesus told them again and again, they never believed. As He told Pilate, ‘if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.’ That’s obvious. Remember when they came to arrest Him in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. But Jesus told him; ‘Put up thy sword in to the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?’ (John 18:11) Meaning that He had to carry out His Father’s will, and go through the mock trial and deceit of the Jewish leaders, even unto His crucifixion. That was the Father’s plan, for sadly, only His sinless blood could appease the Father’s call for justice, which He required to wipe away our horrendous sin debt. So Jesus had to play along with the farce to do His Father’s will. That meant He never desired to be an earthly king either, cause it would have messed up all the Father’s well laid plans to bring us back to right standing with Him. Note, after He performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes, people believed, for food was scarce, and they reasoned that if Jesus could multiply food like that, there must be something to His Messianic claim. However, ‘When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again unto a mountain himself alone.’ (John 6:15) And as He concluded to Pilate: ‘But now is my kingdom not from hence.’ Yes Friends, the earthly kingdom definitely was not a part of His first coming. And don’t think it wasn’t hard on Jesus to accept the humiliation and painful death, for He had human feelings and emotions, but it shows the high level of obedience and LOVE He possessed for His Heavenly Father. Even when His soul was crestfallen and plumbing the depths of sorrow, knowing what was to come, and asking the Father for a reprieve, which He knew would not be forthcoming, He obediently declared; ‘Not my will but thine,’ in complete surrender to the Father’s will. Friends, are we also in complete surrender to the Lord’s will? Are we being obedient, even though it hurts? Hopefully, if not right now, one day quite soon, we’ll all be able to answer a resounding, ‘Yes!’ to that most important question. Like Jesus, full surrender and complete obedience are what we should all be working towards. It’s the number 1 goal of a true believer’s life. Much LOVE!…worship Him…in spirit…in truth…and in LOVE…
Very important words of Jesus, my Friends! That’s His answer to Pilate’s question; ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ The Jews took Him before Pilate, the Roman governor, because they wanted Him sentenced to death, but had no authority to do so. But all Pilate was concerned about was if He had stirred up rebellion against Rome, and He certainly had not done that. ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ That people, is the first thing we’ve got to understand about Jesus. He’s a king, but in the spiritual realm, not like our earthly kings who deal with physical matters. And that’s where the Jewish people made a serious mistake, by assuming that because the Bible talked about the Messiah as a king coming to save them, they could only envision an earthly warrior king, like what they were accustomed to. They figured the saving was to be physical from the oppression of the Romans, and not spiritual as it turned out. But Daniel pointed the way to other possibilities. And it’s interesting to note that before Daniel interpreted king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, his own Chaldean people claimed that nobody could do it. ‘And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.’ (Dan.2:11) They didn’t know how right they were, cause eventually it was the spiritual God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who showed Daniel the interpretation that saved their lives. And part of it related to Jesus’ kingdom. ‘And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.’ (Dan.2:44) The same goes for Daniel’s own dream about four beasts. ‘I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ (Dan.7:13-14) How could it be everlasting and not pass away and be physical and earthly eh? But I guess if you’re constantly being ruled and oppressed by other nations, and you have a promise of a saviour, you’d expect an earthly person to physically wipe away the oppression, rather than a spiritual redeemer. And although Jesus told them again and again, they never believed. As He told Pilate, ‘if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.’ That’s obvious. Remember when they came to arrest Him in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. But Jesus told him; ‘Put up thy sword in to the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?’ (John 18:11) Meaning that He had to carry out His Father’s will, and go through the mock trial and deceit of the Jewish leaders, even unto His crucifixion. That was the Father’s plan, for sadly, only His sinless blood could appease the Father’s call for justice, which He required to wipe away our horrendous sin debt. So Jesus had to play along with the farce to do His Father’s will. That meant He never desired to be an earthly king either, cause it would have messed up all the Father’s well laid plans to bring us back to right standing with Him. Note, after He performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes, people believed, for food was scarce, and they reasoned that if Jesus could multiply food like that, there must be something to His Messianic claim. However, ‘When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again unto a mountain himself alone.’ (John 6:15) And as He concluded to Pilate: ‘But now is my kingdom not from hence.’ Yes Friends, the earthly kingdom definitely was not a part of His first coming. And don’t think it wasn’t hard on Jesus to accept the humiliation and painful death, for He had human feelings and emotions, but it shows the high level of obedience and LOVE He possessed for His Heavenly Father. Even when His soul was crestfallen and plumbing the depths of sorrow, knowing what was to come, and asking the Father for a reprieve, which He knew would not be forthcoming, He obediently declared; ‘Not my will but thine,’ in complete surrender to the Father’s will. Friends, are we also in complete surrender to the Lord’s will? Are we being obedient, even though it hurts? Hopefully, if not right now, one day quite soon, we’ll all be able to answer a resounding, ‘Yes!’ to that most important question. Like Jesus, full surrender and complete obedience are what we should all be working towards. It’s the number 1 goal of a true believer’s life. Much LOVE!…worship Him…in spirit…in truth…and in LOVE…
SCRIP-BITS 