Two Kingdoms

Oh, it's live. Thank you for the kind words. I always remind myself that nobody is sufficient for these things, and I bring to this moment nothing but my weaknesses. But by God's grace and His love, the Holy Spirit shall speak to our hearts. I would also apologize to the brothers, because I know it's springtime, when my allergies all kick in at the same time. I love spring. It's just that that love is not reciprocated. But I pray that the Lord will grant me the ability to speak here with not much interference.

So please take your copy of God's Word and open it to the Gospel of John, chapter 18, verses 33 through 38. Jesus is before Pilate. John 18:33–38. This is the Word of God:

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 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.” 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.” 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.”

Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Your holy Word and for this portion of John's Gospel that we have just heard. You have given us Your Son, the true King. And we confess that without Your Spirit, we cannot see Him clearly or receive His truth with faith. So we ask You now, please quiet our hearts, drive away any distractions, guide our minds. Let us hear Your voice above every other voice and teach us what it means that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. And we ask this in His name. Amen.

When it comes to our deepest loyalties, Scripture tells us that in the end there are only two kingdoms. Some people, even some Christians, want to enjoy the benefits of Christ and His kingdom while also wanting the comforts, the benefits, even the approval of the world. They want to belong to Jesus, but they still want to fit perfectly into whatever the culture around them values most. So, two kingdoms—but these are not neutral options that are on the same shelf, which we can somewhat mix and match. They are rival kingdoms. We cannot serve two masters.

Here in John 18, when Pilate meets Jesus, we see these two kingdoms standing face to face. But before I start with verse 33, let's see how we arrived at this very moment. Let's start at verse 28: They led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. The priests themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled but could eat the Passover.

There is an interesting irony here in verse 28, because these priests, these Jewish leaders, are afraid of becoming ceremonially unclean for the Passover, so they don't want to step into a Gentile's house or a Gentile building. But at the same time, they are keeping themselves very busy lying and arranging the murder of the one who ironically is the true Passover Lamb. They do not want to miss the ritual, even if it costs them the Passover Lamb.

Then in verse 29, Pilate comes out—and Pilate, of course, is a Roman governor. He will follow standard Roman trial procedure, so he is going to ask for a charge. Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They do not give him a clear answer. They dodge. They answer him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” In other words, Pilate, just trust us. He's a criminal. Just please sign here. So there was no clear accusation—just the pressure.

Pilate pushes back. He says, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” But they are very smart. They answer, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” In other words, Pilate, are you suggesting that we go and break the Roman law? Is that what you want us to do? But still, here we see in this passage, in this plot, God's providence and God's sovereignty in a way that the Jewish leaders and Pilate could not see. They were under Roman occupation, and you think they are in control here, but the only person in control here is Jesus Christ.

I'm going to show you: they are under Roman occupation. The Jews did not have the legal right to carry out the death penalty in the way they wanted. So they could not stone Jesus—they really wanted to. So they needed Rome to kill him. But that meant crucifixion, not stoning. And where is God's providence here? Well, you see, their evil intent was at this very moment being overruled by God's will to fulfill Jesus' own words. Jesus had said that He would be lifted up (John 3:14). John explains why this matters here in verse 32: This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death He was going to die.

At this very moment there is only one person in control: Jesus Himself. Then in verse 33 the conversation moves inside, and that's our passage. So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” This is where we will spend most of our time.

But before we go any further, let me just remind us of the purpose of this Gospel, the Gospel of John. It is stated in John chapter 20, verse 31: These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. So John here seems to be recording a political trial. It is a political trial from one perspective. But John's purpose is not to give us a political philosophy. He's not talking about politics. He's talking about two kingdoms here. John is writing to show us who Jesus is—the Christ, the Son of God—so that by believing in Him, we may have life in His name. So John here is going to point us to Christ and His kingdom.

