Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The idea that when Jesus showed up on the Earth, he brought the kingdom of God with him, is oddly controversial, even among Christians who say they've at least skimmed through the New Testament. When it is suggested that the kingdom is here, and that its appointed destiny is to fill the world, it's not uncommon to get these words quoted back in argument:
“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 the world.” (John 18:36)
The contention is that Jesus is saying that his kingdom is not in the world yet, or doesn't even belong there in the first place. It's otherworldly somehow. The thought may be that it's purely spiritual and inward.
The reason this argument has always baffled me (in terms of wondering how a rational person could suggest it) is that Jesus also said, just a few verses earlier in the same Gospel, that all those who believed in him were “not of the world” (John 17:14). They were still in the world, but not of it, or from it.
If you've been reading John's Gospel from the beginning, this sort of language is not difficult. He's previously explained the “origin story” of the believer in chapters 1 and 3. They are born from above, not by the will of man, but by the Holy Spirit. This is inward and spiritual, but it can't be denied that these people were actually, physically in the world.
So then, at the end of the book, when Jesus declares that his kingdom is not of this world, that's not a statement of its invisibility or irrelevance. It's not a statement absence. It's an explanation of why his followers were not using violent means to free him from Pilate's grasp. We're operating on different principles than the kingdoms of the world.
We're using different tools. They all use swords and chariots (guns and tanks) but the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, or earthly. This kingdom moves forward on its knees. We invite nations filled with sorrow to a kingdom of light and life, through preaching and teaching, by gentle persuasion. We conquer rival kingdoms by serving them, trusting God with the results.
Don't take any of this as weakness, though, much less as some admission of defeat. We trust God with the results because he's already told us what those will be. Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth, right now. He's told us to pray in faith that God's will would be done here. The Lord has been promised the ends of the Earth for his possession; and, his enemies are being made his footstool. The kingdoms of this world (not some other world) are his.
Whoever is confirmed as our next president will not change any of this. If I had a face-to-face moment with that person, I'd want to urge his own turning away from sin and a change of allegiance to a better kingdom. I urge the same for you.
Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:
