In but Not Of

 

 

“My kingdom is not of this world”

That’s what Jesus said,

But what did he really mean?

Was it something else instead?

 

He said his servants would fight

If this world were his kingdom,

He could not have meant the cosmos

But the Roman world system.

 

Remember that Pilate had asked

If he was a king

And he made it very clear

Not of this world, no such thing.

 

Pilate finally declared him

To be king of the Jews

But the chief priests rejected this

Implying this was Jesus’ view.

 

Write that’s what he said,

They wanted written on the cross

But Pilate refused their request-

Showing he was still the boss.

 

John 18:36

 

“My kingdom is not of this world”

Keep that in your mind

As we quote Jesus again…

What did he say this time?

 

 

John 17:16

 

“They are not of the world

Even as I am not of the world,”

Jesus is showing his consistency

As both statements concur.

 

Neither he nor his subjects

Are of this world,

If they were when he was not

Then that would be absurd.

 

A king and his domain

Go hand in hand,

It was of a heavenly realm he spoke

In accordance with the divine plan.

 

Not only Pilate had missed this

But also did the Jews,

“We have no king but Caesar,”

Was their expressed view.

 

As long as he is in the world

Jesus is the world’s light

But his kingdom is not of the world

Else his servants would fight.

 

The heavenly parishioner

Is called to be both salt and light

His thinking is not the worldly type

He has heavenly insight.

 

His view is a heavenly city

Not made by human hands,

Just like the holy temple he is,

Not in the Jewish land.

 

 

At present, in the world

But not of the same,

Respecting the civil authorities

But not under their reign.

 

He is a chosen ambassador

With a mission on the earth

But he belongs to another country

Ever since his rebirth.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020

 

Go and Tell that Fox

 

Who said these words,

To whom they were spoken

And whom they actually targeted

Is the focus of this poem.

 

“Go ye and tell that fox”

The words of Jesus Christ

In his response to the Pharisees

Who were not nice.

 

That fox was King Herod

The then King of the Jews,

A vassal king put in place by Rome

And hence, bad news.

 

“Get thee out and depart

For Herod will kill thee,”

The advice that was given to Jesus

By certain Pharisees.

 

Depart hence, they warned,

Meaning away from Jerusalem,

Thus, one King Herod after another

Trying to be a problem.

 

You’d recall the first Herod

When Jesus Christ was born,

The second was no better than he

As these Pharisees warned.

 

 

The Herod at Jesus’ birth

Was King Herod the Great,

He sought the young child’s life

But he became the late.

 

His son, Herod Antipas,

Would certainly have his goal

Though not by his own scheme

The Bible shows…

 

 

 

Not by Herod’s designation

But at God’s appointed time,

Just like all the other prophets

Jesus stood in line.

 

The blood of the prophets

All the way back to Abel,

And Jesus would die at Jerusalem

As the prophets did tell.

 

But it won’t be a feather

In Herod Antipas’ cap,

That honour was the Pharisees’-

Compliment Judas’ pact.

 

You’d recall they paid Judas

To point out Jesus his friend

And that money bought a grave plot

For Judas at his end.

 

 

Go and tell that fox

That he will have to wait,

The Passover Lamb will be on time

Jesus was never late.

 

Go and tell that fox

That he is not in control,

Neither Caesar, nor Pilate nor Herod

Has any such claim or hold.

 

Jesus was in control

And there were yet three days,

Enough time to finish his work

In his predetermined way.

 

 

You’d recall Caiaphas’ words

That one must die for the people,

Jesus in the fulness of time

Completed that puzzle.

 

Jesus, not Barabbas,

“Give us Barabbas!” they cried,

He who came to die for them

They vehemently denied.

 

That Herod was cunning

Could never be in doubt

And Jesus’ referencing him as a fox

Surely bears this out.

 

Go and tell that fox

He is exactly like his dad

Who wanted to worship baby Jesus

But his was just a façade.

 

Like his son after him,

He too wanted to slay Jesus

But such was not in their control

However much they fussed.

 

Go tell that old fox

That Jesus is forever alive

And since Herod Antipas is no more,

He and his dad have died.

 

Satan is like a roaring lion

And as cunning as a fox,

Go tell Satan, that scheming old fox

That good will be our lot.

 

Yes, go tell that old fox,

We have no need to fear,

Death bands have been torn asunder

And Jesus Christ is here.

 

Go and tell that old fox

It is no longer night,

We have seen the risen Saviour,

We have seen the light.

