My Kingdom is Not of this World

Introduction

Good morning. I tell you, it really feels like I just left, and that was six years ago. Everything seems so much the same. This is the only church I know of that literally meets in a sardine can, and everybody’s happy to be in it. This is awesome. And I’ve about determined that your average age in this congregation is about 13. That also is awesome. Good morning. It’s so good to be with you, and I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. I know many of you, and many of us are friends on Facebook, so we’re getting reacquainted. And we have a lot of the same friends in the kingdom. And so that just makes it a great week, even before we get started.

So thank you. I want to begin, though, if you’ll allow me before I jump into my lesson, just to let you know kind of what the plan is this week. There’s a passage in Philippians 4 that’s really one of my favorite passages. You probably have heard this many times. Rejoice in the Lord. Again, I say rejoice. I’ll have to confess, and some of you will not like this, but I’m actually one of those people that wakes up happy. All right. And I know there’s a proverb that, you know, he who wakes up happy is like the most annoying person in the world. That’s not exactly how it reads, but that’s how most of you interpret it. I know. so please keep my wife in your prayers.

It’s been that way throughout all 34 years of our marriage. I just wake up happy. So I love anything that talks about happiness. But at the end of the thought, Paul says this after he talks about dwelling on positive things and letting your gentleness be known to all men. He says, and so the peace of God, so that the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That’s what you’re going to find, Lord willing. Is a theme throughout our lessons this week. What brings peace to my heart and my mind as I consider my relationship with Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but this world’s not filled with a lot of peace, right? And you don’t have to go far to get frustrated and almost angry and almost feeling the discontent and the lack of peace that just seems to loom over the world.

But when you get your mind right, and you get your heart right, and you remember who Jesus is, there is a peace that guards you no matter what’s going on around you or in the circumstances of your life. And also there’s this, and you parents will get this. You ever have somebody come up to you and say, hey, how are you doing? How you doing? Well, generally, you used to mean, hey, I’m doing great, but here’s what goes through my mind immediately. And so just forgive me, but every single time somebody says that, how are you doing? I go, my wife still loves me, my kids are good. I’m great. And really, when you think about that, if your marriage is good and your kids are good and faithful to the Lord, life is good.

So what we’re going to focus on also, and we’re going to hear this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Lord willing, is lessons that will shore up the family and give faith to our children so that we can have that peace that surpasses understanding that will guard our hearts and minds in the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s good to be with you and thank you for the invitation. Alright, I hope you have the Heavenly Library with you. I want you to take down the Gospel of John and let’s go to John chapter 18. John chapter 18. Before I get into the text, though, I want to share a story with you. You ever have somebody that you kind of idolize and you can’t wait to meet them, and when you get around them, it wasn’t exactly what you were expecting.

You ever had one of those moments? Well, this is the way it happened to me. And all right, now when I mention this name, don’t think negatively of me. But here’s what happened. I have always had wanted to meet Marty Pickup. All right. Marty Pickett was a preacher, professor down at the college, Florida College for many years. His writing was always so deep and meaningful. And I just I just had him set up there on a pedestal. I couldn’t wait to meet him, and I actually got invited to preach there, which is so nerve-wracking. Yeah, when you have somebody that is kind of a mentor you looked up to, and you’re preaching to them, that ain’t right. You know what I’m saying?

You talk about nervous. And so there I was. I and Marty was in the audience. And I remember after the first lesson, this was on Sunday, Marty goes, Hey, Phil, if you don’t have any plans tomorrow, you want to go lunch with me? And I went, yes. And I was trying not to be one of those giddy school girls. Yeah, it’s oh, I’d love to, you know. Yeah, I’d like to. And so he came by and picked me up, and he said, ’You like chilies? ’ Yeah. We could have gone to the nastiest food truck in the world, and I’d have gone, yeah. So we hop in the car, we’re driving off, and I’m with Marty back up. This is so cool.

And we’re talking and just enjoying the day, and he’s kind of a sports guy. I’m a sports guy, so we’re getting along real well. It also just happened to be an election year, you know. And you ever been in one of those conversations where you’re you all of a sudden get blindsided by something, and then you can’t remember what you said earlier. And did you put your foot in your mouth one of those moments? Because he asked me something about politics, and I’m sure I’m like most of us, I you know, and then he said this, he said this. He goes, Phil, do you really believe that a democracy is the best form of government? What? I went, oh my word, I’m riding in the car with a socialist.

