God’s kingdom came to reign on earth in a new, decisive way through Jesus.
As a young teenager, I often dreamed of living in a faraway world, thanks to my favorite fantasy novels. I spent countless nights reading epic tales of heroes and villains, absently promising my sister/bunkmate lights out after just a few more pages. I longed to escape the realities of my broken world for the “happily ever afters” of my dog-eared paperbacks. I still do.
Jesus invites us to a kingdom that outrivals the most enchanting worlds, real or fiction. We don’t need a portal to transport us to a distant land. Instead, the good and just King has brought God’s kingdom to reign on earth, and we are transformed into His redeemed subjects. The kingdom is here, but not everyone perceives it.
In John 18, Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, rejected by the Jewish leaders as the long-awaited Messiah and presented as a political threat. The scene between the two may seem less action-packed than the rest of Jesus’s Passion week, but the conversation is just as fascinating. The true King is in Pilate’s presence, unrecognized and misunderstood. The accused tells Pilate:
“I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this:
to testify to the truth” (John 18:37).
Pilate does not fully comprehend Jesus’s words. Although they are discussing kingdoms, they are referring to two very different realms. Pilate has in mind a limited, earthly kingdom—Jesus does not (v.36). The kingdom He has in mind is anchored in truth and characterized by righteousness, justice, and peace.
I was born for this. Jesus didn’t come to overthrow Rome’s government or to reform Jewish leadership. He came to testify to the truth and fulfill God’s will, bringing salvation to the world. He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The good news of the gospel is that we belong to Him. Our reality is that we live on earth, but we truly belong to another world, a kingdom that does not belong to this world (John 18:36). This truth transforms us, bringing purpose and hope to the days we spend in this land.
“You are a king then?”
Pilate asked Jesus this question all those years ago (John 18:37). We can answer this question with certainty. Yes, He is the King… He is our King. His kingdom is here, active and present among us and in us. The journey He has invited us on is more epic than any hero’s tale and more wondrous than any fabled world.
Have you heard of Dr. David Jeremiah? He has many great books out to help us understand the Gospel. I’m reading Angents of the Apocalypse that talk
I did a study on Daniel by Beth Moore a while back. It’s intense but I highly recommend it if you want to fully understand Daniel’s prophecy. Long story short…the gold head was the Babylonian kingdom, the silver arms were the Medo-Persian empire, the bronze chest was the Greek empire, and the iron legs were the Roman Empire. The feet of iron and clay have not yet come to pass. That represents the kingdom the antichrist will usher in with the ten toes of the feet representing the ten kings who will reign. The Antichrist will rule with an iron fist but ultimately his kingdom will crumble. Hope this helps. :)
Oh Father, how I look forward, with abundant anticipation, to the day when Your kingdom is the only one left. It will endure forever. Show me, guide me daily to “testify to the truth” just as You did. Oh the experience it must have been for John the Baptist to witness the Sprit descending from heaven and resting on Jesus!
I’m lost in the dream of Daniel. I understand it is talking about falling kingdoms but it seems like we are still in a phase of that prophecy?
Anyone have any insight into this quote from the study commentary: “The kingdom is here but not everyone perceives it”?
This made me think of the Building 429 song, “Where I Belong.”
I pray that I would live as if I was made for a different world. That people would wonder how I can live differently and turn their hearts to God.
“Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice”. When Jesus walked the earth in the flesh, in his humble appearance, from a no name town, people missed him. They did not hearken to his voice. I usually wonder, if Jesus takes a form of a person, now, in the middle of my day, as a rough looking homeless man, as a janitor, or a perfect stranger on the bus, walking by my side in disguise, and if he starts a random conversation about the Kingdom of God, and if he asks for a drink of water (like that at the Jacob’s dwell), will I recognize His voice then? Will I consider it worthwhile to stop and listen to this weird stranger? Help me Lord not to miss you when you pass by.