Jesus Kingship -- Over this world, but not Of it

Jesus before Pilate (John 18:33-37)

Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" 

Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?" 

Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You 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 fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." 

Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?"

Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

In this passage Jesus sets the tone for the nature of today's manifestation of his Kingdom, which he then carries out on the cross!  He has previously revealed the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven to his disciples (while hiding this revelation from the spiritually non-discerning by means of parables), and he has shown that this new and glorious form of his Kingdom, not previously revealed, and oriented to the gospel, is a form of the Kingdom which paradoxically appears weak in the eyes of the world or to the carnally minded, while it is yet strong with spiritual power to demolish all strongholds against Christ.

It is well-known that the Jews expected the Messiah to expel the Romans when he came.  They understood the victory-motif in the prophets, and expected that the Great Prophet prophesied by Moses would carry this out.  Their assumptions were clearly that the politico-economic realm would simply be ruled according to the same laws (physical, moral and political) as it always had been, but that the law would be enforced by the political and military power of the Messiah.  This is why something like the Beatitudes would be so unintelligible, or even repugnant to them -- or why a Suffering Servant could not be King.  The fact that Jesus seemed to show no promise along the lines of temporal deliverance was one carnal reason for his rejection by the Pharisees, Zealots, and similar persons.

The use of the term "mysteries of the Kingdom" means that there were as yet unrevealed aspects of the promised Kingdom that were not known in the Old Covenant Scriptures.  Part of Jesus preaching ministry was to prepare his disciples, and ultimately his church, to understand these previously unrevealed aspects of the Messianic Kingdom, so that we can see the new glory in it, not be disappointed in our tribulations (which are our glory), have hope, and know what to expect and how to behave, as we wait for the manifestation of Christ at his Coming. 

Christ is the King.  He doesn't look like a King to the world, but he rules it.  We shall judge angels -- but we look like slaves to the world.  The gospel is powerful and converts the world, but appears foolish to the world.  God doesn't have a special love for worldly elites, or worldly manifestations of power, or man-made philosophy, or mighty man-pleasing rhetoric.  These are the weak things in his eyes.

It is the weak ones in the eyes of the world who are actually the strong.  Those who give up their lives for Christ keep the world running and receive the eternal rewards.  Luther thought that the sun rose because the Christians prayed.  Everything is upside down compared to the world's view, and we must see this.  The servant life, as slaves of Christ, is the powerful and effective life.  The quiet life, working with our own hands, is the foundation of culture.  The foolishness of the gospel is what converts the culture, in spite of its opposition.

This is very serious.  "Kingdom work" is God's work.  How he rules and increases the spread and power of the gospel is a mystery, but he does.  We do our little parts, tending and watering the Divine Project, as we live a quiet life of mutual love, and offer Christ to a lost world.  All our might that could be worldly, all our money that could be great, all our personal powers and education that could be impressive in the world, all our worldly status, all our personal gifts, must be put to use in this way.  All our ways of promoting the knowledge of Christ must partake of the lowliness exemplified in the life of Christ, because these means are the means empowered by God for victory!