MP3:
https://cantus-firmus.com/Audio/20241104-KOGvsKOM.mp3
Transcript:
The kingdom of God and the kingship of Jesus are so counterintuitive that even some sincere followers of Jesus can’t grasp them. This is especially true if you’re used to thinking about politics from a worldly perspective. Here’s an example.
Jesus and His disciples are on the way to Jerusalem. He knows that going to Jerusalem will entail His arrest and crucifixion, but the disciples don’t. He’s been preaching about the kingdom of God everywhere they go, but His disciples still don’t really get it.
The mother of two of his disciples, James and John, kneels down in front of Jesus and asks a favor–she wants her sons to be given the place of prominence, at the right and left of Jesus, when His kingdom comes.
Jesus seems to guess that her sons had put her up to asking, because He responds by saying to them, “you don’t know what you are asking… Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
They’re positive that they can, but Jesus isn’t so sure. He responds, “you will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
James and John’s scheme was also apparently uncovered by their fellow disciples, as their impudent question attracted their ire as well. To squelch the arguments and dirty looks, Jesus brings them all together to try to straighten things out. At the core of this disagreement is a fundamental misunderstanding about Jesus’ kingdom:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28, NIV).
What did the disciples not understand? How do we avoid repeating their mistakes?
Let’s look over the text in more detail.
“It comes by force”
Jesus’ disciples’ first false assumption was that they thought that the kingdom was going to come by and maintain itself by force–that the Kingdom of God works like the kingdoms of the world do. As Jews living under Roman oppression, their hope was that Jesus is going to lead a violent revolution, kick the Romans out, and take back the throne.
And of course, to the victors go the spoils. When Vladimir Lenin led the 1917 revolt in Russia, he and his friends took the positions of prominence in the new government. When Fidel Castro took over Cuba, he gave the really good jobs in the administration to his buddies. James and John were hoping to get those high status jobs for themselves. They thought that Jesus’ kingdom was going to work like those human kingdoms–with the people at the top commanding what everyone else has to do and backing up those demands by sending police and soldiers to threaten anyone who disobeys.
But if they had understood that God’s Kingdom doesn’t come by violence, perhaps they would have also understood that it isn’t maintained by violence. As Jesus later remarked to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders” (John 18:36).
“Greatness means violence”
Their second false assumption had to do with what greatness looks like. And this flows from their first assumption. Great men are powerful. Great men are rich. Great men tell others what to do and hurt them if they don’t obey.
But Jesus says that isn’t true, actually. Yes, “the Gentiles lord it over them,” but that’s not what followers of Jesus do. Christ provides us with an alternative model for greatness. Following in the footsteps of our King, we serve others instead of dominating them.
At first blush that sounds like it should be easy, doesn’t it? Not everyone can be a king or a president or even a CEO; but anyone can serve.
But the truth is that service is hard. It asks us to set aside our immediate desires and interests to focus on something long term–to think about the life to come.
Looking to serve instead of trying to be on top makes no sense in a godless world. If this life is all that we have, it makes perfect sense to live for worldly power, pleasure, and security. The world always tempts us to live like atheists–focusing only on this life and what we can get out of it; but Jesus has a broader vision–He wants us to play the long game.
We find Jesus’ emphasis on playing the long game all over the sermon on the mount.
Jesus says, “if your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” But is it better? If there is nothing after death, then why increase your hardships by giving up something practical in order to be more “righteous?” Where’s the benefit in that?
Jesus says, “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” But is that true? If this life is all there is, it hardly seems plausible that the meek and the humble will be over the world–not if the arrogant, violent, and armed-to-the-teeth have anything to say about.
These commands ask us to live like God’s kingdom has already come–like God is in control and not the rulers of this world. When Christians are living like there is no God, there’s a problem.
Another reason why embracing Jesus’ upside down Kingdom is difficult is that it might involve suffering and oppression. Christ gave His life in order to benefit others. Since we follow a suffering God, that could mean that we’ll suffer alongside Him.
Our passage hints at that truth in another way.
Jesus’ coronation and enthronement
Recall how Jesus responded to James and John:
“You don’t know what you are asking… Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
In hindsight, we know that the cup He refers to is the cup of suffering and death. In other words, Jesus’ crucifixion is the coming of the Kingdom. The details of His passion narrative are meant to point to this reality.
Maybe you’ve noticed this before–what do the soldiers do to Jesus before they crucify Him?
They put a crown on His head and a purple robe. These are the stuff of kingship, right? The soldiers have no idea they’re doing it because they’re doing it to mock Him, but they’re actually participating in His coronation (or crowning) as King.
Next is the kingly procession. If you paid attention when Prince Charles became King Charles, you might recall that there was a royal procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace called the Coronation Procession.
That kind of tradition is a pretty old one. We can find it in the ancient world, and we also see it in the passion story of Jesus. As He carried His cross to Golgotha, that was His procession.
Finally, He was “enthroned” on the cross. In this enthronement, when His kingdom arrived, who was at His left and right?
