GOSPEL READING:
John 18:33-3733 Pilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" 35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world." 37 Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice."
SCRIPTURE READING:
Daniel 7:13-1413 I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Meditation: Do you recognize that the Lord Jesus
have been given all authority and power to reign over heaven and
earth? Jesus was crucified for his claim to be the Messiah King
(John 18:37) who would rule not only over his people Israel but
ultimately over all the nations as well (Daniel 7:13-14).
God is King and Ruler over all
What is the significance or meaning of Jesus' kingship for us?
Kingship today seems antiquated, especially in democratic
societies where everyone is treated equal and free. God at first
did not want to give his people Israel a king. Why? Because God
alone was their King and they needed no other. Nonetheless, God
relented and promised his people that through David's line he
would establish a Ruler and a Kingdom that would last for eternity
(Psalm 89:29).
The Jews understood that the Messiah ("Anointed One") would come
as God's anointed King to restore paradise and establish God's
reign of everlasting peace for them. They wanted a Messianic King
who would free them from strife and division and from foreign
oppression. Many had high hopes that Jesus would be the Messiah
and Ruler for Israel. Little did they understand what kind of
kingship Jesus claimed to possess.
Jesus' claim to kingship
Jesus came to deliver his people, and the whole world, from the
worst kind of tyranny possible - from bondage to sin, condemnation
and death, and to free us from Satan's kingdom of deception,
oppression, and destruction. Jesus came to conquer hearts and
souls for an unshakeable kingdom - a kingdom ruled not by force or
fear - but by the power of God's righteousness, peace, and joy in
the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).
When Satan tempted Jesus during his forty day fast in the
wilderness, he offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world
(Matthew 4:8-9) Jesus knew that the world was in Satan's power.
And this was precisely why Jesus came - to overthrow Satan's power
and deception over the earth. Jesus knew that the way to victory
was through submission to his Father's will and strategy for
overcoming sin and Satan in the world. The Father sent his only
begotten Son into the world, not to condemn it, but to save it
through the atoning sacrifice which Jesus would make for us
through the shedding of his blood on the cross of Calvary.
As Jesus was dying on the cross, he was mocked for his claim to
kingship. Nonetheless, he died not only as King of the Jews, but
King of all the nations as well. His victory over the power of
sin, Satan, and the world, was accomplished through his death on
the cross and his rising from the tomb on the third day - never to
die again. Jesus exchanged a throne of glory for a cross of shame
to restore us from slavery to sin to glory with God as his adopted
sons and daughters. In the Book of Revelation Jesus is called King
of kings and Lord and lords (Revelations 19:16). Do
you recognize Jesus Christ as your King and Lord?
Which ruler and kingdom will you serve?
The Scriptures tell us that there are ultimately only two kingdoms
in this world which are opposed to one another - the kingdom of
light and the kingdom of darkness. Each kingdom is ruled by one
lord or master - the Lord Jesus Christ who is the true
"Light of the World" - or the false messiah and ruler who is
called the "anti-Christ" and an "angel of light" who rules by lies
and deception.
If we follow the Lord Jesus Christ he will open our eyes to the
light of his truth and guide us on the course that leads to our
true homeland and security with God. If we follow the course which
is set by the world - a world which is opposed to Christ and
blinded by the Deceiver who is Satan - then we will discover that
sin, pride, and greed will lead us down a path of destruction,
division, and death rather than life, community, and freedom.
Which kingdom will you serve - today and for all eternity? The
kingdom of this present world which passes away or God's kingdom
which can never be broken or defeated and which endures forever?
If we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and King we become citizens
of an everlasting kingdom which is governed by God's
righteousness, peace, and love. Is your life submitted to the
Lordship of Jesus Christ who reigns now and forever in the glory
of his eternal Father in heaven?
Lord Jesus Christ, you are my King and there is no other. Be the Lord and Master of my heart, mind, body, and soul. May I always seek to do your will and to serve your kingdom above all else.
Psalm 93:1-5
1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!
5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: My kingdom is not of the world, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Listen, everyone, Jews and Gentiles, circumcised and uncircumcised.
Listen, all kings of the earth. I am no hindrance to your rule in
this world, for 'my kingdom is not of this world.' Banish the
groundless fear that filled Herod the Great on hearing that Christ
was born. More cruel in his fear than in his anger, he put many
children to death (Matthew 2:3,16), so that Christ would also die.
But 'my kingdom is not of this world,' says Christ. What further
reassurance do you seek? Come to the kingdom that is not of this
world. Do not be enraged by fear, but come by faith. In a prophecy
Christ also said, 'He,' that is, God the Father, 'has made me king
on Zion his holy mountain' (Psalm 2:6). But that Zion and that
mountain are not of this world.
"What in fact is Christ's kingdom? It is simply
those who believe in him, those to whom he said, 'You are not of
this world, even as I am not of this world.' He willed,
nevertheless, that they should be in the world, which is why he
prayed to the Father, 'I ask you not to take them out of the world
but to protect them from the evil one' (John 17:15-16). So here also
he did not say, 'My kingdom is not' in this world but 'is not of
this world.' And when he went on to prove this by declaring, 'If my
kingdom were of this world, my servants would have fought to save me
from being handed over to the Jews,' he concluded by saying not 'my
kingdom is not here' but 'my kingdom is not from here.'
"Indeed, his kingdom is here until the end of
time, and until the harvest it will contain weeds. The harvest is
the end of the world, when the reapers, who are the angels, will
come and gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin (Matthew
13:48-41). And this could not happen if his kingdom were not here.
But even so, it is not from here, for it is in exile in the world.
Christ says to his kingdom, 'You are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world' (John 15:19). They were indeed of the
world when they belonged to the prince of this world, before they
became his kingdom. Though created by the true God, everyone born of
the corrupt and accursed stock of Adam is of the world. [But]
everyone who is reborn in Christ becomes the kingdom that is no
longer of the world. For God has snatched us from the powers of
darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son
(Colossians 1:13). This is that kingdom of which he said, 'My
kingdom is not of this world; my kingly power does not come from
here." (excerpt from TRACTATES
ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 115.2)
