In today’s Gospel (John 18:33-37), it is the last morning of Jesus’ life. He is standing before Pilate. Jewish temple authorities have found him guilty of blasphemy, and want Pilate to sentence him to death. Blasphemy was not a capital offence in Roman law, but treason was. “Are you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asks. If Jesus is claiming to be King of the Jews, that’s treason against Caesar, an offence punishable by crucifixion. Jesus doesn’t deny this, but nor does he totally admit it. Yes I’m a king, but not a king as you would think of it, Pilate. Not king of an earthly Kingdom, but yes, I have a Kingdom which is not of this world. I expect this was pure gobbledygook to Pilate. and he just picked up on the fact that Jesus claimed a Kingdom and therefore was a traitor. We know how the story went from there.
If Pilate had been following Jesus’ life over the previous three years, he might have had a better idea what Jesus meant … let’s take a look. Right at the start of Jesus’ ministry, right after his baptism and time in the wilderness, Jesus began his ministry saying: “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near”. (Mark 1: 15)
If Pilate had been there, he would have taken these words as treason. But to Jesus’ first century Palestinian listeners they meant something quite different. We do not find the words the Kingdom of God, or its synonym the Kingdom of Heaven, in the Hebrew scriptures or other writings of that time. However, the idea of God as the ruler of the Israelites or their King begins during their wanderings in exile in the desert and is found throughout the Old Testament and especially in the psalms. Even when the Israelites had an earthly king, that king ruled under God. It was God who chose tjeir first King, Saul, and then David to be kings. Jesus is talking to people who have grown up with the hope that God will, one day, be King over all the earth., This is expressed in prophecy and song throughout their holy writings.
Just to clarify, To the first century Jew, the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God we’re interchangeable terms. Remember that, to them, God’s name was too holy to be spoken and often the word heaven was substituted.
To understand Jewish thought in the 1st century about the Kingdom (and that includes what Jesus had been taught at home and in synagogue), we need to appreciate what they meant by God’s Kingdom, where it's found and what it does. At the time of Jesus, the phrase Kingdom of God was understood in two different ways. It’s worth mentioning here that, in Judaism, the Kingdom of God would occur here on earth. It is not synonymous with the life after death or life after the end of the world.
In an apocalyptic context, God would rule over a coming Kingdom of justice and holiness. It might be brought about by an act of transcendent divine power or by a leader (possibly the Messiah) that would destroy all evil and pagan empires (e.g. the Roman empire) and would establish a rule of justice in which humanity would dwell forever. This was very attractive to the Hebrew people living under harsh Roman rule and the concept of a military Messiah was popular with many groups. We see an echo of this idea in our 1st reading from Revelation (1:4b-8).
The other use of “Kingdom of God” is how the religious intellectuals taught it. To them, it was a spiritual term meaning the rule of God over a person who keeps or begins to keep the written and oral commandments. As such, it is a present reality which exists as the rule of God in one’s life. God’s reign is found wherever God’s will is obeyed. Or, to put it differently: wherever things are happening just how God ordered them and wants them, wherever people are living in obedience and commitment to God, there we have the Kingdom of God.This could be what Jesus means by “the Kingdom of God is within you” and the “Kingdom of God has come near”.
From the time that Jesus started his ministry with the words the Kingdom of God has come near to the trial before pilot at the end of his life when he said my Kingdom is not of this world, the focus of his ministry was living and teaching the Kingdom.
Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God by what he did. He acted against the “purity society” which was structured around the polarities of clean and unclean, male and female, sacred and profane, Jew and Gentile, righteous and sinner. In place of a restricted and segregated table to which some were not invited, Jesus offered an “open and inclusive” table, symbolizing equality and community. Jesus also proclaimed the Kingdom of God by his acts of healing. He healed the victims of the purity society who suffered rejection and isolation, restoring their relationships in community.
Central to his teaching was the reign or Kingdom of God which he developed in the Sermon on the Mount - Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God ( Luke 6:20) -and in the majority of his parables. The Kingdom is like a seed that grows secretly through the mysterious action of God; the Kingdom is like a banquet to which everyone is invited; the Kingdom is like a mustard seed so small, yet it grows into a big bush which shelters birds and animals.
Jesus also taught us to pray Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The Kingdom is where God’s will is done, whether here on earth or in heaven. We start to live in the Kingdom here and now. God’s reign is found wherever God’s commandments are obeyed. And God’s commandments are commandments to love. Love God; Love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). Or as Jesus commanded in his farewell discourse to his disciples: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).
Jesus taught that The Kingdom of God is within you (that is, it’s here) and at hand (that is, it’s now). It’s not elsewhere and later, buthere and now —some more subtle quality or dimension of experience accessible to us right in the moment. God’s reign is found wherever we live lives of love. We don’t die into it; we awaken into it. . . . The Kingdom of God is really a metaphor for a state of consciousness; it is not a place we go to, but a place we come from. It is a whole new way of looking at the world, a transformed awareness that literally turns this world into a different place. . . and it’s a gift from God. Its always been within each of us, because we are made in Gods image. All we have to do is accept the gift.
But God has given all of us free will, and not everybody accepts the gift. Some of us love other things more than they love God. Such as popularity, pride, status, getting one’s own way, as well as possessions and wealth. Remember the story of the rich young ruler who wanted eternal life and claimed to have kept all the commandments? What he couldn’t do was give up his wealth and possessions. As he walked away from Jesus, Jesus looked at him with love and, I’m sure, with sadness. What a different world we would live in if everyone chose Jesus’ Kingdom over the ways of domination, consumerism, and the many other idolatrous isms which are valued by worldly cultures.
Thinking about the Kingdom of God this way has shown me that you don't have to be religious to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom. I know people of other faiths, and also of no faith but who call themselves humanists, or spiritual but not religious, who are living the values of love, generosity and compassion. Whether they know it or not, they’re part of the kingdom which is transforming the world. (I’m reminded of the time the disciples stopped a man not part of their group from casting out demons in Jesus name, but Jesus said to let him because whoever is not against us is for us).
To live in the Kingdom of God is to be on a great adventure. Personal comfort is not guaranteed. It can be costly in terms of personal wealth, security and fame. The goal of a just, loving, equitable and peaceful kingdom seems not only improbable but impossible. And yet! What a wonder it is! To work always for a better world. To be amazed, surprised, humbled, grateful for the ongoing love present in the world. And to know that God can turn even a tiny mustard seed into a great tree.
Let us pray:
God of Love,
Jesus taught his disciples, us, to pray “Thy Kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. Help us to mean these words as we pray them and show us how to live them on community with all who live in your Kingdom. May we, by showing your love through how we live, contribute to the coming of your Kingdom in this corner of the world where we live. In the name of Jesus, our King, Amen
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