Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Having the understanding of the coming Kingdom is central to this entire topic I believe. If you see what is coming, you know justice will be served, vengeance will be taken, and evil will be destroyed. In the meantime, allowing God to judge is a foundational aspect of our movement. Here Jesus compares the kingdoms of this age and the one of the age to come. They are in direct opposition of one another.
In this current evil age, the people of the age to come do not fight. They do not exert power and authority over others – they instead take the position of servants and act with compassion and love. For those who share this coming Kingdom identity with Jesus, they do not act like the nations around them nor follow their methods for dealing with conflict.
When one looks of this verse, they must ask, are you a member of the kingdoms of this age or of the age to come. Depending on your answer, you either fight or love.
Love Your Enemies 
Did you get this idea from the intro to J D Crossan’s God & Empire?
By: Sean on June 2, 2007
at 10:11 pm
No, not yet at least, I put it down a while back and haven’t picked it up to finish it ;-).
I got the idea from the verse;-)
By: Victor on June 19, 2007
at 9:40 am