Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others
tell you about me?"
"Am I a Jew?" Pilate retorted. "Your own
people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have
you done?"
Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom.
If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the
Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."
John 18:33-36 NLT
Did Pilate have to be a Jew to follow Jesus—for Jesus to be his King? No.
Not then…and for us…not now. We don’t have to be Jewish to believe in Jesus as
our King. As our spiritual leader He came to the whole world. True. He came to
the Jews first. When a Gentile (Canaanite) woman asked Him to heal her
daughter, He said… I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Matthew 15:24. Read that account in
Matthew 15:22-28. It was a spiritual thing involving demon possession. With
compassion, Jesus healed that lady’s daughter. When the Jews rejected Him, He
expanded His ministry to the Gentiles, too. That’s us—or at least me. I’m not
Jewish—though I feel strong bonds with the Jewish people. Maybe because Jesus
is Jewish…and He is my Lord. His Kingdom is beyond this earthly world.
RSVP: Jesus is challenging you today to
choose to which kingdom you belong. Is it an earthly kingdom or His spiritual
kingdom? How will you respond to Him today?
Prayer ~ Jesus…as You taught Your
disciples, I also pray...Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your
kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For
Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13.
I choose to belong to Your spiritual kingdom.
©
2014 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise
noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment