Let Your Kingdom come
John 18:36(AMPC) states: Jesus answered, My kingdom (kingship, royal power) belongs not to this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My followers would have been fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, My kingdom is not from here (this world); [it has no such origin or source].
Here, when Jesus mentions My kingdom, He’s referring to a spiritual realm where He reigns supreme over those who believe in Him.
In John 18:37(ESV) Pilate inquires if Jesus is a king. Jesus responds affirmatively, emphasising His unique role and mission. He says: “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Jesus emphasises His divine origin in John 8:23(ESV) He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Furthermore, John 17:14(ESV) reinforces this: I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
The essence of Christ’s Kingdom is beautifully encapsulated in Romans 14:17(ESV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Even though Jesus’s Kingdom isn’t of this world, it’s present in the hearts and lives of Believers. As Philippians 3:20(ESV) puts it: But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:15-17(ESV) he cautions against worldly attachments: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Jesus instructed His disciples in the way they should pray in Matthew 6:10(ESV) Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Today, let us echo that prayer: “Your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”