His Path to the Kingdom
Jesus appeared in Galilee and began to proclaim the Kingdom of God – “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand.” In his ministry, the reign of God was invading the earth. However, this realm was of an entirely different nature than the political systems of the world, and on more than one occasion, he refused the kind of political power that dominates this present age.
Satan tempted him by offering Jesus
“all the kingdoms of the world.” To attain absolute power, all he needed
to do was “render homage” to the Tempter.
And Jesus did NOT
dispute Satan’s “right” to dispense such political power, but he refused it all
the same. Instead, he submitted to the path of the Suffering Servant of
Yahweh - (Matthew 4:8-11, Luke 4:5-7).
SATAN’S WAY
Satan requires submission to
his authority as the price of political power, and according to him, the
kingdoms of this age “have been delivered to me and I give them to whomever
I will.”
Although he was appointed by
God to rule over all nations, Jesus refused this satanic offer. Scripture
confirmed his destiny to reign over the earth, yet he refused the kind of political
power valued by the rulers of this age.
But how could Yahweh’s
designated king reign over the rebellious nations of the earth without the military and economic might of the
State? - (Psalm 2:6-8).
Rather than resort to the political
means of the present age, Jesus embraced the way of the Cross. In the “Kingdom
of God,” true victory is achieved through self-denial and sacrifice.
In his realm, “greatness” is measured by self-sacrificial service and acts of mercy for the benefit of others, especially of one’s “enemies.”
Rather than threatening or dominating other
men, Jesus “gave his life a ransom for many.” And his real-world example
provides his disciples with the pattern for implementing God’s kingdom and achieving
“greatness” in it.
But the temptation in the “wilderness”
was not the end of Satan’s political intrigues. Following his rebuff, “the
Devil departed from him until an opportune time.”
ONGOING CONFLICT
After he miraculously fed a
multitude near the Sea of Galilee, certain members of the crowd planned “to
come and seize him and make him king.” But he walked away at the very point
the mob had determined to crown him, thereby turning many minds against him.
The Son of Man would not become
the militaristic messiah bent on destroying Rome that so many of his
contemporaries desired. And the closer he came to his death on a Roman cross, the
more the fickle crowds rejected him as their Messiah. A “suffering servant” did
not fit the popular concept of royalty and kingship - (Luke 4:13, John 6:15).
Prior to his execution, Pontius
Pilate inquired whether Jesus was “the king of the Jews.” He did not
deny his kingly position, and he responded to Rome’s representative - “You
say that I am a king, and for this, I was born.”
But Jesus qualified his
kingship by stating that “my kingdom is not from (ek) this
world. If my kingdom was from this world, then my own officers would fight that
I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But now, my kingdom is not from here”
- (John 18:33-36).
This does not mean that his
kingdom is strictly “spiritual” or otherworldly, or that his messianic program is
nonpolitical. But the SOURCE of his sovereignty is other than the political
power that characterizes and tyrannizes this world. It is of an entirely
different nature than the powers of this age.
Pilate found no fault in him.
He was about to release Jesus. However, at the instigation of the Temple
authorities, the crowd demanded that Pilate release Barabbas instead, a man
described in the gospels as a léstés (Greek) or “brigand.”
WAY OF THE CROSS
Contrary to the messianic
expectations of his contemporaries, Jesus “took on the form of a slave”
and became “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” And because of his
choice, God bestowed on him “the name, which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth.”
Moreover, the followers of
Jesus are summoned to adopt and live by the very SAME MIND that he displayed
when he gave his life as a “ransom for many”- (Philippians 2:6-11).
His disciple must choose between
the cruciform and rough pathway trod by Jesus of Nazareth, or the expedient and
smooth highway offered by Satan. Jesus declared that when he was “lifted up”
on the cross, he would “draw all men to me.” By being nailed to a
Roman cross and not by sitting on Caesar’s throne.
Jesus calls all men and women
to “deny themselves, take up the cross,” and follow him on this same
path, and the only one that leads to the Kingdom of God. All men who refuse to
do so are “unworthy” of him and unfit for citizenship in his Father’s
kingdom.
