> Your servant in Him, Neal

The quote, "My kingdom is not of this world" is from John 18:36 and is an
unfortunate translation, though the context is sufficient to correct a
misinterpretation. In fact, at the end of the verse (in Greek) John uses
a word that means "from here" or "from this".

A better translation is, "My kingdom is not _from_ this world."

Jesus is answering Pilate's question of whether Jesus is the king of the
Jews. After Pilate asks the question, there is a brief exchange where
Jesus asks the rather searching question to Pilate of whether Pilate
really wants to know, or is he fishing for some supposed fault (this
actually makes sense since insurrection--that is, claiming kingship--was
a crucifiable offense). Pilate responds by denying that he has any
personal interest in Jewish things.

So, Jesus responds to the question, rather cleverly, that His kingdom
does not have its roots in this world, that is, that it comes from
somewhere else. This puts Pilate in a somewhat awkward position since
Jesus is at one and the same time claiming kingship, but denying
insurrectionist action. Pilate, still wishing to press an advantage,
responds, "Aha! You are a king then!" Jesus answers, "Yes, I am. I was
born a king and was born to testify to integrity.[1]" Jesus is saying
that He is a king, but that this is not about an insurrection. It is
about integrity. It's about living the truth. And He then sends a rather
unveiled jab right at Pilate by saying, "Everyone on the side of
integrity listens to me." If Pilate was going to have Jesus crucified,
Jesus was making it very clear that Pilate would have to do so on not
only insufficient grounds, but, in fact, on no grounds whatsoever. If
Pilate was a man of integrity, he would have to release Jesus.

Pilate retorts, "What is integrity?" as if to say that integrity really
doesn't have anything to do with this. Pilate thinks he has got a brewing
riot on his hands and wants to find some way of NOT giving into the
rioters (and thus fueling a future problem) and yet somehow find a way to
turn the riot off. Pilate doesn't want to be "confused" by integrity and
wishes to remain purely pragmatic. He is between a rock and a hard place.
So, to test the waters in one direction, he walks out of the room and
claims to the crowd that he finds no fault in Jesus. This doesn't go over
very well.

That is part of the context, anyway. The point is Jesus is NOT claiming
that his kingdom is to NOT have a dramatic affect on this planet. In
fact, to Pilate's direct question of whether Jesus is a king, Jesus says,
"Yes." But, He is a king which bases His kingship on integrity and not on
political or military power. That's the issue, not WHERE the kingdom
exists.

Now I ask you, should not Jesus integrity have impact on this world? When
He is weighed in the scales of purity, is He not found worthy of all
praise, whether that praise be from the lips of his followers or from the
activity of governments which evidence their acknowledgment that His ways
are the right and best ways?

The bottom line to my mind, is we are to be salt and light. And to the
extent that that salt and light changes society, then He is glorified as
king, now and forevermore. There is A LOT more to being a Christian than
being a good person and getting others to say a sinner's prayer. It is
about bringing about transformed lives, changing the way businesses do
business and governments do government. It's about bringing everything
into a relationship with Jesus Christ and under His lordship.

Ultimately, salvation begins here and now and never ends there and then.

[1] The Greek word here can be translated as "truth" or "integrity". The
issue is that to the modern Western mind, "truth" is something that can
be written down in a book, or lectured on in a classroom. However, to the
Greek, "truth" was something a person lived. It was both in the mind AND
in practice. Thus, sometimes it should be translated "integrity". Both
concepts are actually there.