The Kingdom of God
Notes
Transcript
So as we continue making our way through the gospel of John...
We come this week - to the close of Chapter 18
Jesus has been arrested...
And He’s now making His way through the “Court System” of the time
Last week - we saw how RELIGION is:
Foreign to the message of Christ (*asks questions)
Exposed as error in light of Christ (*truth highlights error)
Seeks the glory due Christ (*Religion wants to be GLORIFIED - pride)
And so this week now - we continue with the conversation between Pilate and Jesus...
And what’s going to be highlighted for us - is the DICHOTOMY between the:
Kingdom of God
Kingdom of man
Today we’ll see the FOUNDATIONS of each kingdom…and then see how this affects us today!
And a problem for BELIEVERS is that we’re LIVING IN ONE Kingdom…and PURSUING the other...
And it can get BLURRY sometimes...
as we walk through life...
And so let’s get to the text…and then circle back...
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “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.”
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “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.”
38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
What we’re going to see today - again - is a comparison between the Kingdom of God - and the Kingdom of man...
Jesus is going to make some startling claims about the Kingdom of God...
…and that ALONE will provide for us some implications about the Kingdom of man...
AND
Pilate himself will paint a picture for us as well of - the kingdom of man...
So let’s get to it...
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
Here’s where we see our first FOUNDATION of the Kingdom of man...
SLIDE: The Kingdom of Man: Founded on the Human Idolatry
The Kingdom of Man
The Kingdom of Man
What do I mean by this?
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
So Pilate asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews...
And Jesus responds by saying - Are you asking of your own accord? Or did someone describe me that way to you??
And so how does Pilate respond?? v35
You can - HEAR the look on Pilates face...
“Am I A JEW???”
But BASED on this response - How is Pilate viewing JESUS?
He’s viewing Jesus - through the LENS of - THE PHYSICAL WORLD!
JESUS KNOWS BETTER - but Pilate does not!
Pilate is looking at Jesus through an - ETHNIC lens...
Jesus asks - Are YOU asking if I’m a King, or is someone else asking me THROUGH you…?
And Pilate - viewing this through an ETHNIC lens - says - “HUH…I’m NOT A JEW!...
…You’re NOT MY king!”
See - our hearts - are IDOL factories...
and we will DEFEND our idols...
We are BENT to defend our IDOLS…WHATEVER they are!!
What is Pilate DEFENDING here?
His pride!
“You’re not MY KING - I’m the one in charge here!!”
But we’ll defend WHATEVER idols we construct for ourselves!
When we think about the RICH YOUNG RULER...
He initiates a conversation with Jesus - and asks Him what he must do to inherit eternal life...
Now Jesus responds - not by giving the ruler a task to complete so he can inherit eternal life...
But Jesus gives him a task that will EXPOSE the man’s heart and his idol of money...
How did THAT man respond?
He DEFENDED his pockets…and he walked away!
This is why the Bible says...
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
See - our hearts bow to what we treasure!
Remember I said - we LIVE in ONE KINGDOM…while pursuing the other...
Believers in Jesus - LIVE in the kingdom of man...
we KNOW of all the idols - ALL around us!!
Our rights as men and women
Land
Power
Success
Wealth
Each of these things - IDOLS in the hearts of so many!
The kingdom of man is FOUNDED on these things!
Mankind will DEFEND these things!!
MEANING - try to take these away - and men and women will - FIGHT!!!
We’ll FIGHT to protect our - IDOLS...
The Rich Young Ruler - Fought to protect his wealth…so he walked away...
The Pharisee fought to protect his status....so he prayed to God thanking Him for his awesomeness
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?
Ananias and his wife fought to protect their STANDARD of LIVING - and so they lied to the Holy Spirit...
We will DEFEND our idols…we’ll DEFEND the things we VALUE MOST...
This is - part of the foundation of the Kingdom of God… Human Idolatry...
But the Kingdom of God is different...
And JESUS speaks to this...
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “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.”
Don’t forget Pilates response in v35...