Oh man, I’ve always had this guy set up on a pedestal, and here he is asking me about democracy. Man, I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, man. I mean, it was the Alamo, and then it’s the US of A, buddy. I was a Boy Scout. What do you mean? But I didn’t say anything, I didn’t say anything, I didn’t say anything. I just went, Marty, please explain. And he goes, Well, is a democracy really the best form of government? What if there was a monarch who ruled the land? Now again, I’m ready to freak out. In fact, I started row down the window, I was hoping to catch my head on a utility pole who went by because I can’t take this anymore. I said, Do you not know your American history?

We got away from King George. We don’t do kings. We’re a nation of the people. That’s where freedom comes from. It’s all about the people. But I didn’t say it. I didn’t say it. I held it to myself and I went, Marty, please explain. And Marty goes, What if? What if there was a king who every decision that he made, every action that he did, and every thought of his heart was not about himself, but was always for the good of the people, regardless of what it meant for him. Wouldn’t that be the best form of any government? In John chapter 18, what we actually find before us is we find before us really two kings, if you will. Now one is just a representation of the king.

His name is Pilate, and he represents Rome, and he’s there to carry out the interest of Rome that’s in control of the land at this time. But standing beside him is someone else who claims to be the king. Before we get into our reading, and we’re going to start in verse 33 here in just a moment, I want to establish the context for you. Pilate is just the regional governor. He’s been charged by Rome mainly to collect taxes for Rome. And his main, his main objective is to keep the peace in the Palestine area. And so what that means is he’s going to force peace on the people. You see, there had been insurrections throughout the years, many who were kicking out against Rome and they were kicking back against the high taxation.

They were kicking about against a government who did not have their interests at heart, but just ruled them and wanted to control them. And so Pilate’s job was just to make sure there was peace. And he’s been brought into Jerusalem. Not that’s where he wanted to hang out, and not that’s because of where his office was. No, his main palace was up in Caesarea. And so he has come down just for this purpose because there’s a lot of Jews that have gathered in Jerusalem at this time, and they’ve gathered for their feast, and there’s this scuttlebuck going around. This is rumor going around that there’s another one coming up who’s going to claim to be the king, and I need to be there to wipe it out in the interest of Rome.

1. My Kingdom Is Not of This World

Because everybody’s talking about this guy. The rumor is he performs miracles. The rumor is he’s some great prophet that the Bible has been talking about through years. And so Pilate is there and he’s ready to address the problem. Little does he know the Jewish people themselves will turn on this man. And they bring him to Pilate in the middle of the night. Verse 33, John chapter 18. So Pilate entered his headquarters again. And he called Jesus and he said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? Are you the one that everybody’s been talking about? Are you the one that I’ve been hearing about? Are you the one that all this commotion is all about? And 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, your own chief priest have delivered you over to me. What have you done? And 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 of this world. I want you to chew on this phrase for just a moment because this becomes really the first thing that Jesus is going to say about his kingship. My kingdom is totally unique. Now you probably have heard this phrase many times before. And immediately goes into our mind, we go, Oh, yeah. His kingdom’s from heaven.

This is a kingdom established in heaven. And that’s true. That is very true. And I’m not here to argue that point, but I believe Jesus had something more simple in mind when he said, My kingdom is not of this world. He actually explains it in the following things that he says to Pilate.

2. My Kingdom Is Not by Force

In fact, my kingdom is not by force. You see, if I was really like one of all the other kings in the world, then I’d be fighting. And my servants would be fighting. Now, here’s what I want you to think about. What has just happened within the past few hours? You remember the servants wanted to fight. Remember Peter? He immediately goes out and starts swinging. He clearly was not a good swordsman. Got a dude’s ear. I’ve often thought about that, and I was like, oh, you know, you’re one of the other guys, and you’re out there ready to fight with Pi, and you go, Oh man, this isn’t going well at all. And then Jesus says, No. And what a powerful act of compassion and mercy.

He heals the one who is there to mischaracterize him, to falsely accuse him, and arrest him. Totally different. Consider how he entered the city just a few days earlier. Have you ever really thought about this? You know, you think about the triumphal entry of Jesus. It’s not exactly the same. Most kings, when they come into a city, when they come into a city, they get they get some means of a precipice or some means of a display where they’re above the people. I mean, you ride in on an elephant. You know what I’m saying? Where you can look down, or you ride in on a great steed. Some of you have horses. Anybody setting up on a horse, you have to look up to them, right?

