His Righteous Kingdom

Jesus proclaimed a unique political reality, the Kingdom of God. It differs radically from the governments and ideologies of this age.

Jesus appeared in Galilee proclaiming the “Kingdom of God” – “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand.” The promised Kingdom had arrived in his life and ministry. He is the Messiah and King of Israel, and all men are summoned to turn from their wicked ways and submit to his lordship while the door remains open.

[Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash]

His realm differs from the political systems of this sinful world. It is not built on violence, oppression, and conquest, but on mercy, righteousness, his sacrificial death, and his resurrection from the dead. Righteousness and unrighteousness cannot coexist. “No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to one and despise the other” - (Matthew 6:24).

Idolaters, adulterers, murderers, practitioners of divination, extortionists, false prophets, and “all liars” will be excluded from his Kingdom. God will hold all sinners accountable unless they turn from their wicked ways – (Matthew 16:24, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Revelation 14:4, 21:8).

We are called to give our total allegiance to Christ, his realm, and the Gospel. The calling of Israel to be a “kingdom of priests” and “light to the nations” has been given to the “Assembly,” the ‘Ekklésia’ (εκκλησια), the Body of Christ comprised of men and women from every nation and ethnic group “redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.” As his royal “priests,” we advance his Kingdom by mediating his light in this dark world - (Exodus 19:5, 1 Peter 2:5-10, Revelation 1:4-6, 5:9-10).

Jesus refused the political power that characterizes this evil age, especially when Satan offered it by tempting him with sovereignty over “all the kingdoms of the world.” For Christ to attain absolute power over nations and peoples, all he needed to do was “render homage” to the Devil and acknowledge his overlordship – (Matthew 4:1-10).

He did not dispute Satan’s “right” to dispense political power, although he refused it. Instead, he submitted to the path of the ‘Suffering Servant’. His ministry would culminate with a shameful death on the Roman cross - (Matthew 4:8-11, Luke 4:5-7).

In our culture, the price of power over others is submission to Satan’s authority and methods. 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 as King, yet he rejected the kind of power valued so highly by the rulers, people, and far too many church leaders of this fallen world. But how could Christ reign over rebellious nations without the military and economic might of the State or the legions of Rome? - (Psalm 2:6-8, Revelation 12:5).

Rather than resorting to this world’s political methods, Jesus embraced the Cross. In the “Kingdom of God,” victory is achieved through self-denial, acts of mercy, and service to others, not power over them.

Jesus “gave his life a ransom for many.” His real-world example provides us with the pattern for implementing God’s Kingdom. As his disciples, we must follow his cross-shaped and rather rough road that passes through Calvary.

However, the temptation in the “wilderness” was not the last of Satan’s political intrigues. Following Christ’s rebuff, “the Devil departed from him until an opportune time.”

HIS WAY

After miraculously feeding a multitude in Galilee, the crowd planned “to seize him and make him king.” They desired a militaristic messiah who would overthrow Rome, not a ‘Suffering Servant’ who would instead “pour out his soul” to ransom others from bondage to Satan and Sin, including Gentiles and not a few Romans.

Before his execution, Pontius Pilate inquired whether Jesus was “the King of the Jews.” Jesus did not deny his royal destiny to Caesar’s representative. He declared, “You say that I am a king, and for this, I was born.” However, he qualified his kingship by stating, “My Kingdom is not from (‘ek’) this world.” The nature of his sovereignty differed fundamentally from the ideologies and practices of Rome and other imperial regimes - (John 18:33-36).

This does not mean his Kingdom is otherworldly, or that his program is nonpolitical. The “Suffering Servant” brings redemption and “new creation” to humanity, not Roman military might, and God’s Kingdom is ruled by the “slain Lamb,” not Caesar. But a realm that demands absolute loyalty from its subjects is inherently political and intolerable to the “powers, principalities, and the world rulers” who currently control humanity. Hence the need for political powers to persecute the true followers of Jesus. “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you!” – (John 15:20, Ephesians 6:12).

Pilate found no fault in Jesus. At the instigation of the Temple authorities, the crowd demanded that Pilate release Barabbas instead, a man described as a ‘léstés’ (Greek) or “brigand.” The priestly leaders and some, at least, of the people of Israel preferred a violent political revolutionary to the ‘Suffering Servant of Yahweh’. And so it remains to this day.

Contrary to popular Jewish expectations, Jesus “took on the form of a slave” and became “obedient until death on a cross.” Because of his submission, God gave 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.” Calvary preceded Kingship. We are summoned to live by that same standard - “Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” - (Philippians 2:1-11).

To inherit God’s Kingdom, we must choose to walk the cruciform pathway of Christ. We are called to commit ourselves completely to serving him and his mission. There is no room for split loyalties in his realm. Or we may instead take the smooth and popular highway that may lead to wealth and power for a time but also ends in destruction.

Jesus declared that when he was “lifted” on the Cross, he would “draw all men to me.” His reign began on the Hill of Golgotha, not in the Senate or the Imperial Palace of Rome. We are called to start our earthly sojourn and priestly witness for him in the same place.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Shepherd King - (The Lamb’s reign commenced with his death and resurrection, and since then, he has been shepherding the nations toward New Jerusalem)

• His Present Reign - (Christ’s reign from the Messianic Throne began following his Death, Resurrection, and Exaltation to God’s presence – Psalms 110:1)

• Why do the Nations Rage? - (The conspiracy by the earth’s kings to unseat God’s Son is applied by the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus – Psalm 2:1-6)