Sermon Q&R: My Kingdom is Not From This World (John 18)
In Verse 36, who are the “servants” (or “supporters”) that Jesus is referring to here?
John 18:36 is part of Jesus' response to Pilate, in which he says, "“If my kingdom were from this world, my supporters (Greek - hyperetes) would have fought, to stop me being handed over to the Judaeans." Many English translations also read "servants." The most straightforward understanding, and the most likely, is that he is talking about his close disciples who were near him in the garden when he was arrested. This isn't the most common word in the New Testament, however, and I don't know if this is behind the question or not, but it does seem strange for Jesus to refer to the disciples as "servants," when elsewhere in John's Gospel he insists on calling them "friends." (see especially John 15) To my mind, there is an interesting possibility here that Jesus is using language Pilate expects him to use, as Pilate is trying to ferret out whether or not Jesus thinks of himself as a King. If you read this dialogue with a certain tone in mind, you can imagine Jesus knowingly using this label to intentionally contrast his Kingdom with the Kingdom Pilate is expecting, thereby increasing the contrast between what most would expect (that he would send "servants" to fight and defend him) and what is actually, deeply true (that they are "friends" who are actually going to offer their very lives in self-giving love, just like their King).
What translation did you use for today?
Ah, an easy question! While I try to read/study 3-4 different English versions each week when I prepare a sermon, the specific translation I've been putting on the screen for this series is known as both the "Kingdom New Testament" or (as it is titled on on BibleGateway.com) the "New Testament for Everyone." This is the translation by New Testament scholar N.T. Wright, and I chose it for this series because of the specific ways it uses "Kingdom" language.
How do reconcile Jesus saying "my kingdom is not of this world" with people (American or otherwise) trying to establish their country as a Christian nation? Is pursuing a Christendom on earth our moral obligation? Or a misreading of Scripture?
OK, this question is a whopper! I'm definitely not going to be able to resolve it here, and in many ways it gets right at the beating heart of all political theology. These are questions that I'm actively working through myself! Allow me to offer just a few reflections and questions in response....
Frequently, the phrase "Christian nation" frequently gets thrown around without specificity, but what does this actually mean? That everyone in the nation would be "required" to identify as Christian? Or just the rulers? And how would any of that be enforced? Through policy? Or through "culture?" These questions are not easy to answer, let alone reconcile with what Jesus says in John 18.
In our current moment, the right wing of American politics is associated most closely with the rhetoric of creating a "Christian Nation," but there have been historical phases in which it was the "progressive" wing that explicitly worked to "Christianize" the country (see especially the early 1900s when the "Social Gospel" was gaining traction, and movements like Prohibition and Child Labor and Prison Reform were all an outgrowth of Christian Progressive politics), so this whole idea is not restricted to our simple binary of "right" or "left." I only say this here to caution against any simplistic reactions that are driven by the limitations of how politics function in our day. The bigger question at hand is if any of this is in violation of what Christ said in John 18.
Personally, I have a hard time drawing a strict or formulaic approach here. On the one hand, the prospect of a nation following Christian ethics more closely, implementing social policies that align with Christian ideas, and supporting a broadly-Christian culture is a good thing! I certainly wouldn't want to stand in the way of that. On the other hand, the path to shape policies and culture on a national level inevitably gets entangled with political power, difficult ethical compromises, and questions of the use of violence and force in the enforcement of said political agendas. The ever-present and inescapable reality of sin, evil and death complicates and frequently derails the attempt to establish any Christian state in our world, and we should never forget that, ultimately, the Kingdom is only fully ushered in by the work of God, and not of man! At the end of the day, I try to come back to the work and calling Jesus has given the church, which can actually be quite simple: to "seek first" the Kingdom of God, to serve others, to love God and love neighbor; and the reminder that we are called to do all of this in the knowledge that we will never fully overthrow sin and evil ourselves, but are waiting for Christ to come again and usher in the new heavens and the new earth. In the meantime, for those who feel called to work in explicitly political channels, the task is to prayerfully discern, in the context of Christian community, how to live out that calling, whether through political office or some other means.
I've barely scratched the surface here! These are the exact kinds of questions I was hoping this sermon series would stir up, and I would love it if we could create some spaces to discern these matters together. Please reach out if more conversation would be helpful to you!