Jesus rides in, and think of the significance of this. He rides in on what scripture describes is a colt or a donkey, a baby donkey. It’s very likely that when he’s setting up on his this animal, his feet are dragging the sand. He’s so low. You ever think of that? The people aren’t looking up to him, if anything, their eye to eye or looking down with him. It was a very humble mode of transportation. There isn’t a great army that’s marching in front of him.

It’s just a ragtag team of disciples that are with him. And when he comes into the city, and even though he has the accolades of thousands and thousands and thousands of people, if this was the time to lead a revolt, if this was the time to make great change in the world, he should have just gone straight to the palace of Herod and banged on the door and said, You’re out. Go straight to the palace of Pilate, where Pilate was staying and said, You’re out. But he doesn’t do that. He goes to church. He goes to the temple to pray. And even with the accolades of all the people, for they loved him at this time, he doesn’t linger long. He skedaddles and goes back to a very small, quaint home in Bethany of Mary and Martha and Lazarus.

You ever gone back and just studied that story? And the very next day everybody showed up again. You ever thought about that? Jesus knew how to cook fish, clearly. And that was his go-to for all potlucks. If you’ll notice, he always goes fish.

Necessary inference, but nonetheless. When they all came back the next day, do you remember what he did? Remember what he did? He said, Kitchens closed. Because they wanted to make him king. Think about it. A guy who can heal anyone with a touch, a guy who can feed thousands with just a prayer, imagine the army that he could put together where nobody dies and they always got food and whatever they need. Make him king. He said, I’m out. I’m out. History shows us that Christians have always struggled with this. You think back to the time of the Crusades. What were Christians trying to do? They were trying to reclaim a land by fighting, literally. They were literally going out and were at war with people to put up the banner of Christianity.

Think about that. Later, you would have the Inquisition and the church forcing its doctrine on people. And if nobody complied, they were burned at a stake. They were crucified. Even today, if we really are honest with ourselves. We think within our heart. If we really want to change this world, if we really want to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, we need somebody who thinks like us in Washington. We need to make sure our people are in positions of power. And then things will change.

3. He Establishes His Authority by Offering Words

Does not flourish by worldly standards. My kingdom doesn’t need celebrities or money or power. My kingdom’s not of this world. And so it leads, it leads Pilate to go, How are you a king? Notice if you would go on and look at this. Notice what Pilate, you can hear his confusion, because Jesus is in essence saying to him, I’m not here to take your position. You’re good. So verse 37, then Pilate says, So you’re a king. Sorry? How are you a king? Explain to me how you’re a king. How in the world do you claim to be a king? And Jesus said, Oh, I’m a king. You say that I am a king, and for this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I’ve come into the world to bear witness to the truth.

And everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. I want you to grasp because the next thing that Jesus describes about his kingdom is he describes for us that his kinship is like no one else, because in his kingdom, in his kingdom, he will establish his authority by merely offering words. Words. And those who follow him, those who will choose to love him, will listen to his words. He doesn’t twist an arm, he doesn’t threaten. In fact, Jesus will even say in his ministry, I’ve come not to judge the world, but to save the world. Think of his first sermon. You ever consider Jesus’ first sermon? He got it from John the Baptist. Repent. I’m telling you, repent. Why? For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And you know what happened? People listened. People turned away from their sins. And then Matthew chapter 5, oh, real quick, if you would just do me a favor, do me a favor. Hold your place here and go over to the Sermon on the Mount. Go to Matthew chapter 5. This is crazy. It’s crazy. Jesus says, here’s what my people will be like. And here’s the kind of people I’m looking for. Matthew chapter 5, begin in verse 3. I’m looking for those who are poor. The poor belong with me. What’s the first thing a political candidate has to do if he’s going to win? He’s got to raise some money. That’s right. You’ve got to have some big dinners, a thousand dollars a plate. You got to go get in some resources.

Jesus goes, No. I need the poor. And notice the reward for those that are poor. Kingdom of heaven. They’re merciful. They extend mercy. And it’s not the idea of extending mercy to those that they love. They actually, in a crazy way, extend it to those that don’t love them. They hunger. Wait, Jesus, I thought you were going to take away all of our hunger. Oh, no. I need you hungry. I need you hungering and thirsting for what is right. For what is right in your relationship with God and right in your relationship with others? And who says this? Notice verses 9 and 10 of Matthew 5. Happy is the one. Blessed is the one who’s persecuted.