 

Stewart Russell © April 9, 2024

 

The Kingdom

 

 

The kingdom is coming

Nay, already come,

Actually, my brothers and my sisters

We are in the millennium.

 

This is kingdom building

Being done through the Church;

Read the Word for yourself

Before consulting experts.

 

From in Matthew chapter 4

The kingdom of heaven was at hand,

So, said the King, Jesus,

As he unfolded God’s plan.

 

And throughout the book

From Matthew chapters 4 to 14

He tells about the kingdom

He being the King on the scene.

 

 

If my kingdom were of this world

My servants would fight,

The essence of Jesus’ words

As he showed them their plight.

 

Go to St John 18 verse 36

For Jesus’ exact words,

This should not leave any doubt

Why Pilate was so disturbed.

 

Remember, it was the Jews

That had delivered him up

But Jesus framed it differently

Regarding his bitter cup.

 

They saw a political kingdom

Being under Roman yoke

So, this imposter they called Jesus,

Could never get their vote.

 

He was delivered to the Jews

Thus, to be crucified

And though the Romans killed him

It was at Jewish hands he died.

 

The king had come

And so too did his kingdom

And almost immediately after

Began the millennium.

 

It is not a political kingdom

And it never will be,

Political kingdoms are temporal

His is for eternity.

 

From eternity to eternity

That’s the kingdom of God,

And throughout the millennium

This is to be spread abroad.

 

From Jerusalem through Judea

Obviously first to the Jews,

Jesus' servants had to be scattered

To tell the good news.

 

Don’t be misled by a thousand

It only means a lot,

And even so, compared to eternity,

It is not even a drop.

 

I tell you the kingdom is here,

Jesus said it has come

And there is no other king but he,

God’s incarnate Son.

 

It is not the political kingdom

For which the Jews had yearned

But at present, a spiritual kingdom,

From the Bible we learn.

 

We are heirs to the kingdom

Heirs and joint-heirs

And with Christ we sit in the heavenly

Even while we are here.

 

We wait in earnest anticipation

When the fullness will unfold

For at present, ours is a deposit

Of treasures untold.

 

Stewart Russell © May 6, 2021

Already and Not Yet

 

 

For them it was a now

And for them a not yet,

A partial fulfilment you may say

If you contextually vet.

 

A deposit possibly

Of a much bigger picture

Mirrored in their present time

But yet in the future.

 

A glimpse, ah yes!

A nice way of putting it,

But definitely not in its fulness

Yes, a deposit.

 

We have the Holy Spirit

Yes, in his fulness

But there is far more to come

As believers progress.

 

There is a coming to come

That we await by faith

Knowing that our election is sure

And this by God’s grace.

 

First century believers

Looked forward to a coming

Detailed in the New Testament,

Jesus himself prophesying.

 

Three Gospel writers

Tell of this prophetic event

And it was that coming to come

That these writers meant.

 

It was a now and not yet

Something was passing away

And coming upon the Jews

Was a judgment day.

 

 

Matthew, Mark and Luke

Spoke of that day

Though regarding those events,

John had nothing to say.

 

This generation, they said,

Was the context clue,

Not meaning our generation

As some today view.

 

A coming in the clouds

As Jesus had said

Surely not the consummation

But a judgment instead.

 

He had come to his own

And they had not received him

For just like their ancestors,

Unbelief was their sin.

 

They used their foremost foe

To crucified the Christ

But while they used Roman law

It was really their vice.

 

 

They forced Pilate’s hand

As they sided with Caesar

Whereupon their eventual success

Brought them pleasure.

 

And they that pierced him

Could very well be the Jews,

Riding on Roman jurisprudence

Is one of the views.

 

We have no king but Caesar

This imposter we reject,

His blood be on us and our children;

Their resolve was set.

 

There be some standing here

Hear Jesus’ words!

That coming was back then

Not to us deferred.

 

A then and not yet!

Not the consummation of all,

It was judgment upon the Jews

For rejecting their call.

 

 

But to as many as receive

The glorious Gospel news,

To them, the called-out church,

Whom the Father did choose.

 

The passing of one covenant:

The old and obsolete,

And the ushering of the new:

Eternal and complete.

 

Not a replacement covenant

But the unfolding of a plan

Put in place by the eternal Godhead

For the redemption of man.

 

The heavenly Jerusalem

Which John saw coming down

Is likely the kingdom/church

Which is currently around.

 

For we are going to a city

Not built with human hands

And the temple which we are

Are a part of God’s plan.