John 18:36 is part of Jesus' response to Pilate, in which he says, "“If my kingdom were from this world, my supporters (Greek - hyperetes) would have fought, to stop me being handed over to the Judaeans." Many English translations also read "servants." The most straightforward understanding, and the most likely, is that he is talking about his close disciples who were near him in the garden when he was arrested. This isn't the most common word in the New Testament, however, and I don't know if this is behind the question or not, but it does seem strange for Jesus to refer to the disciples as "servants," when elsewhere in John's Gospel he insists on calling them "friends." (see especially John 15) To my mind, there is an interesting possibility here that Jesus is using language Pilate expects him to use, as Pilate is trying to ferret out whether or not Jesus thinks of himself as a King. If you read this dialogue with a certain tone in mind, you can imagine Jesus knowingly using this label to intentionally contrast his Kingdom with the Kingdom Pilate is expecting, thereby increasing the contrast between what most would expect (that he would send "servants" to fight and defend him) and what is actually, deeply true (that they are "friends" who are actually going to offer their very lives in self-giving love, just like their King).
What translation did you use for today?
Ah, an easy question! While I try to read/study 3-4 different English versions each week when I prepare a sermon, the specific translation I've been putting on the screen for this series is known as both the "Kingdom New Testament" or (as it is titled on on BibleGateway.com) the "New Testament for Everyone." This is the translation by New Testament scholar N.T. Wright, and I chose it for this series because of the specific ways it uses "Kingdom" language.
How do reconcile Jesus saying "my kingdom is not of this world" with people (American or otherwise) trying to establish their country as a Christian nation? Is pursuing a Christendom on earth our moral obligation? Or a misreading of Scripture?
OK, this question is a whopper! I'm definitely not going to be able to resolve it here, and in many ways it gets right at the beating heart of all political theology. These are questions that I'm actively working through myself! Allow me to offer just a few reflections and questions in response....
Frequently, the phrase "Christian nation" frequently gets thrown around without specificity, but what does this actually mean? That everyone in the nation would be "required" to identify as Christian? Or just the rulers? And how would any of that be enforced? Through policy? Or through "culture?" These questions are not easy to answer, let alone reconcile with what Jesus says in John 18.
In our current moment, the right wing of American politics is associated most closely with the rhetoric of creating a "Christian Nation," but there have been historical phases in which it was the "progressive" wing that explicitly worked to "Christianize" the country (see especially the early 1900s when the "Social Gospel" was gaining traction, and movements like Prohibition and Child Labor and Prison Reform were all an outgrowth of Christian Progressive politics), so this whole idea is not restricted to our simple binary of "right" or "left." I only say this here to caution against any simplistic reactions that are driven by the limitations of how politics function in our day. The bigger question at hand is if any of this is in violation of what Christ said in John 18.
Personally, I have a hard time drawing a strict or formulaic approach here. On the one hand, the prospect of a nation following Christian ethics more closely, implementing social policies that align with Christian ideas, and supporting a broadly-Christian culture is a good thing! I certainly wouldn't want to stand in the way of that. On the other hand, the path to shape policies and culture on a national level inevitably gets entangled with political power, difficult ethical compromises, and questions of the use of violence and force in the enforcement of said political agendas. The ever-present and inescapable reality of sin, evil and death complicates and frequently derails the attempt to establish any Christian state in our world, and we should never forget that, ultimately, the Kingdom is only fully ushered in by the work of God, and not of man! At the end of the day, I try to come back to the work and calling Jesus has given the church, which can actually be quite simple: to "seek first" the Kingdom of God, to serve others, to love God and love neighbor; and the reminder that we are called to do all of this in the knowledge that we will never fully overthrow sin and evil ourselves, but are waiting for Christ to come again and usher in the new heavens and the new earth. In the meantime, for those who feel called to work in explicitly political channels, the task is to prayerfully discern, in the context of Christian community, how to live out that calling, whether through political office or some other means.
I've barely scratched the surface here! These are the exact kinds of questions I was hoping this sermon series would stir up, and I would love it if we could create some spaces to discern these matters together. Please reach out if more conversation would be helpful to you!
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