Boy, there’s your political campaign. I’d love to hear that one come out of somebody’s mouth, wouldn’t you? Guess what, people? I want to be your president, and I want you to hurt. It’s going to be so good for you. Kind like when your parents said to you when they spanked you, this hurts me more than it hurts you. That is a lie. That is not true. I never said that because it never hurt me. It was designed to hurt you.

But seriously. What kind of a platform is this? Because ultimately, this was Jesus’ point. And hear this, don’t miss this.

He was trying to change hearts of those who live in it. That’s a unique kingdom. That’s a unique kingship. And then you get to Matthew 6. Oh my word. I don’t want you to have treasures on the earth, he says. Notice verses 19 and following. I don’t want you to have treasures on the earth. Oh man, what’s the first thing we want our president to get for us? I need a high, I need a high gross national product, I need a stock market going up, I need lower taxes, I need, I need, I need. And Jesus goes, no, you really don’t. Don’t store up treasures on the earth where moth and rust destroys and where thieves break in and steal. What you need is to learn how to give.

Store up treasures in heaven. Because ultimately, the only thing that you’ll ever get to keep is that you’ve given away. And the Lord never ask us to give more than has already been given to us. Brethren, I just got back from the Philippines. That was a humbling trip. And I went into it, and especially when I was standing in homes with dirt floors. And my heart is breaking because I want to fix everybody’s problems. I’m one of those people.

I need to help them be rich. And as I went through the week, what I began to notice is that the folks living on those dirt floors, the people who lived in utter poverty and lived without all the luxuries that I had. They were always happy. Everywhere you went, they were happy. I got more hugs that week than I’ve had in my entire life. If you’re not a huggy person, don’t go. Just telling you. If you’re a germaphobe, not your place. So that by the end of the week, I was like, no, you’re rich. Maybe I’m poor. Because that’s the nature of this kingdom. The nature of this kingdom, and Jesus is saying, My people do not focus on worldly cares. They long for a harvest of hearts.

4. He Still Claims to Be a King

And yet, and yet here’s what Jesus does. Yet here’s what Jesus does in the midst of all this. He still claims to be a king. Matthew chapter 18, sorry, Matthew chapter 28, verses 18 to 20. He tells his disciples before he ascends into heaven, all authority, all authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth. Notice how crazy that sounds to us. How do you have all authority? And it’s not just authority in this world. You have authority even in all the heavens. You go and make disciples of all the nations. You baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and you teach them to observe all that I’ve commanded you. Why? Because my army is gonna go out and conquer the world with love and peace.

And here’s the nature of his kingship. He has a kingdom that doesn’t have borders on a map. He has a kingship that isn’t limited to a race or a tribe or a demographic. In fact, it goes any and everywhere that his word goes. His kingdom is actually living in the home of the teenager who is the only believer in a home, and the parents do not believe in the Lord and are antagonistic toward him. His kingdom actually lives in the heart of the one who is in a country that we don’t even know about and is having to worship out of fear and is hiding this morning. The fact of the matter is his kingdom is so strong and so profound, it transcends time. And it lives in his words because it lives in the hearts of those who believe in him, and who take the wisdom of this world and they turn it upside down.

Oh wow.

And he looks at us as those who are beloved. He looks at us who are citizens of a heavenly kingdom. He looks upon us as his saints. Oh, can I just, can I just a little soapbox just real quick, just real quick. Don’t refer to yourself. If you’re a New Testament Christian who’s been washed in the blood of the Lamb, don’t refer to yourself as a sinner. I know what we want to do. I want what we want to do. We don’t want to sound egotistical and we don’t want to feel like that we’re rising up above everybody else because we know we’re imperfect. But here’s the deal. Here’s the deal. The Lord never refers to his people as sinners. They’re saints. It’s kind of a self-fulfilled prophecy, isn’t it?

5. Power Is True Power When It Is Restrained

Sometimes. You become who you call yourself. And the Lord says, I look at you and I see you as redeemed, as sanctified, and I love you. You’re my family. And tell me. What would you do for family? To what lengths would you go for family? Pilate. Can you imagine Pilate? He’s listening to all this. In fact, Pilate, after Jesus says, My words are truth, he goes, What is truth? Now, don’t think that Pilate all of a sudden got very philosophical and went, What is truth? No. No. His mind spinning, he’s going, I don’t know what’s right or what’s wrong anymore. Hey, I hadn’t heard truth all day. All these people are lying about you, lying about you. I’m not hearing anything. Oh, man, what is truth?