 

No need for a third temple

That will deteriorate,

Jesus is the fulfilment of all this

In its eternal state.

 

A now and a not yet

Until the fulfilment of time,

Meanwhile we walk by faith

With Jesus on our mind.

 

 

Now and not yet

As redemption’s plan unfolds

Giving time to all the repentant

To come into the fold.

 

For all that belong to Jesus

Will come to him,

This is regarding the Father’s promise

And deliverance from sin.

 

Stewart Russell © November 20, 2023

 

Father Forgive Them

 

 

“Father, forgive them

For they know not what they do.”

These words were spoken by Jesus

And the ‘them’ were the Jews.

 

He had come to his own

And his own had not received him,

Blinded by their self-righteousness

To them Jesus was the sin.

 

In co with Beelzebub

Was how they saw his works

And throughout his earthly ministry

They treated him like dirt.

 

Herod attempted to kill him

Two years after his birth

And the Jews wanted to stone him,

The Lord of all the earth.

 

They plotted against him

Morning, noon and night

And would not rest, they had decided,

Until he was out of their sight.

 

And when they ran out of ideas

They turned to one of his own,

Judas Iscariot, you would recall

Was right in their zone.

 

A fence-straddler, I’d call him,

Committed only to himself

And scheming so that one day soon

He’d come into wealth.

 

 

You’d recall he carried the bag

And with it he was obsessed

And once, when Jesus was anointed,

He was not impressed.

 

 

He suddenly felt for the poor

And pretended that he cared

But Jesus rebuked him indicating

The poor is always here.

 

Well, for thirty pieces of silver

Jesus Christ was betrayed

But as far as the proceedings went

It did not go all Judas’ way.

 

Jesus was captured

But he did not try to escape

So that Judas’ plan went horribly wrong

After he had taken the bait.

 

We know how that concluded

Regarding the infamous Judas

Who ended up in the potter’s field

On account of his lust.

 

A miscarriage of justice followed

Encouraged by the Jews,

Their leaders wanted Christ crucified,

To them he was bad news.

 

They eventually got their wish

Much against Pilate’s reasoned mind,

Both Pilate and his wife felt

Jesus was not that kind.

 

She said he was innocent

And he said in him was no fault

But in those exacting circumstances

The crucifixion he could not halt.

 

 

He made one final offer:

A criminal named Barabbas

But the people called for the criminal

And crucified Jesus.

 

Crucify him, crucify him, they said,

His blood be on us and our children,

We have no king but Caesar,

To them Jesus was the problem.

 

Like the harlot, Jerusalem was,

She rode on the beast called Rome

Ignorant of the fact that very soon

Jerusalem would not be home.

 

Jesus was aware of her demise

Which he prophesied in Matthew 24,

John in the Revelation confirmed it!

It was even at the door.

 

 

Hence, “Father forgive them,

For they know not what they do.”

For while it was on a Roman cross,

The real culprits were the Jews.

 

Their house was left desolate,

Their blood flowed in the streets,

The temple and Jerusalem were laid waste

And for them the times were bleak.

 

The tribulation was Jacob’s trials

Rachel had wept for her children,

As Jesus had meticulously prophesied

It all happened in Jerusalem.

 

First the Jews were ignorant

Because they knew not redemption’s plan,

Secondly, they were ignorant

Because they knew not the God-man.

 

Thirdly they were ignorant

Because they knew not the future,

The future that was about to unfold

Presenting a horrid picture.

 

 

“Father forgive them

For they know what they do.”

Thus, Jesus ever intercedes in heaven

For his children: me and you.

 

Stewart Russell © April 6, 2023

 

Truth on the Chopping Block

 

 

The lawyer for the opposition

Approached the dock,

The one that sat there

He clearly intended to mock.

 

“State your name for the jury,”

He said with great disdain,

“And if it’s the truth you are speaking

Do kindly refrain.”

 

The judge on the bench

Laughed the loudest of all

To which the defendant shook his head

And then said with a drawl…

 

“I am Truth,” he said,

To the annoyance of the court.

“It appears you are a clown,”

Was the judge’s retort.

 

“I can hold you in contempt,”

He smugly replied.

“That I am the power in my court

Cannot be denied.

 

So, just state your name,

I don’t care what you do,

Or you won’t even know who you are

When all this is through.”

 

“Tell us your name,”

The opposing attorney said again,

To which the defendant replied,

Clearly under no strain…

 

“I am Truth,”

The defendant said once more,

“I am my name,

No need to get sore.