That’s right, the two criminals. This was the cup that Jesus asked James and John if they were ready to share with Him–the cup of suffering for the kingdom, not the lording it over others.
Because that’s what the coming of the kingdom of God looks like–God setting aside His divine rights and power to serve, suffer, and die for His people. That’s greatness–setting aside your privilege to serve others.
Application in an election year
Today we are caught between two political parties that want to make the world a better place through politics, which is to say through force–”lording it over” the people, as Jesus said the nations do.
A group of 16th century Christians called the Anabaptists were in a similar situation, but theirs was much more dire. Catholics and Protestants worked to get their religious viewpoints endorsed by the governments of their lands so that they would be protected and their enemies would be punished. But Anabaptists didn’t believe that faith could be forced and they refused to engage in violence, so they were regularly persecuted.
But while the early Anabaptists refused to participate in the violent functions of government, they also recognized that governance can serve a good purpose by maintaining peace, order, and justice. They even reminded authorities that God would hold them accountable if they misused their office.
For instance, the early Anabaptist leader Jakob Hutter warned political rulers in this way:
“Woe, we say to you! who fear more that frail and mortal man than the living, omnipotent and eternal God, and chase from you, suddenly and inhumanely, the children of God, the afflicted widow, the desolate orphan, and scatter them abroad… Great slaughter, much misery and anguish, sorrow, and adversity, yea, everlasting groaning, pain and torment, are daily appointed you. The Most High will lift his hand against you, now and eternally.” (AIO 12.11).
Some might reason that if it was appropriate then to warn rulers in order to influence them to be just and righteous, it might be appropriate now to vote in order to sway them in the right direction.
If that’s you–if you’ve prayed and reflected upon the Scriptures and determined that one way for you to speak truth to power and to protect the innocent is to participate in the political process by voting, then by all means exercise that privilege.
But as you navigate that difficult terrain, I would ask you to keep three things in mind:
The Danger of Pragmatism
The first is the danger of pragmatism.
Jesus’ disciples failed to understand the kingdom mission because they were used to the way the world does things. In the world, people lord power over one another–and that seems to work. States and empires are built on this kind of violence. And sure, you get wars, bloody revolutions, and genocides that way–but violence gets things done. And that makes it seem like the pragmatic solution. It seems to work.
But Jesus made it clear that this isn’t how Kingdom Christians do things. You can’t cut corners and say that you’re doing it for the kingdom.
The theologian Russell Moore gives us some good advice that applies well here:
“Prioritize long-term integrity over short-term success.”
If we win an election but sell out the kingdom, we haven’t really won anything. And this is always the danger when Christians get involved in politics on either side.
That which is not in Christ does not last
A second important implication from our text for how we should navigate the world of politics is that the things which are not done in Christ will not last. Christ often spoke in stark, black and white terms–the sheep and the goats, departing to the left or to the right, etc. In our passage today, He makes a strong distinction between the rulers of the nations and those who are in Christ–they exercise power over others, but we serve. Jesus doesn’t suggest much gray area here.
So as you reflect upon the best way to obey Christ as a citizen of the United States, keep in mind that often what the world wants to do is incompatible with what Christ calls us to do. Set aside those things that you won’t be able to bring with you into the kingdom of God. Those things are destined to burn.
Be Kingdom First
The third thing I don’t want you to forget is that the kingdom you are under is not of this world; your fellow citizens are not Republicans, Democrats, or even Americans. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ. Many of them will not vote how you vote, but they should still be much dearer to you than those who agree with you on issues of politics. We’re not America first–we’re kingdom first.
There are very understandable reasons why we divide over politics and why we often don’t like the people we disagree with. The first is tribalism. We think of ourselves as part of the tribe Democrat or Republican, and all of the people in our tribe are basically good while all of the people in the other tribe are basically bad. This has become increasingly the case as political identity has begun to displace other, more traditional, types of identity–like our sense of belonging in a family or as part of a community of faith.
The other reason why politics divides us is that we understand, perhaps without realizing it, that politics is violence. One side wins by taking and the other side loses by being took. Remember what Jesus said about the nations lording power over each other. This arrangement naturally produces fear, anger, hatred, and a desire to retaliate against our political enemies.
But Jesus corrects our worldly aspirations in at least two ways:
He reminds us that we are not really part of this system, but another. Our kingdom is the kingdom of God, and we don’t lord our power over others like the nations do.
He gives us a moral example to follow by loving His enemies. Are Democrats or Republicans your enemies? Okay, fine. Love them.
The world has largely abandoned Jesus’ example because they see it as naive. They think it’s naive because that’s not how the kingdoms of the world function. In the kingdoms of the world, those in power rule over their subjects.
And to that I would say, “of course.” That’s true. That is how the kingdoms of the world work. But it’s not how the kingdom of God works. In the kingdom of God the greatest–the most powerful–is the one who serves and loves the most, not the one who dominates others most effectively.