John 18:36Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But if His authority is higher, how was He taken by the latter? He gave Himself up voluntarily. Yet for the moment He does not reveal this.

What does He say instead? If I were of this world, "My servants would fight for Me, that I should not be delivered to the Jews."

By this He shows the weakness of the earthly kingdom, since it receives its strength from servants. The Kingdom above is strong in itself and has need of no one.

Heretics find in these words a pretext for asserting that Christ is distinct from the Creator. But how then is it said of Him, "He came to His own" (Jn 1:11)?

And what, on the other hand, do His words mean: "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (Jn 17:16)?

He speaks of the Kingdom in the same sense, saying that it is not of the world. By this He does not take away from Himself authority over the world and providence for it.

Rather, He shows, as I have already said, that His Kingdom is not human and passing.

What, then, does Christ answer? "You say so." He confesses Himself to be a King, but a heavenly King.

So He also said more clearly elsewhere, when He answered Pilate: "My Kingdom is not of this world." He said this so that neither the Jews nor Pilate would have any excuse.

They had accused Him because He declared Himself a King. He brings forward an irrefutable reason for this, saying, "If My Kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight for Me, that I should not be delivered."

Therefore, to turn aside such suspicion from Himself, He both paid the tribute Himself and commanded others to pay it. When they wished to make Him king, He withdrew.

Why then, you will say, did He not make this clear when they accused Him of designs of ambition? Because they had countless proofs in His deeds of His power, meekness, and humility.

Yet they blinded themselves, plotted evil, and held an unlawful trial. Therefore He answers nothing, but remains silent.

In order that continual silence might not bring upon Him the reproach of pride, He answers briefly. He does this, for example, when the high priest adjures Him and when the hegemon questions Him.

But to their slanders He answered nothing, since He did not intend to persuade them. The prophet foretold this when he said, "In His humiliation His judgment was taken away" (Is 53:8).

The hegemon marveled at this. And indeed it was necessary to marvel, seeing such meekness and silence in One who could have said very much.

They accused Him not because they recognized anything evil in Him, but from envy and hatred alone. Indeed, when the false witnesses they presented could not find anything to say, why did they still persist?

Why, when they saw how Judas perished and Pilate washed his hands, were they not crushed in heart? Even then He did many things to bring them to repentance, but they did not become better.

What then does Pilate say? "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" (Mt 27:13).

For, they say, the Son of God says, "My Kingdom is not from here."

But, O senseless ones, first consider this saying. He said, "My Kingdom is not of this world," and again, "not from here."

He did not say, "It is not in this world," and "it is not here." He reigns in this world, provides for it, and governs all things according to His will.

But His Kingdom is "not of this world." It is from above, before the ages, and "not from here," that is, it is not constituted from the earth.

Though it has power here and abides here, it is not from here. It is not composed of things below and does not fall.

Besides, how would one understand the words, "He came to His own" (Jn 1:11), if this world were not His own?

It rules over heaven and earth, and over still higher worlds. What, then, is the proof of this, and what removes the suspicion?

It is that He in no way uses any guards or defenders, and has absolutely no one wishing to fight for Him.

They do not fight to keep Him from losing a kingdom. They do not even fight so that He might escape the danger threatening Him.

This danger was being brought upon Him both by the Jews and by the one who ruled over the Jews, that is, Caesar.

When the accusation on this point was destroyed by so clear a proof, Pilate's boldness against Christ is already shown to have no cause.

No one compelled him, and no reason drew him, to deliver his own soul to destruction in order to please the Jews and share with them the guilt of killing Christ.

However, by saying that His Kingdom is beyond the world, Christ not only removes Pilate's fear and suspicion of rebellion.

He also moves him to think something great about Him, and through this defense of Himself He as it were lays the beginning of instruction concerning Himself.

