Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 1 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Christian Citizenship  /  Voting and Politics  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 1
When Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world… if it were… my servants would fight,” what does that reveal about the nature of Jesus’ kingship and the kind of power God intends His people to use—and what kinds of power it excludes?
Another way to ask: When Jesus told Pilate his kingdom is “not of this world” and his servants wouldn’t fight, what does that say about what kind of King he is? What kinds of power does God want his people to use—and what kinds does he rule out?

Direct Answer Jesus is truly a King, but His kingdom is “not of this world,” so His people don’t advance it through coercive force. The transcript presents Christian power as spiritual, kingdom-centered obedience—not fighting, political control, or violence.

Support from Transcript:

  • Jesus tells Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world… If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight.”
  • David says Jesus “didn’t say that he was not a king… he was a king,” but His kingdom has “real laws and real citizens” that the world “doesn’t even recognize.”
  • Jesus teaches that His disciples “are not of the world, just as Jesus was not of the world,” so the citizens match the kingdom’s nature.
  • David summarizes: “Jesus and his apostles stayed out of the affairs of government,” refusing political disputes and nationalist pressure.
  • The implication is that the kingdom doesn’t rely on the state’s typical tools (armies, enforcement), which David later contrasts with Jesus’ teachings like enemy-love and turning the other cheek.
Discussion Follow-ups If Christians reject “fighting” as a kingdom method, what positive kingdom methods replace it in practice (prayer, discipleship, mercy)?

Jumpstarter 1 of 10
Back Questions Next