Last Sunday B, 2024

Text: John 18:33-38

Title: “Thy Kingdom Come”

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Day after day, week after week we pray over and over and over again, “Thy Kingdom come.”

What if it actually did?

Would you be content to live in a kingdom?  Not a democracy.  Not a republic. To live in a place where you have no vote, no representation, no say at all in the laws and governance of the land.

Nearly 250 years ago, we fought a war to get rid of a king.  “No taxation without representation,” our ancestors cried!

And many countries followed suit in getting rid of their kings or limiting their power, such that it’s nearly impossible to find a king these days, at least one with absolute power and authority.

There are roughly 200 countries in the world, depending on who’s doing the counting, and of those, only 6 are ruled by an absolute monarch, one who is not bound by a constitution or a parliament, and are free to do whatever they want.

So, chances are, you will never meet a true king or experience what it is like to live in a kingdom.

That means you’ll just have to use your imagination.

Can you imagine living in a place where one person had utter and complete control over your life.  He could force you to pay taxes in whatever amount he chose. He could force you to join the military and serve in the army.  He could punish you for speaking against him or doing anything he considered to be disloyal.

He would hold all the power, and you would have none.

Could you do it?  Could you live in a kingdom with no rights or power or authority over your own life?

Chances are, you’d look to rebel or resist.  You’d find ways to exert your autonomy.  You wouldn’t just give up your independence that easily.

Who would want to live in a kingdom?

And yet you pray, “Thy Kingdom come.”

How are you doing at living under God’s kingship, under His authority?

Do you willingly submit to His power, His laws?

When you hear His command to love Him with your whole heart and to love your neighbor as yourself, is this something that you do willingly?

Or do you find ways to resist, ways to rebel and assert your independence?

Are there laws of God that you think are unreasonable, unfair, or just impossible to obey?  And then you refuse, you do things your way, just because you don’t want to submit to God?

I mean, who could actually love their neighbor as themselves?  Have you met my neighbors?  Have you met my family?  Perhaps I can get God to lighten up a bit.  Perhaps I can appeal my case to someone a little more reasonable and realistic.

The problem with this is that the king is also the judge.  And there’s no court of appeal.  There’s no one else to whom you can plead your case.

If you have broken the King’s law, then the King is the one to determine your guilt and your punishment. 

And that certainly is the case for you.  You deserve the King’s wrath and judgment for your rebellious life.  And the punishment for breaking even one of the king’s laws is death.  Eternal death.

And yet, you pray, “Thy Kingdom come.”

Pilate knew what a king looked like.  He had seen his share.  In that neck of the woods, though, he was the highest authority. He was Caesar’s man, so anyone else claiming to be a king was a fraud and an insurrectionist.  Anyone claiming to be a king was a threat to his authority.

Pilate knew what a king looked like, and this wasn’t one.  No army, no wealth, no power of any kind, could be found in this man who stood bound and helpless before him.

Jesus is indeed a king, but a king of a different sort.  “My kingdom is not of this world,” says He.  Not of this cosmos, this universe, a kind of king the likes of which had never walked this earth before.

A king who is doesn’t rule by force and fear. A king who is crowned in thorns and enthroned on the cross.  A king who lays down His life for His subjects.  A king who has mercy and forgiveness even for the most hard-hearted rebel, like you.

And so, you pray, “Thy kingdom come.”

What does this mean?

“The kingdom of God comes certainly by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.”

How does God’s kingdom of come?

“The kingdom of God comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His Holy Word and live godly lives, here in time and there in eternity.” 

The kingdom of God comes when our heavenly Father gives…

The kingdom is a gift.  It doesn’t come by power or force, with guns and bombs.  The kingdom of God comes with the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

And the role of the Holy Spirit is to create and strengthen your faith through His Holy Word.

You cannot see the Kingdom of God.

You cannot find the Kingdom of God on a map.

Jesus is your king as you have faith and trust in Him.  And so, if the Holy Spirit has been given to you and worked faith in your heart, you are in the kingdom.

And because you have the Holy Spirit, because you have faith, you will live a godly life.  Not because you are afraid of judgment and punishment, but because you have a king who loves you and gave His life for you.

His kingdom comes.

His kingdom comes here as His royal decrees are proclaimed by His chosen ministers, and as His royal banquet is spread before you.

His kingdom comes in our world, as you live out your lives, not only as citizens of an earthly country, but even more so as royal subjects of another world, a world not characterized by fear and hatred but by love and peace, mercy and grace.

And His kingdom will come in its fullness on the Last Day, when Christ our King comes in power and glory to establish His rule on earth.

For those who would not have Him as their king, for those who rejected Him, rebelled against Him, even to the point of murdering their king, for those His coming will be a moment of terror, of weeping and wailing, as they come to grips with the terrible decisions they have made.

But for those who will have Him as their king, Jesus’ coming will be a joyous celebration.

You will be set free from all the autocrats of this world.  No more Caesars, no more emperors, no more tyrannical bosses or teachers or anyone who would use their power to harm you and take advantage of you.

And no more tyranny of Satan, tempting you to doubt God’s presence and love for you.

And no more tyranny of Sin, and having to struggle daily to do the good that you want to do.

And no more tyranny of Death, taking your loved ones from you and slowly destroying your body through age and illness.

The only authority remaining will be Jesus, your gracious, merciful, and loving King.

And in that case, who wouldn’t pray, “Thy Kingdom come”?

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