What is truth? We read on. And after this, he went back outside to the Jews and he told them, I find no guilt in him. Can you imagine? Pilate sure going, the only thing I find wrong with this guy, he’s a little loopy. He thinks he’s a king. And he’s not in control of anything that I can see. In fact, he just wants to be nice to me. I never hear that. I don’t find anything wrong. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So who do you want me to release to you? The king of the Jews, and they cried out again, no, not this man. You and I have to see this. Not this man.

We want Barabbas. Barabbas. Barabbas. There’s some irony here. The man who literally was a murderer in an insurrectionist is the man they want freedom. And while the man who claims to be the son of God they want arrested, while the name of the man who they want released, Barabbas, actually means son of God. Who in no way is like our God. And Pilate took Jesus. Pilate took Jesus and he flogged him.

Pilate’s going, I don’t get it. Why would anybody want a king who doesn’t guarantee his people all kinds of material success and freedom and luxuries of life? Why doesn’t anybody want a king? I don’t see why they would ever want you.

But Jesus goes, No, I’m a king. And Pilate caught in the middle, flogs Jesus. Feel read with me through verse 5. This is a hard reading. I’ll just warn you. And then Pilate took Jesus and he flogged him. Anybody here do a daily Bible reading? I do sometimes. That verse, what it take me, two seconds. That’s something that played out over 30 minutes long. Where a man is stripped of his clothing. And he’s tied extended from a post where his body will hang limp. So that the back tissues are taunt. Because a big burly soldier is going to take a huge whip. Probably many lever thongs with possible glass and rocks tied in there. And he’s going to beat that man. And he beats our king.

When he’s done, the back of the victim is bleeding. And then they don’t stop there. That’s just the flogging. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and they put it on his head. They arrayed him in a purple robe and they came up to him saying, Hail, king of the Jews. The king. This is their king. And then they struck him with their hands. And now our Lord is bleeding literally. From head to toe. His face is bruised. His nose is bloody.

And Pilate brings him out to the people. Can you see this? Have you got this in your mind? Jesus isn’t standing like he was earlier beside Pilate. No. Beaten literally, almost to death, with his painful crown thrust upon his head. He stands beside Pilate like this. And Pilate proclaims to all the people. Behold the man. Behold the man. I know what Pilate’s wanting to do here. He’s really trying to just calm everybody down. If this man was really a king, I mean, seriously, could I do this to him? And y’all accuse him of being God. Y’all, y’all say he claims to be God. If he’s really a God. Would he look like this? Would he? Really? I don’t know about you, but I’ve often thought of this picture as being Jesus’ weakest moment.

And that was the point. Just weak. Humiliated. But one day it hit me. Wait. This is the man. This is the man who merely with his words could calm a storm. I want you to think about that. Peace be still. Hush over the waters. This is a man who simply by his touch could go up to somebody who is ailing, somebody who is hurting, somebody who is deformed, and he could touch them, and their body would come back to life. This is a man who could go to a coffin and raise the dead. This is a man who simply by a prayer could feed thousands upon thousands upon thousands. This is a man who has unlimited power. And yet he chooses not to use any of it.

Power is not power when it is forced. Power is true power when it is restrained. And so what we actually see before us is a God like no other, a king like no other, who serves like no other. What would Jesus say to his disciples when they were talking about leadership and authority and power? He goes, No, for even the Son of Man, even God Himself who came down in the flesh, even the Son of Man has not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. I want you to have another visual image in your mind. I want you to really think about this. Really think about this. Can you see Jesus there beside Pilate? Can you see Pilate standing like this and going, Really?

This is your king. You’re wasting my time. And Jesus is bleeding. But inside Jesus is restraining. You ever studied the story of Elisha and his servant when the Syrians surrounded Dothan? You ever say that story? You remember that story? It’s one of the greatest stories I was having. And the servant of Elisha is going, oh, we’re gonna die. Oh, we’re gonna die. And Elisha’s going, dude, relax. Just relax. Lord, can you help him out? Help him see what I know is there. And do y’all remember what happened? Remember his eyes were open and he saw surrounding all the opposing army, all the chariots from heaven, all the angelic beings, and they were ready for war, and they greatly outnumbered the force that was in front of them.

