The clash of two kingdoms (11/17/19 John #57)

ATTN: I had a great time with the 2030 – that’s our young adult group – last weekend. We went to Portland, hit up Powell’s bookstore, ate at food-trucks, slept at a 5-star hotel according to Benson, and then on Monday morning, we hiked up Multnomah Falls. It was very refreshing for me to be with these young people. 

I thought about my young-adulthood, and I was reminded that what I valued back then was very different from what I value now. For example, I was concerned about fitting in. Finding my place in the community, being liked and accepted. And also finding a future mate. It’s funny to hear young people talk about promising each other for being a back-up spouse in case they are not married by a certain age… what that means is “I’m kinda attracted to you, but I might come across someone better than you in the future so I want to keep my options open. But in case I don’t come across someone better, you are my back-up – a security plan…” It brought back memories because we used to say such things to each other when I was a young adult. Fortunately for me, I found Janet and so I didn’t have to resort to being with a back up. I married a first-stringer! =)

But the point I want to make is that what I valued back then was very different than what I value now. As an older man, I’m no longer concerned about fitting in as I’m about making sure that everyone else feels they fit in. I no longer value experiencing new things, as I value giving a wonderful experience to new people. I no longer value finding a mate for myself, as I value finding a mate for our young adults! A lot of you can identify with what I’m saying. What you used to value, say 5, 10, 20 years ago, you no longer value. And the reason why what we value changes over the years is because, I believe, what we draw our pleasure from changes or where we find our happiness. Just observing my two children, when they were around 3 and 4, they were so into Dora, but now that they are preteens, well, Dora is no longer valued. Where they find joy or happiness has changed…

Being a Christian means that our source of joy and happiness has changed from the world to God. And therefore, what we value has changed from the physical things such as money, appearance, status to things of eternal value such as God’s glory, faith, and growing the kingdom of God. 

Jesus says in today’s text, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36)

Jesus spoke much about this kingdom of God. With the new king’s arrival in Jesus, dawns the era of the new kingdom – the kingdom of God. We who are believers no longer belong to the kingdom of the world, but to the kingdom of God. And this new kingdom operates on different principles and value systems so much so that Tim Keller calls it an upside down kingdom. The values of the kingdom of the world are: power, comfort, success, and recognition. But the values of the kingdom of God are: weakness, sacrifice, grief, and exclusion. Not that we seek them, but we welcome them into our lives when they happen because they give us a chance to have more of God who is the source of our ultimate happiness. 

TRANS: In John 18, we see our King, Jesus, living by these kingdom principles and today, we will observe what that looks like as we contrast them with what the earthly kingdom looks like. 

 

1. Earthly kings will rule by fear, but Jesus will rule by love. 

Think of some of the greatest kings of the earth – Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Ghingis Khan, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin… All of them ruled with fear. Anyone who would challenge them would be ruthlessly cut off. Even now, Kim Jung Un of North Korea will have his brother killed at a foreign airport when he feels a least bit challenged… But how does Jesus rule? By love. 

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:25-26)

Why do we follow Jesus? Because we are fearful that He’s going to send us to hell if we don’t follow Him? No. Because He loved us enough to die for us. We follow Him because we WANT TO follow Him and not because we HAVE TO. Love trumps fear every time. 

 

2. Earthly kings will avoid evil but Jesus uses evil to His advantage. 

Earthly kings will have a cup bearer, body guards, secret service agents to protect them. When 9-11 happened, Air Force 1 kept on flying around in random airspaces to safeguard the president. Even when you are playing chess, what do you do with your king? Safeguard it! But knowing that a trap is set for Jesus, the king of kings, at a garden, what does He do? He walks right into it! 

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples….  4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out… 

Why does Jesus act this way? Because He’s in control of all things. The earthly kings are not absolute sovereigns – they are not in control of all things. But Jesus is. Jesus is in control of not only good and pure things, but also of evil and dark world. Jesus was not a helpless victim in front of a political scheme of the day. He was in absolute control even of Satan and his dominion. Judas and the Jews were doing what they wanted to do and against jesus, but it was all in accordance with the plan to accomplish what Jesus came to do. They thought they were opposing Jesus, but they were really helping Him accomplish His goal. “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!” (Gen. 50:20)

 

3. Earthly kings use their power to bolster their position; Jesus uses his power to bolster our position.

We are all familiar with millionaire politicians using millions of dollars to get elected to office so that they can have more power. And once they have power, what do they do? They use it to gain more power, money and sex. But Jesus had unlimited power. 

4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

What’s going on? Why would the battle-hardened roman soldiers fall to the ground at Jesus saying, “I am he”? “I am” – ego eimi in greek is a greek translation of YHWH, “I am that I am” – that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus is not simply telling his captors “I’m the one you are looking for.” He is saying, “I am the God who created you and all you see around you.” And simply uttering His name had power emanating from it such that these roman soldiers fell to the ground. 

