When Kingdoms Collide | The Last Kingdom – Week 8
Every system promises something.
Meaning.
Safety.
A way forward.
Politics promises order.
Religion promises righteousness.
Culture promises identity and freedom.
And each one quietly asks for your trust.
But when Jesus stepped into the world,
He didn’t fit into any of them.
He didn’t align with political power.
He didn’t conform to religious expectations.
He didn’t meet cultural assumptions.
He brought a kingdom that disrupted all of it.
And when kingdoms collide…
They don’t peacefully coexist.
They expose each other.
In John 18, Jesus stands before Pilate—a representative of political power.
Pilate has authority.
Control.
The ability to decide life or death.
And yet, standing in front of him is a different kind of King.
Not armed.
Not defensive.
Not trying to win.
Just telling the truth.
“My kingdom is not of this world.”
Two kingdoms.
Two definitions of power.
Two completely different visions of reality.
And neither one can absorb the other.
Then in Matthew 27, the collision becomes visible.
Soldiers mock Him.
Dress Him like a king.
Crown Him with thorns.
They think it’s a joke.
Because in their world, power looks like dominance.
But in Jesus’ kingdom…
Power looks like surrender.
To them, He looks weak.
To heaven, He is revealing the strength of God.
That’s why Paul later writes in 1 Corinthians 1:
“The message of the cross is foolishness…
but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.”
Because the cross doesn’t just save—
It exposes.
It exposes what we actually believe about power.
About success.
About truth.
About God.
Religious leaders saw a threat.
Political leaders saw a problem.
Crowds saw disappointment.
No one saw a King.
Because Jesus didn’t meet their expectations.
They wanted control.
He brought surrender.
They wanted victory.
He embraced sacrifice.
They wanted a kingdom that would fit into their world—
But Jesus brought one that would confront it.
And that collision led to the cross.
Not as an accident…
But as the inevitable result of competing kingdoms.
Isaiah 53 says He was “despised and rejected.”
Not because He failed—
But because He refused to become what people wanted.
And that same tension still exists today.
Because we all trust in systems.
Things we look to for security.
For identity.
For control.
And as long as Jesus stays distant,
He can feel inspiring.
But when His kingdom gets close—
When it begins to confront the way we think, live, and trust—
It creates tension.
Because His way doesn’t just comfort us.
It challenges us.
It forces a question:
Which kingdom am I actually living in?
Because when God’s kingdom confronts the world’s…
something has to give.
And often, what’s exposed isn’t just the world around us—
It’s the loyalties within us.
Where we place our trust.
Where we look for meaning.
What we ultimately follow.
So this week in The Last Kingdom, we sit in that tension.
Not rushing past it.
Not softening it.
But letting it ask something honest of us:
Where do my loyalties collide with Jesus’ kingdom?
Because the cross didn’t just happen back then—
It reveals a choice we’re still making now.
Discussion Questions:
Where do you see the strongest collision between Jesus’ kingdom and the kingdoms people trust most today - politics, control, success, comfort, or image?
In what situations are you must tempted to justify a wrong response or a decision in the moment? What does that reveal about what you are protecting?
If the cross exposes false power and false wisdom, what would it look like for you this week to live under Jesus’ Kingship instead of your own?