Let us then awaken Christ (cf. Mk 4:35-41) and ask Him. Let Him Himself answer. Let us search the Scripture (cf. Jn 5:39), and we shall see that the Kingdom of the Lord is not of this world. He Himself said, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18:36). By these words He showed that His Kingdom is above the world. Therefore His Kingdom both was and was not. It was not in this age, but it was above this age. Thus there was another Kingdom of the true David. Christ alone received this Kingdom. There was also another seed of David, which abides forever, in which Christ alone was born, the only true Son of David. He alone inherited the name of David, according to what is written: “I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed Him” (Ps 88:21). What was said before shows that this is spoken not of the prophet David, but of the Lord. For it is written: “I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people” (Ps 88:20). The only Mighty One and the only Chosen One is Christ. The seed of the righteous is more in faith than in birth according to the flesh. Therefore the Apostle says, “Those who believe are sons of Abraham” (Gal 3:7).

It was the claim to this Kingdom that formed the subject of the accusation. The words seem to acknowledge that a kingdom of this world would be a legitimate object of prosecution by Caesar's governor.

At the same time, they deny that the Kingdom of Jesus can be imputed to Him as guilt. The most important explanation of these words is the well-known scene concerning the payment of tribute.

When Jesus was asked, as a Jewish zealot of the fatherland and a prophet, whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar or not, He answered, "Show Me a denarius."

Having asked the deeply significant question about the image and inscription stamped upon it, He concluded His reasoning with the words, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Lk 20:22-25).

This circumstance, in connection with the whole present history, assures us that an attack on Roman authority formed no part of His Kingdom's plan. Nor does it belong to the plan of Christianity.

Yet this decisive saying spoken to Pilate, like His earlier decision concerning tribute to Caesar, showed one thing. A conflict was not essentially inevitable between the Kingdom Jesus was preparing to acknowledge as His own and the great kingdom of this world.

The latter kingdom was now represented by His judge. In reality, however, such a conflict could very probably occur.

These words would have no meaning unless we recognize that they establish a separation of spheres. Each authority can limit itself, and by so limiting itself avoid mutual conflict.

Christ positively describes only one of the two kingdoms. This kingdom is defined generally as a kingdom of this world.

Such a definition is explained by the indication that in every such kingdom the ruler can defend himself by the armed force of his subjects.

The other Kingdom is defined only by denying these marks of it. As the consequences show, these words of Christ made an impression on Pilate.

They may have convinced him that the Accused was innocent of any conspiracy against Rome. And nevertheless Jesus spoke of a Kingdom, a Kingdom in this world, though not of this world.

In the saying "My Kingdom is not of this world," the word used for "world" is kosmos, not aion.

His words of renunciation of an earthly kingdom were, in essence, more royal than all royal utterances this Roman had ever heard. With the true tact of a judge, the governor next touches the very point that had to be brought from negative obscurity into clear affirmation.

Christ answered that if the question was political, then Pilate should know that His Kingdom is not of this world. "If My Kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight for Me, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.

But now My Kingdom is not from here." The procurator was perplexed as to what all this meant. He felt an involuntary confusion before this mysterious declaration of the strange Prisoner.

All defenders of My political royal rights would contend for Me, wage battle for Me, and defend Me, so that I should not fall under the judgment of the Sanhedrin. But none of this happened. No one fought for Me. Those numerous crowds of people, who a few days before had met Me as king and called Me king, I did not wish to use. I would not use them to proclaim Myself king of Israel. Nor would I use them to defend Myself from the measures taken against Me by the Sanhedrin. From this it is clear that My Kingdom is not political and not worldly. The Roman, of course, could not understand what this Kingdom not of this world was. This concept was not yet contained even in the Lord’s chosen disciples (Acts 1:6). Yet he ought to have understood that this Kingdom was truly not political. The Lord was not a political pretender, nor a rebel against the Roman Caesar. In that case, however, the very words “king” and “kingdom” seemed strange to Pilate on the lips of the Accused.