As he does that, let's consider together three things about this kingdom of Christ. First, the kingdom's King. Second, the kingdom's nature. And finally, the kingdom's hope. So let's begin by looking closely at verses 33 through 35. Let's see who the King is.

Pilate entered his headquarters and asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” In Greek, Pilate's question emphasizes the pronoun “you.” So he's saying, “Are **you** the King of the Jews?” Seriously—you standing there bound, bruised, alone. You with no army, no banners, no visible power, only weakness. You are supposed to be a king?

Of course, Pilate is not asking a theological question. He is not wondering, “Oh, are you the Messiah promised in the Scriptures?” Pilate is a Roman governor. He couldn't care less about Jewish messianic hopes. He doesn't want to know about Jewish religion. He is wondering, “You—are you a threat? They are bringing you to me. Are you claiming to be a rival to Caesar? Are you the kind of king who starts riots and revolts and causes trouble and disrupts our so-beloved Roman peace?”

We know that he doesn't care for Jewish stuff. He makes that clear in verse 35: “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me.” In other words, I do not care about your religious disputes. My only concern is whether you are a political threat. That is what is in Pilate's mind here.

But John wants us to hear and understand that question in a different way, in a much deeper way, because the answer to that question is something that John has been building toward since chapter 1. We see it in John 1:49: Nathanael says, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” In chapter 6, the crowds want to seize Jesus and make Him king by force, and of course He withdraws. In John 12:13, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the crowd cries, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” John even quotes Zechariah 9:9: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.”

I'm pretty sure that behind all this, John knows the Old Testament and the Old Testament hope: 2 Samuel 7, where God promised David a son whose throne would be established forever; Psalm 2, where God sets His king on Zion and gives him the nations as his inheritance; Daniel 7, where the Son of Man receives dominion and glory and a kingdom that shall not pass away. All of that stands behind Pilate's question.

So when Pilate says, “Are you the King of the Jews?” he is asking a very narrow political question: “Are you a threat to Rome?” But John wants us to hear the larger one: Is this the messianic King that God promised? Is this the Christ, the Son of God, in whom there is life? And the answer to that question is yes.

Jesus responds in verse 34 to Pilate with a probing question actually: “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” In other words, Pilate, what do you actually mean by “king”? Are you speaking as a Roman politician, or as someone who really wants to know who I am? Jesus is exposing Pilate's categories here. Pilate, you are speaking like a politician, right? You don't really know who I am.

Pilate's reply confirms that he's only thinking in Roman political terms: “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” So your people say you are dangerous. My question is, are you dangerous to Rome? Are you another Caesar? Are you a revolutionary political threat? To that narrow question, the answer is no—not at this point.

I love this paradox, this meeting: there is the true King looking like a defeated prisoner, and then there is Pilate as a governor. To human eyes, Jesus looks very powerless, but to the eyes of faith, that man—that weak man—is the one of whom Hebrews says, “At present we do not yet see everything in subjection to him, but we see him crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.”

My friends, Jesus is not a rival to Caesar on Caesar's terms—if that's what Pilate wants to know. He couldn't be. He is not comparable to Caesar. He is not an equal to be compared to him. He is Lord over Caesar. Every ruler, every president, every court, every political party will answer to Him one day. Of course, we may respect earthly authority in its proper place. There are seasons when our civil authorities seem to be less hostile to the church; sometimes they are more hostile. We may respect them, but our final allegiance, our deepest loyalty, our true obedience belongs only to one kingdom. It belongs to this King—to Jesus Christ alone.

When He says in verse 36, “My kingdom is not of this world,” please do not miss the first two words: **My kingdom**. See, He is declaring Himself to be a king. So He says to Pilate, yes, I am a king. But more than that, He's making a claim on you and me. There is a kingdom. I am a King. When He says that, when He presents Himself as the King of kings, the King above all powers, He's making a claim on you.