ILL: Thanos had to gather 6 infinity stones, fight off the Avengers and snap his finger to kill half the population of the universe. But Jesus had power to create or recreate the entire universe by simply saying the words, “Let there be…” and yet, what does He do with His unlimited power? He uses it to save us so that our position with God would be secured. 

 

4. On earthly kingdom, servants lay down their lives to protect the king. In the kingdom of God, Jesus, the king, lays down His life for His servants. 

8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” He is acting like the good shepherd that He is. John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

ILL: When the bullets are flying, the bodyguards will jump on top of the president to save his life. But when Jesus is around and the bullets are flying, He jumps on top of us to cover us, so that we will be protected even though He may die….

 

5. Earthly kings mince their words, but Jesus is absolutely faithful to the word.

Again we are familiar with politicians making promises to win the election and then going back on their word afterwards. So much so that there are fact-checkers who are reporting in real time whether what they are claiming is actually true. Jesus never, ever, went against the word of God. He is actually the very embodiment of the word of God – “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.” (John 1:1) 

9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

Jesus keeps His words even if meant he would pay for it with His life. This is so different than our culture where our words almost mean nothing. All it takes is , “just kidding,: or “I didn’t really mean it that way” to nullify what we said. So much so that we have to write up contracts for everything and sign our name on it to make it count. But Jesus treated His words and thus the word of God as an absolute. He would go to death to keep His word. If He gave His word, then it WILL be done! 

This Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” “And not one of you will be lost.” If you belong to God, He will never lose you. It’s not up to you to hold onto Him. He’s up to Him to hold onto you. And get this: As long as He is holding onto you, you will never let go, because your holding onto Him is His holding onto you. 

APP: Some of you have fallen again and again shamefully, even after you have vowed that you will never do it again. Have you thought that maybe God is allowing you to fall again and again to prove to you of your helplessness and to humble you to make you realize that you are no better than those you might have looked down upon? So that in the end you will say, “Have mercy on me O Lord, a sinner!” 

He never goes against His word even if it means death for Him. Hold onto Him! 

 

6. Earthly kings save their necks at all cost; Jesus obeys the Father at all cost. 

By the end of 1943, Hitler knew that the war was lost. But the war would rage on for 2 more years killing millions of more people. Why did he continue on when he knew that the war could not be won? To save his face and his neck. He would rather have millions die than to surrender and be humiliated. What about Jesus, our King? 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?

 This is one of the most stunning statements in all of the Bible – “shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” What cup? The cup of wrath that will kill Him. That cup came from the Father. 

I have preached a sermon many years ago on who is responsible for Jesus’ death. The usual answers are: the Jews who cried out, “crucify Him, crucify Him.” or the roman soldiers who actually hammered Jesus onto the cross. But I concluded that it was actually you and me that put Jesus to the cross for it was our sin that made Him go to the cross. Back then, it never even occurred to me to consider one other person  – the Father. I thought of the Father as a victim along with His Son, of all this tragedy as He watched helplessly in heaven His Son dying for the ones He loved… 

But Jesus Himself says here the cup of wrath came from the Father. Do you understand what this means? It means that the primary cause of Jesus’ death was not the Jews, the soldiers, or sinners like you and me, but the Father! The Father wanted His Son dead! This is played out in the episode of Abraham and Isacc. On mount Moriah, God commands Abraham to kill his son, his only begotten son, to sacrifice to God. And like a madman, Abraham obeys! But right before the knife plunges through his son’s heart, God stops him. But this was just a foreshadow. Years later, God’s own Son would be on the altar of death, and this time the death blow did not stop. The Father allowed His Son to be pierced through the heart to die… And the Son fully consented. But why? Why would the Father want His own Son to die? For you and me….!

One of the my favorite hymsn of all time….

And can it be that I should gain

An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?

Died He for me, who caused His pain?

For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Why did Jesus consent to such a horrific command? Because He loved us just as the Father loved Him. It wasn’t against His will that Jesus obeyed. No. He willingly went to the cross. “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) 

What joy? The joy of reuniting with His Father? But He had that with the Father in the first place. What new joy would He gain by going to the cross? Us! He would gain us! So, the Father put His own Son to death in order to save you and me from sin and eternal punishment. 

CONC: This week, would you simply revel in this fact? You don’t need anything else. You don’t have to seek for something new that will make your life better. You don’t have to stress to maintain whatever you have to keep your lifestyle. All things are yours. Jesus is yours. The Father is yours. You are absolutely, unequivocally loved. 

With that in mind, strive to be a boss, teacher, parent, spouse, and pastor like Jesus. 1) Rule by love. 2) Know that even evil works to your advantage. 3) Use your power for the benefit of others 4) Lay down your life for those you care for 5) Always keep your word and 6) Obey God in all things