 

There was a time

When truth was recognized

But since you changed your laws

Truth has been denied.

 

You are not the first,

That Roman Governor was before:

Pilate was his name,

Need I say more?

 

 

Then Truth was crucified,

Ignorance reign supreme

And today the only difference is,

It is greater esteemed.”

 

“I am in charge here!”

Screamed the irritated judge,

“You will answer to what’s asked,

And don’t you dare budge!

 

“Continue, my colleague,”

He said to the opposing attorney,

“And do what you can, my friend

To shorten this journey.”

 

“Thank you, your honour,

I will see what I can do

To bring this matter to a finish

And give Truth his due.”

 

With this there was a snigger

All across the courtroom,

Whatever his name was

Would soon be doomed.

 

 

In the court of public opinion

Stood the defender of truth!

He himself was his only defense

He himself was his proof!

 

In a courtroom of lies

And full of dumb falsity

The truth is being relegated

To one of the many.

 

There is no absolute truth,

Just your truth and mine

And pretty soon, I would imagine,

Real truth would be unkind.

 

In fact, it already is

According to the law courts

And what used to be considered funny

Is no longer sport.

 

Truth has been sacrificed

On the altar of public opinion

And all of its staunch supporters

Are considered of the rebellion.

 

 

The battleground is defined:

It is the human mind

And from the garden of Eden

It was all that time.

 

Truth versus all else

That is, all except the truth,

And no exception to that rule

Even if there is proof.

 

A minority ruling

With the majority displaced

And the majority becoming the minority-

Oh, what a disgrace!

 

The new truth has come

That can be molded to everyone!

Live out the truth you feel

Now the old truth has gone!

 

Gender via genitals!

That is no longer the score!

Who says there are only two genders

When there are infinitely more?

 

It doesn’t have to be natural

Or even feel-so

As long as it is what I want

I can have a go.

 

And if at any time afterwards

I want to change back,

I am free to pull on my lever

And simply change track.

 

  

I can be male or a female

Whenever I feel

And this should be my right

Given my sex appeal.

 

Let the children decide too

But let the parents beware

What their penalty would be

If they dare interfere.

 

And if I feel like howling

Let me be a wolf

Or if bloodsucking be my craze

I can be a louse.

 

With this before us

Let us return to the courtroom

Where even though it is daytime

There is impending doom.

 

Impending doom because

Truth is on trial

And judge, jury and attorneys

Are in stark denial.

“So, your name is truth

And you are truth?

And all of us here are to believe

That you are the only proof?”

 

“Search your heart

If in deed you still have one

And you will surely discover

How you were born.

 

There is a woman and a man

That must have procreated

Or an egg and sperm

From which you migrated.

 

That is the truth

Of how you came to be

And I dare say even in your distorted mind

That truth you can see.

 

To abandon the truth

Is to jettison human life

Which requires a male and female;

More ideally, a man and his wife.

 

From this moment on

I will let you have your say,

In any case you will mute the truth

Beginning from today.

 

For truth is the light

That exposes all evil deeds

And no doubt you won’t want that

Given your vices and greed.”

 

The last words of Truth

And thereafter nary a word,

It was now up to judge and jury

Given all they had heard.

 

The verdict was swift

As is so often these days

Particularly when dealing with matters

Over which Truth holds sway.

 

The attorney closed his case

And then the judge summed up,

The jury retired thereafter

To determine Truth’s cup.

 

In less than five minutes

They were back in the courtroom

Unanimously agreeing

On what was to be Truth’s doom.

 

“What is your verdict?”

Ask the judge of the foreman

And at the foreman’s response

Only one was solemn.

 

“Guilty as charged,”

Came the jury foreman’s reply

As Truth wiped a saline liquid

Away from his eye.

  

This was the poisoned venom

Of the serpent’s kiss,

Truth was now condemned

To both legend and myth.

 

All that was needed now

Was for the sentenced to be read

And no doubt for these legal luminaries

Truth will be soon dead.

 

And so, the judge announced

To rapturous applause

“No more truth in our courtroom

And no more God!

 

From here it is gladiatorial war

And the best man wins,

Now there is no absolute truth

To judge immorality and sin.

 

You can now live as you like

But you must win every fight

And bear in mind my comrades,

That means might is your right.

 

 

Also remember the maxim,

“Be careful what you wish for”

For this day you have got it;

It is now all out war!

 

Truth on the chopping block

Means life denigrated,

If I live for only me,

You are not appreciated.

 

Stewart Russell © November 5, 2022