Christians are exiles, pledged instead to God’s upside-down kingdom
Egypt. Assyria. Babylon. Rome. God hates empires.
Empires favor the rich and powerful over the poor and marginalized. They distort God’s design of mutual beneficence, where the poor are fed and the sick are healed. Empire is steeped in sin, idolatry, and the worship of its own outstretched arm of power.
God hates empire. Ezekiel 29:9-10 (Egypt), Isaiah 10:5-6, 12-13 (Assyria), Jeremiah 51:24-25 (Babylon), Revelation 18:2-3 (Rome, where “Babylon” becomes a symbol for Rome and all empires, even to this present age).
Jesus taught and modeled a counter-imperial message. When he said we are to render unto Caesar, he allowed Caesar a few coins as scant support for the empire, because everything else belongs to God (Matthew 22:21). When he said to pick up our cross, his first audience would not have thought, “He’s going to get crucified.” They would have recognized it as a symbol of imperial power, carried by insurrectionists. Yet Jesus told his followers to take up that cross daily (Luke 9:23) as a rejection of the world and its ways.
He declared before Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Jesus proclaimed an upside-down kingdom: “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them, not so with you.” Instead, in Christ’s kingdom, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-26).
God’s kingdom operates on radically different principles, where the last shall be first (Matthew 20:16), leaders must be servants of all (Mark 10:43-45), the poor in spirit are elevated in the kingdom (Matthew 5:3), we love enemies and pray for persecutors (Matthew 5:44), and power is perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The wisdom of God’s kingdom remains hidden from those puffed up with the wisdom of the age. The blind and deaf of empires trust in their worldly wisdom. They are confident in their declarations that those who exercise strength are on the right side of history, that taking what you want demonstrates power, and that power justifies itself.
But Jesus reveals something different in Matthew 11:25-26:
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”
Christians reject empire. We are in the world, not of it (John 17:14-16). We’re called to the humility of little children, to reject worldly pride and power, to become servants carrying our crosses as we spread the good news:
“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Matthew 11:5).
This is the kingdom. Not empire’s power over others, but God’s power healing and restoring the broken. Not taking what we want, but giving what others need. Not the mighty crushing the weak, but the King becoming servant of all.
Isaiah 12-13
“When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, ’I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;
like a mighty one I subdued their kings.’”
Ezekiel 29:9-10
“Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
“ ’Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I made it,” therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush.”
Jeremiah 51:24-25
“Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.
“I am against you, you destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,”
declares the LORD.
“I will stretch out my hand against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain.”
Revelation 18:2-3
“With a mighty voice he shouted:
“ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit
a haunt for every unclean bird
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Acts 17:6-7
When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus.”
Proverbs 6:16-19
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him,” then lists arrogant eyes, lying tongues, hands that shed innocent blood, and those who stir up conflict.