I don't know if we have any visitors here this morning, but if you're visiting and if you're not a Christian, listen: you are either a subject of this King, Jesus, or you are in rebellion against Him. John here wants us to see who Jesus is: the true King, the Messiah promised in Scripture. He's here now at this moment, humiliated—yes, soon to be crucified—but then exalted to the right hand of the Father, from where even today He reigns. That's the kingdom's King right before us. Christ reigns, my friends. He's the King.

He will describe in verse 36 the nature of this kingdom—and I plan on spending more time here. What kind of kingdom does Jesus have? Look carefully at verse 36: “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.”

There are two key phrases here: “not of this world,” “not from this world.” Jesus is not denying first that He has a kingdom. He has one. He clearly says “my kingdom”—He says it twice, actually three times. He's describing here the nature of this kingdom: its origin, its methods, and how it looks.

The kingdom's origin: it is a kingdom that is not from this world, that does not arise out of this world. The source of this kingdom, the authority of this kingdom, the life that comes from this kingdom comes from above—from God Himself. This kingdom is not built with human consent. It doesn't arise from votes, from bloodline, from military strength, from nothing. It is very real and very relevant in this world, but it does not depend on worldly structures to exist. Christ's kingdom is now present in this world, but it's not born from this world. It's not the result of getting the right laws in place. It's not the result of getting the right people in office. Sometimes we may feel happy when things in the White House happen the way we like. But Christ's kingdom does not rely on that. Christ's kingdom was real before Rome existed and before this beloved nation existed. Christ's kingdom will still stand even when every nation we know is long forgotten. It's a spiritual kingdom—Christ's rule, His kingship.

But look carefully at verse 36 to see the kingdom's methods: He says to Pilate, “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting.” Pilate, if I had my hosts here to fight for me now, you would not stand, my friend. You would have no chance. Caesar is like an ant. We know how earthly kingdoms work, how they protect themselves. Sometimes they have to use force or at least the threat of force. But just hours earlier, here in the garden, when Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, Jesus rebuked him and told him to put the sword away. It's like He's saying, My kingdom does not spread with that kind of weapon. Earthly rulers sometimes fight their enemies to protect their kingdoms, even shedding their blood. Here we have a King who sheds His own blood to save His enemies. So there is no way we can compare His kingdom to any other earthly kingdom.

The kingdom of Christ does not advance by force. It advances by the preaching of the Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and by the witness—and even the suffering—of His people. I like to use the expression “expand the kingdom of Christ.” Sometimes it's said, but I know deep down that there's nothing we can do to expand it. No matter how far we reach, we're not expanding an inch. The kingdom of Christ is only expanded when Christ gets a soul that is lost—that belongs to the kingdom of darkness—and Christ rescues that person from that kingdom, transports that person to His kingdom. There you see His kingdom expanding.

I know this has huge implications for how we think about government and politics. This sermon is not political, but it's just a reminder that Scripture says civil government is a good gift of God. Sometimes we enjoy those gifts more than at other times. We know that rulers are meant to punish evil, to reward good, to preserve basic peace so that people may live a peaceful and quiet life—that's what the Bible says—godly and dignified in every way. I understand that Christians should care about just laws. We should care about protecting unborn life, about defending the weak, about seeking the good of our neighbors. Some of us may even be called to public office—and that would be a noble calling, by the way.

But Christ has not given the state the task of preaching the gospel or enforcing the Christian faith as faith. Christ has not authorized us to use earthly means as a religious tool. We may use political means for political goods—yes, justice, order, protection—but we do not use political power as the primary instrument of kingdom growth. My friends, the gospel advances by conviction, by truth, by the spreading of God's Word. We pray for our leaders. But the moment our hope for the church or for the gospel rests on gaining or keeping political leverage, then we have forgotten what kind of kingdom Christ's kingdom is. We have started to make His kingdom look like the kingdoms of this world.

