One Everlasting Kingdom
When Jesus first appeared in Galilee, he proclaimed the “Kingdom of God” – “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand.” In his ministry, death and resurrection, God’s reign began to invade the Earth. But this realm is of an entirely different nature to the political systems of this world. It is not built on violence, oppression, and conquest, but instead, on mercy and the Cross. Moreover, unlike ALL past and present nations and empires, his Messianic Kingdom will never fall, it will endure forevermore.
On more than one occasion, Jesus
refused the kind of political power that dominates this evil age, especially
when Satan offered it by tempting him with sovereignty over “all the
kingdoms of the world.”
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| [Photo by Joshua Sukoff on Unsplash] |
According to the Gospel of Matthew, for him to attain absolute power over nations and peoples, all the Nazarene needed to do was “render homage” to the Devil and acknowledge his overlordship – (Matthew 4:1-10).
Most remarkably, at the time Jesus
did NOT dispute Satan’s “right” to dispense political power, though he refused
it all the same. Instead, he submitted to the path of the Suffering Servant
of Yahweh. His ministry on the Earth would culminate with his death at the
hands of the World Empire - (Matthew 4:8-11, Luke 4:5-7).
SERVANT OF THE LORD
In this age, the price of power
over others is submission to Satan’s authority and agenda. According to the
Devil, the kingdoms of this world “have been delivered to me and I give them
to whomever I will.”
Although he was the Messiah appointed
by God to “shepherd the nations of the Earth,” Jesus refused this
satanic offer. Scripture confirmed his calling to reign over this world, yet he
rejected the kind of power valued so highly by the rulers and people of this world.
But how could God’s designated
king reign over rebellious nations
and peoples without the military and economic might of the Almighty State?
- (Psalm 2:6-8, Revelation 12:5).
Rather than resort to the political means of this age, Jesus embraced the Cross. In the “Kingdom of God,” victory is achieved through self-denial and service to others, not power over them.
In his domain, “greatness” is measured by self-sacrificial service and acts of mercy. Rather than threatening
or dominating other men, Jesus “gave his life a ransom for many,” and his
real-world example provides his disciples with the pattern for implementing
God’s Kingdom on Earth.
However, the temptation in the
“wilderness” was not the end of Satan’s political intrigues. Following
his rebuff, “the Devil departed from him until an opportune time.”
MORE TEMPTATION
After miraculously feeding a
multitude in Galilee, certain members of the crowd planned “to come and
seize him to make him king.” But Jesus walked away at the very moment the
mob was determined to crown him. His refusal turned many minds against him.
The Son of Man would not become
the militaristic messiah that so many of his contemporaries craved. And the
closer he came to his death, the more the fickle crowds rejected him as the
Messiah of Israel. A “Suffering Servant” did not fit their concept of
royalty and kingship - (Luke 4:13, John 6:15).
Prior to his execution, Pontius
Pilate inquired whether Jesus was “the king of the Jews.” Before
Caesar’s representative, he did not deny his kingly destiny, and he responded, “You
say that I am a king, and for this, I was born.” But he qualified his
kingship by stating, “My Kingdom is not FROM (ek) this
world - (John 18:33-36).
That did not mean that his Kingdom
was strictly “spiritual” or otherworldly, or that his messianic program was
nonpolitical. But the source of his sovereignty was other than the political
power that characterized and dominated the world of his (and our) day. It was
the “Suffering Servant” and his sacrifice that brought redemption into
the world, not Rome, and his Kingdom is ruled by the “slain Lamb,” not
Caesar.
Pilate found no fault in the
Nazarene. But at the instigation of the Temple authorities, the crowd demanded
that Pilate release Barabbas instead, a man described in the gospels as a léstés (Greek)
or “brigand.” It seems the priestly leaders of Israel preferred a
violent political revolutionary to the Servant of Yahweh.
THE CROSS
Contrary to the expectations of
his contemporaries, Jesus “took on the form of a slave” and became “obedient
unto death, even death on a cross.” Because of his choice, God bestowed on
him “the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every
knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Exaltation was
preceded by the Cross.
Moreover, his disciples are
summoned to live by the very same mindset displayed by him when he gave
his life as a “ransom for many.” As Paul wrote, “Let this mind be in
you that was in Christ Jesus” - (Philippians 2:1-11).
The choice before his followers
is between the cruciform pathway trod by Jesus or the expedient and smooth
highway offered by Satan. Jesus declared that when he was “lifted up” on
the cross, then he would “draw all men to me,” not by seating himself on
Caesar’s imperial throne. In the end, only one Kingdom will be left standing
and it will not be Rome.
Jesus summons all men to “deny
themselves, take up the cross,” and follow him. The rough way of the Cross
is the only one that leads to citizenship in the Kingdom of God. All men who
refuse to emulate his example by taking up the Cross are “unworthy” of
him and unfit for inclusion in his glorious and everlasting Kingdom.
