Day 9 · Week 2
Passage: John 18:33–37
Memory Verse: Matthew 6:33
John 18:36 (KJV)
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world...”
Jesus stood before Pilate looking nothing like an earthly king. He had no army standing outside. He wore no royal robe. He was a prisoner.
Pilate asked Him, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” Jesus eventually answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Jesus did not mean that His kingdom has nothing to do with our lives here. He meant that His kingdom does not come from the same source or operate by the same methods as earthly kingdoms.
Human kingdoms often depend upon power, wealth, influence, and force. Jesus' kingdom changes people from the inside. Its citizens learn humility instead of pride, mercy instead of revenge, purity instead of selfish desire, and love even toward enemies.
That is exactly the kind of kingdom Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount.
Pilate saw a bound prisoner. Faith sees a King.
And one day the King who stood before Pilate will return in glory. Until then, His followers are called to live as citizens of His kingdom wherever they are.
What are some ways Jesus' kingdom is different from the kingdoms and governments of this world?
Do my attitudes look more like the values around me or the values Jesus teaches?
Thank Jesus that He is King, and ask Him to make the character of His kingdom visible in your family.