What have you done?”

18:36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 18:37 Then Pilate said, “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 18:38 Pilate asked, “What is truth?”

What have you done?”

18:36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

So Pilate asks Jesus what He had done. What did Jesus do to make the high priest and other religious leaders capture Him late and night and bring Him to Pilate to try to get Him executed? Obviously something serious must be going on. Jesus responds that His kingdom isn't from this world. His kingdom isn't an earthly one. It has another source. If Jesus' kingdom was there in Israel at that time, then His armies would be fighting to get Him freed. But since His kingdom has a heavenly origin, the Romans have no fear of rebellion from Jesus.

18:37 Then Pilate said, “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Pilate then acknowledges that Jesus just said He is a king. Jesus' mission on earth was to testify the truth. He is a king sent from another realm to tell the people the truth. It is those people that listen that belong to Jesus' kingdom.

18:38 Pilate asked, “What is truth?”

Pilate asks with a question that nobody has successfully interpreted with definiteness. Is Pilate asking Jesus a sarcastic question? Is he truly pondering the nature of truth? Is he considering what truth Jesus brings? We don't really know.

So Jesus' kingdom is based on those that belong to Him, which are people that listen to Jesus' voice. In Greek the word doesn't just mean to hear a voice, but also includes the concept of obeying. It's similar to someone telling you to listen to your mother. They don't want you to just hear her voice, but rather to hear it and then follow. The religious leaders present at the scene were in the category of people that merely heard God's word but never really followed it. They knew all the verses and commands and laws. They all knew what God wanted with their lives. The only problem is that they didn't listen. They relied on their earthly citizenship (Israelite) to take on that role.

There have been many earthly kingdoms and nations that tried to proclaim themselves God's kingdom on earth, but none have ever gotten close, America included. Jesus' kingdom is based solely on listening and obeying Jesus' words. There are no earthly, physical, territorial boundaries. There are no racial or ethnic restrictions. Likewise being somewhere or being of a certain heritage does not guarantee anything, either. Going to church does not make someone a citizen of Jesus' kingdom. The only people that belong to Jesus' kingdom are those that hear His voice and obey.