“So when they met together, they asked Him, ‘Lord, are You at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’” Acts 1:6
Throughout the gospels, we see that the disciples (and indeed, the people of Israel) had a hangup about Jesus establishing an earthly kingdom. There was a great sense of anticipation that Messiah would come and overthrow the Romans (see Luke 19:11). This was what prompted the disciples to quiz Jesus about the kingdom (Matt. 24:3, Mark 13:4), and for the mother of John and James to ask Him to give her two sons prominent positions in His kingdom (Matt. 20:20-23).
Here we see that even after His crucifixion and resurrection, they still didn’t get it. Jesus hadn’t set up His kingdom, instead He was killed. They now understood the need for Messiah to die (Luke 24:45-46). The Old Testament prophesied this – prophecies that the rabbis usually ignored, because they could not reconcile them with the notion of Messiah being a king. But what of the prophecies concerning the kingdom?
Jesus will one day return. He will establish a kingdom on earth, with His throne in Jerusalem (Ezek.40-48, Isa. 66, Dan. 2:44, etc.). But that time is yet to come. In the meantime, Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, in the hearts of those who belong to Him.
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