# 112 And That's the Truth

 Joh 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

 

One of the biggest obstacles Jesus faced while he visited this earth was convincing His followers that He was not going to rule the Israelites like Moses or David did. He was not going to overthrow Rome as Moses overthrew Egypt. He was not going to defeat the Roman enemy as David defeated the Philistines and others.

 

Jesus told Pilate when asked if He were “King of the Jews,” “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but My kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36)

 

Pilate repeated the question, “Are You a King then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a King, for this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

 

The kingdom of Jesus  is the kingdom of truth. It’s a spiritual kingdom. It’s not something you can force upon another, it’s a matter of the heart. Jesus does not conquer with physical force, He conquers with the spirit of truth, aka, the Holy Spirit.

 

Even as HE was departing this earth, His own disciples did not understand this principle. Jesus told them, “You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” They asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (They were still thinking in terms of a kingdom conquered and ruled by physical force.)

 

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” In other words, “do not concern yourself with a physically conquered kingdom, rather, when you receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of the kingdom of God, be witnesses to Me to the end of the earth.

 

And that takes us back to the statement Jesus made to Pilate.  Everyone who is of the truth, (everyone meant to be a part of the kingdom) will hear the voice of Jesus in the proclamation of truth and will by spiritually conquered. A spiritually conquered person is also a physically conquered person inasmuch as he now allows Jesus and His Word of truth to rule in his heart and in his life.

 

This then is the conquering truth that is to be proclaimed. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! God so loved the sinful world, He so loved you and I, that He gave His only begotten Son. That whoever believes in Him should not perish because of their sins, but have everlasting life…….and that’s the