He VIEWS Jesus through the lens of ETHNICITY and decides - you’re not MY KING!!
But Jesus SQUASHES that lens!!
Jesus’ response to Pilate is - My Kingdom Pilate (which you just referred to as being JEWISH) - is NOT OF THIS WORLD!!
Jesus is saying - My Kingdom has NOTHING to do with these HUMAN constructs...
Has NOTHING to do with DEFENDING human IDOLS...
My Kingdom has to do with...
SLIDE: The Kingdom of God: Founded on Divine Sacrifice
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God
Where the Kingdom of Man is founded on Human Idolatry (defending idols)
The Kingdom of God is founded on DIVINE Sacrifice...
Do you see the difference??
Where the kingdom of man is about - fighting to PROTECT our idols (money, land, power, life)
the Kingdom of God is FOUNDED on DIVINE sacrifice… (SELF sacrifice - where the “self” is GOD)
Where MANKIND fights each other over:
power
sex
money
land
prestige
OUR LIVES
God LAYS down His LIFE...
And so FOR US - how do we approach these truths today??
Ask yourself:
Where are my battles occurring?
Are you spending your life - DEFENDING your idols?
your idol of COMFORT? - - OR are you living like Paul did? NOT defending his COMFORTS but FIGHTING for Christ’s name to be proclaimed - and WHATEVER came with that....came with that!?
your idol of wealth? - - Or are you living generously....and trusting God with the rest?
your idol of earthly success? - - Or are you pursuing security in His work…and His Kingdom…?
And so if we’re going to BE ABOUT the business of the Kingdom of God - then we MUST be about SACRIFICE!
Laying down our lives for the sake of the GOSPEL!!
Jesus said -
36 Jesus answered, “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.”
Jesus is saying - There are different TYPES of BATTLES going on here...
The Kingdom of Man consists of PHYSICAL BATTLES...
And the Kingdom of God consists of …
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The Kingdom of God consists of SPIRITUAL BATTLES...
Where are YOUR battles taking place??
Moving on - we see another FOUNDATION of the Kingdom of Man...
36 Jesus answered, “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.”
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “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.”
38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
Based on Pilates words here - we’ll see a FOUNDATION of the Kingdom of Mankind...
What does Pilate ask here in v38?
Jesus had said - “Everyone who is OF THE TRUTH - listens to my voice...
And Pilate responds - WHAT IS TRUTH?
Here we see -
SLIDE: The Kingdom of Man: Founded on the Wisdom of Man
The Kingdom of Man
The Kingdom of Man
NOW - Jesus makes a statement here - that has a POWERFUL implication
He says - “Everyone who is OF THE TRUTH - listens to my voice”
What’s IMPLIED here?
What’s implied here is that EVERY UNBELIEVER - is NOT of the TRUTH
Every UNbeliever - lives their life - on a FOUNDATION of - ERROR ( a LIE)
Jesus says - ALL those who do NOT listen to my voice - are NOT OF the TRUTH...
And we EXPERIENCE this in our world....every day!
Things to think through when you have time:
Atheists who believe in absolute truths
People who believe EVERYTHING came from NOTHING
People who believe that LIFE came from NON-LIFE
Their LIVES - on a foundation - of ERROR (contradiction)
AND PART of the lie - is to NOT KNOW how the ills of life are DUE to the Spiritual side of life!
I heard part of a sermon this week on the radio, and this point JUMPED out at me...
And this is where the BLURRINESS of life - FOR CHRISTIANS - can get us into trouble!!
As Christians - we KNOW that temptations come in many shapes and sizes...
WHICH MEANS - the devil will use any scheme necessary to destroy us...
The problem for us is - DO WE KNOW these schemes - are we ON THE LOOKOUT for these schemes!
When we’re tempted to BUY that expensive THING that we DON’T have money for:
Do we CONSIDER that satan is trying to make us a SLAVE to that debt?
When we’re tempted to BREAK our marital vows:
Do we consider that satan wants to destroy your life and the life of your kids?
When we’re tempted to RUN FOR THE DOOR at the 1st, or 70th OFFENSE...