You want to see how Christ's kingdom looks? From Pilate's vantage point, at this moment in this trial, Christ's kingdom looks pathetic. There's no army, no weapons, no visible influence. The crowds are outside shouting for blood. Jesus stands inside alone. Yet at that very moment, Christ's kingdom cannot be shaken—that's Hebrews' wording. Hebrews 12:28: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” That means every other kingdom can be shaken. Every empire collapses. Every party fades. Every civilization rises and falls. But the kingdom Jesus speaks of here—His kingdom—is unshakable. It may look weak. It may be mocked. But it cannot be destroyed.

You will see how earthly kingdoms look here in this very passage or adjacent verses. Verse 28: the leaders are obsessed with ritual purity while they are planning murder. Verses 29–31: they hide their plot, cloak it, wrap it in legal process, but they cannot even give a strict charge to Pilate. Verse 38: Pilate hears Jesus speak of truth and replies, “What is truth?” and walks away. He doesn't even wait for an answer. This is how the kingdoms of this world look: truth is flexible, power is the ultimate thing, people are expendable. Just a few characteristics of earthly kingdoms in these passages.

But Christ's kingdom is the opposite: grounded in unchanging truth, advancing by His own sacrifice, by sacrificial love, ruled by a King who dies for His enemies before He judges them. So yes, again—this is not a political sermon, this is not a political passage. But be engaged, my friends. Vote, speak, advocate, serve—but never confuse earthly victories with the arrival of the kingdom. Never confuse earthly losses with the defeat of the kingdom. Our King has told us very clearly: “My kingdom is not from this world.” Christ reigns no matter what happens.

Finally, what hope does this kingdom give to us? Look at verse 37: 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.”

Pilate is sort of sneering on that word “king” here: “So you are a king?” Jesus does not deny His kingship. He makes it clear: I am. But He explains His mission. See, “for this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world.” He says two important things: one, that He was truly born because He's truly human; but He also came into the world because He existed before His birth. Here we have the eternal Son entering history with a purpose. What is that purpose? To bear witness to the truth.

From the very start of John's Gospel, truth is a central theme. Chapter 1:14: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” Verse 17: “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” 8:32: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus is Himself the truth: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” So He says, “This is why I came.” That means, Pilate, there is such a thing as truth—truth that is outside us, above us, and still binding on us. Not my truth or your truth. God's truth. Reality as God sees it and defines it. Jesus came to make that truth known.

What truth, my friends? The truth of the gospel: God's holiness, our sin, the coming judgment, the meaning of His cross, the reality of His resurrection, the offer of eternal life. He does more than speak the truth—He is the truth in person. No wonder John sums up in 20:31: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Our hope rests on this King and the life He gives to those who trust Him.

Do you belong to that kingdom? Jesus draws a line in verse 37: “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” On one side of that line stand the religious leaders and Pilate—they're full of talk but deaf to the truth, deaf to Jesus. On the other side stands Jesus Himself speaking as the truth. To be “of the truth” does not mean that you never make mistakes, but it means that your heart has been changed, your mind has been changed, so that now you recognize Jesus' voice and submit to Him. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

So if you're visiting with us this morning and you're not a Christian, listen: to belong to this kingdom is to stop treating Christ's voice as just one opinion among many and start treating His voice as the voice to which every other voice must bow—and treating Him as a King to whom every other king shall bow. This is the first hope: the door to this kingdom is open. Everyone who hears the Shepherd's voice and comes to Him will be received.

We can live, my friends, as citizens of Christ's kingdom, even while we live under very flawed earthly authorities. The Apostle Peter writes to scattered believers in 1 Peter chapters 1 and 2, and he treats them as elect exiles. He says they are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession. Peter is using kingdom language here. He's saying, in Christ, you already belong to a people. You already belong to a kingdom—not the kingdom of Rome, not the kingdom of Israel, not the USA, but the kingdom of God. We are exiles.