Do you remember that story? Remember that story? And can’t you see the servant going? Oh. Come on. You remember that? Think. Think. If that spiritual army was there for Elisha and his servant. Can you imagine the army that surrounded Jerusalem when Jesus himself was being tormented? What did Jesus say? I could call 12 legions of angels. I see Gabriel with his sword ready to go. I can’t believe this. What are they doing to you?

6. What If You Had a King?

Let’s go. Let’s go. That’s why Peter tells us even the angels desire greatly to look into the grace that is offered to us. They’re like, I don’t get it, I don’t get it. Let’s go, let’s go. And Jesus never calls them. Because Jesus knows that power, authority is never greater than when we serve others before ourselves. Remember what Marty said? Remember what Marty said? Phil, fill. What if? What if? What if you had a king? Well, what if you had a king who was totally different than everybody else? I mean, let’s just be honest. Even the people in masses of the democracy don’t always make the best decisions, right? But what if you had a king? What if you had a king who everything he did, every thought that he had, every desire of his heart was for the interest of others and not himself.

A few years ago, we had a challenge in our nation. Do y’all remember that? Y’all remember a little thing called coronavirus? Sorry, didn’t mean to bring that up. How’d we do? Not too good. Remember all the fighting and the fussing? Not trying to bring back memories, but you know. What if? Maybe just be hypothetical with you for just a moment. What if somebody had stood forward and said, I got this. I don’t need your money. I don’t need your votes. Because what I’m going to do is I’m going to take it all away. And here’s how I’m going to do it. I’m going to bring all that illness. I’m going to bring all that disease. Because I have the power to bring it all into me.

And it’s going to kill me. But it’ll save you. Trust me. You see, that’s what Jesus did when he took sin. That’s why Isaiah chapter 53 reminds all of us. It was for our sins. It was for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. So that we could be made whole. Surely he did take our pain. Surely he did bear our suffering. Because all the chastisement that brings us what? Peace was put upon him. And by his wounds we are healed. I don’t know what comes to your mind when you think of Jesus. But Jesus says, this is who I am. And I get it. I’m not a king for everybody. That’s what was crazy. Even with all the miracles, all the wonderful teaching. Some people wouldn’t get it.

Because it’s not the king they wanted. You know what’s ironic when you read on in this chapter? This is so crazy.

Conclusion

The Jewish leaders will say, we would much rather have Caesar than Jesus. What? There’s nobody they hated more than Caesar. That’s why they’ve been fussing and fighting for years and leading insurrections. No. If this is who claims to be God and this is how he leads, we’re not interested. Give us the oppressor. And you and I look at that and go, ow. Because that’s the challenge to us. Is this the king I want?

Is this the kingdom I long to be in? But listen to what your Lord says. What are his words every single time that he sees his disciples? You remember what he said every time after the resurrection? Peace. Peace. I bring peace to you. Because he wouldn’t stay in the grave. He wouldn’t stay behind the stone. Because he was called to sit upon his throne. And do you remember what made his people so unique? They listened to his voice. So let me ask you. Are you a follower of Jesus? Do you understand his kingdom? Because if you do, if you do, nothing else in this world matters. And no matter what news comes, no matter how hard the suffering, and it’s heavy, it’s heavy. When I know Jesus is my king, I know I have peace.

How you doing? I’m good. Because my king is on his throne. And every intent of his heart, every thought of his mind, every action with his hands is for my benefit. Because that’s who he is. Marty shook my world that day. And while I probably wouldn’t put it as a bumper sticker on my car, because people would ram me, I now would say, you’re right.

A monarchy is the best form of a government. And here’s what makes it so neat. Our king is already there. And his kingdom is already there. May that kingdom live in us. And may that kingdom be the guard upon our heart and our mind in Christ Jesus this morning. Simple question for you. Who’s your king? Who’s your king? Can I invite you to consider King Jesus? Can I invite you to open up your mind and open up your heart to his teachings? Can I invite you to see what he offers? Yes, it may not bring the physical prosperity that this world so covets, but so be it. Because we understand that this is an everlasting kingdom. And our greatest longing and our greatest desire is to be with our king for all eternity.

I know what Pilate was trying to do. But I also know what Jesus was trying to do. Because when his hands were nailed to the cross, it may seem like utter submission, and it was. But it was also a powerful display of unyielding love.

Come to me. My arms are open for you. And if you need to come to him this morning and have your sins washed away in his blood, to be baptized into him and to wear his name and to put on the robe of him so that you can be one of his. We invite you to come while we stand and while we sing.