Do we consider that satan is trying to stunt our GROWTH?
Do we CONSIDER the REALITY of satan in this world....working to destroy us??
And this point FOLDS into our next...
SLIDE: The Kingdom of God: Founded on the Wisdom of God
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God
It takes the Wisdom of God to push back the Wisdom of Man…and the schemes of the devil!
Remember in Ephesians we read EARLIER about fighting against Spiritual forces…?
Well let’s look at WHAT our CALL is - BECAUSE that’s true… a couple verses before that...
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
...”FOR - we fight not against flesh and blood...”
It says - BE STRONG in HIS strength!!
BECAUSE - we fight spiritual foes!
The wisdom of God helps us FIGHT this FIGHT!!! - AS Christians!!
Next verse...
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
And part of this ARMOR is the Sword of the Spirit - which is the Word of God!
Memorize and Meditate on His word...
And fight against the schemes of the devil!
The last 2 pairings we’ll look at today come at the end of our passage…and again...
tie into this last point...
SLIDE: Question… (we just talked about fighting against the devil....but)
Why do you think the schemes of the devil are so effective?
This is why...
SLIDE: The Kingdom of Man: Founded on the Love of Sin
The Kingdom of Man
The Kingdom of Man
38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
Again, if we stop and think about this section of verses, we’ll hopefully feel the weight of the irony...
Think of what’s actually happening here...
Think of ALL the things that Jesus had done!
Healed the lame
Healed the blind
Raised the dead
Was THAT ENOUGH for the people?
NO - why?
What DIDN’T Jesus do?
He didn’t conquer Rome
He didn’t RAISE the status of the Jews
He didn’t FREE the Jews
He didn’t TAKE OVER - and bring the Jews with Him...
Result?
Kill the guy that raises the dead
Release the ROBBER
KILL the Righteous man...
Release the SINNER!
KILL the man who asked us to EXAMINE ourselves - who asked us to HUMBLE ourselves
Release the man who TAKES what is NOT HIS
Mankind - LOVES sin
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
The Kingdom of Man - is BUILT on the Love of SIN...
And LOVE of SIN chose Barabbas over Jesus that day - to be SET FREE...
See...
SLIDE: Passover
When mankind is in charge of passover, we passover sin.
This is a foundation of the Kingdom of Man…the LOVE of SIN
But not-so with the Kingdom of God…!
SLIDE: The Kingdom of God: Founded on the Conquering of Sin
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God
Back to our text...
39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
Now - Biblically, we need to know - who was in charge of this TRIAL here?
GOD was - so - who was God’s choice to go to the cross?
The choice was Christ!!
And He was the ONLY choice that could have an ETERNAL result!
See - God’s AGENDA that day wasn’t to ADVANCE the Kingdom of Mankind...
BUT to solidify the Kingdom of GOD...
IN Atoning for the SINS of the world!
Which means -
When man is in charge of PASSOVER (when MAN is tries to ADVANCE the Kingdom of Man) - He FREES himself (sin) - in order to CONDEMN the other (kill)
BUT
When GOD is in charge of passover:
God doesn’t FREE HIMSELF - to CONDEMN the other
God puts His Son on the cross to take UPON Himself the penalty DUE the SINNER...
SO that the SINNER could be - SET FREE!!
SLIDE:
JESUS CHRIST sacrificed HIMSELF in order to set the sinner free.
Barabbas WALKED that day…
SUMMARY:
And so - to close today...
When we look at the Cross of Jesus Christ...
We look at it from 2 perspectives - from Man’s perspective…and from God’s perspective
FROM MAN’S PERSPECTIVE:
They put Jesus on the cross...
TO ADVANCE the Kingdom of Man
SLIDE:
Founded on Human Idolatry
Founded on Wisdom of Man
Founded on Love of Sin
But the CROSS from God’s perspective:
Jesus lays down His life
To Advance the Kingdom of God
SLIDE:
Founded on Divine Sacrifice
Founded on Wisdom of God
Founded on Conquering of Sin
Let’s pray...