Peter tells us to submit to human institutions, to honor the emperor, to live honorably among unbelievers—while also remembering that we are such exiles. Hebrews 13:14 says, “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” What does that mean for us? It means first that we are not at the mercy of circumstances. There will be times when we enjoy our leaders more than others. But governments change, laws change, cultural moods change—they swing. Our King does not change. He's already seated at the right hand of God. That's why we fear God and not man. We honor the emperor, but we fear God. Peter says, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Yes, honor the emperor. Honor is real. Obedience to lawful authority is fine—it's real, it's good, it's Christian. But fear belongs to God alone.

Pilate feared Caesar. Pilate feared the crowd more than God. That led him to condemn the innocent Christ. But we are called to do the opposite: to fear God and obey Him above all. In the meantime, we can be hopeful witnesses. We care about the unborn. We care about the poor. We care about family because our King cares. But remember, we do not put our hope on election results or court decisions. Our deepest calling is to bear witness to this King—to Jesus—so that many may believe and have life in His name.

In this passage, soon Jesus will hang on a cross with the sign “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” That will look like a very cruel joke. But that cross is actually the beginning of His visible victory. He will rise. He will ascend. He will sit at the right hand of the Father. One day, my brothers and sisters, He will return, and what is still now hidden will be seen by every eye. Every worldly kingdom will be exposed. Every ruler will stand before this King. Pilate, who is now judging Him, will stand before the man he judged. Tiberius, who was the Caesar, and every one of us will stand before Him too.

On that day it will be crystal clear that there were always only two kingdoms: one built on human pride and a power that passes, and the other belonging to the crucified and risen Christ. The only safe place to stand will be in Christ's kingdom.

So let me close with a few questions. Who is your king? Whose voice settles the argument in your heart? Whose approval do you fear losing? Whose promises call you when you are anxious? Remember, Jesus stood before Pilate and said, “My kingdom.” Jesus has the right to say that over you and claim you.

What kind of kingdom are you living for? Are you trying to advance Christ's kingdom with the world's tools? It's not going to work. Or are you trying to do it by speaking truth, by loving enemies, and by entrusting yourself to the one who judges all things? Are you resting in the fact that the kingdom is secure—not because we got the right laws and leaders, but because the King is alive and reigning no matter who is our earthly leader?

Third, are you listening to the King's voice? “Everyone who is of the truth listens to his voice.” To belong to His kingdom is not to be flawless—nobody would be part of His kingdom then. If you're visiting with us this morning, if you're not yet a Christian, this passage is both a warning to you but also an invitation. Right now, you stand in the kingdom of this world. You may be religious, like the priests were, or powerful like Pilate, or indifferent like the crowd shouting for blood. But if you are not trusting Christ, know that you are not in a neutral position. You are outside His kingdom.

The good news is that this King did not come first to crush His enemies. He came to die for them. He bore the judgment that His people deserved. He rose so that all who repent and believe in Him may receive forgiveness and eternal life. He stands before you this morning in His Word and says, “My kingdom,” and then invites you in.

If you are a believer, this passage calls you to hope. We are exiles in the midst of earthly kingdoms, but we're not homeless here. We belong to a holy nation. We belong to a people for God's own possession. My friends, we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Our King has already passed through His trial and His cross and is now seated in glory, reigning. So we never despair. We lift our eyes to the one who stood before Pilate, who spoke the truth when everyone else was compromising, who died, who rose, who ascended to the right hand of the Father, and who reigns. In Him we put our hope—fully, finally, and joyfully. In Him and in His kingdom.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we bow before You as our crucified and risen King. We confess how easily our hearts chase after the kingdoms of this world and how quickly our hope rises and falls with earthly things. Jesus, have mercy on us. Forgive our sometimes misplaced trust, our anxious fears, our small thoughts of Your glory. Fix our eyes on You right now, seated at the right hand of the Father. Help us live as citizens of Your kingdom, listening to Your voice, speaking truth in love, honoring those in authority, but resting on a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Keep us faithful until the day You come again. We pray in Your name. Amen.