Every once in a while, I get the chance to do some public speaking. And when I do, I’ve noticed something about how we all listen—including myself. There are two common mistakes we make: over-hearing and under-hearing.
Over-hearing happens when we hear things someone isn’t actually saying.
We read into their words, importing our own meanings. Often, this happens because we’re triggered by something in the message. We get worked up and project meaning onto words that were never spoken. I’ve had people come up to me after a talk upset about something I never said. In such instances, they heard more than I actually said.
Under-hearing happens when we miss the full weight of what someone is saying.
Instead of being stretched, we shrink their words down so they fit neatly into what we already believe. Instead of letting the full force of a message confront us, we soften it and assume agreement where there might actually be tension.
So here’s my invitation: as you read this, try not to over-hear or under-hear. Take Jesus’ words seriously—“whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Learning to listen rightly is our responsibility.
Learning to listen rightly is our responsibility.
Why This Matters
We’re about to step into territory that tends to trigger people: politics. I didn’t set out to do this, but as I worked through the biblical idea that God’s kingdom looks like Jesus, I realized that it couldn’t be avoided.
Why is this so triggering? Because for many of us, our political identities have become idols. As Travis Bradberry observes: “People’s political beliefs are too closely tied to their identities to be discussed without incident. Disagreeing with someone’s views is more likely to get you judged than to change their minds.”
In other words, we’ve allowed political affiliation—Republican or Democrat—to rival or even replace our identity as followers of Jesus. That’s dangerous. Not only does this prevent us from being unified around the person of Jesus, but it keeps us from hearing Jesus rightly.
So here’s my encouragement: take a breath, untangle your identity from your politics, and remember—your primary identity is in Christ. With humility and curiosity, let’s explore what the Bible says about God’s kingdom.
What Do We Mean by “God’s Kingdom”?
The most common definition is that God’s kingdom refers to the in-breaking reign of God on earth as it is in heaven. One of my professors memorably called it “The King’s Dome: The Dome in which God is King.
In Hebrew, the phrase is Malkuth Shamayim—literally, “the kingdom of heaven.” It was central to Jewish faith, rooted in the conviction that God alone had the right to rule. This conviction meant rejecting all other gods and all forms of human domination. Israel wasn’t even supposed to have a human king because God was their King.
This was both religious and political. Religiously, it meant absolute loyalty to God. Politically, it meant refusing allegiance to anyone else. Throughout Israel’s history, this conviction fueled resistance to oppressive empires. Faithfulness to God meant rejecting the false claims of human rulers.
So when Jesus shows up announcing, “The kingdom of God is at hand,” he wasn’t just making a spiritual claim. He was making a radically political one. His proclamation meant that Caesar wasn’t king—he was. That’s why his followers called him “Lord,” a title reserved for Caesar. And that’s why he was crucified. Jesus was not executed for simply teaching spiritual principles, but for declaring himself King.
The Kingdom in Action
When Jesus declared, “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news,” he was laying down the centerpiece of his ministry. If you could summarize all of Jesus’ preaching in one statement, this would be it—the kingdom of God.
Luke 4 shows us the substance of that kingdom: the sick are healed, the poor are fed, and captives are set free. This is the blueprint. Jesus announces it, then embodies it—through his teaching, his miracles, and his way of life. Every act of healing, every meal shared, every confrontation with evil powers was a living picture of God’s reign breaking into the world.
What Jesus did reveals what God’s kingdom is like. So what did Jesus do?
- He healed the sick, restoring the vulnerable who had been excluded.
- He fed the hungry, critiquing economic systems that kept people in poverty.
- He liberated the oppressed, demonstrating God’s power over evil.
- He welcomed outcasts, confronting social hierarchies and honor-shame dynamics.
- He challenged religious leaders who abused power.
And notice that all of these in Jesus’ day were deeply political actions. Why? Because they disrupted the social order, exposed injustice, and revealed a new way of being human under God’s reign.
Consider the feeding of the 5,000. This wasn't just a miracle demonstrating God's abundance provision — it was a critique of the economic exploitation that created food scarcity in the first place. In a Roman Empire where the elite 5% hoarded wealth while the remaining 95% struggled to survive, Jesus' act of feeding the hungry multitudes revealed an alternative kingdom economy based on sharing rather than hoarding.
When Jesus associated with those at the bottom of society—"sinners," tax collectors, prostitutes—he was disrupting the honor-shame system that kept people segregated by social class. When he forgave sins, healed on the Sabbath, or challenged religious leaders, he was dismantling systems of power that oppressed people in God's name.
Jesus didn't just talk about a different way of living; he demonstrated it through his actions. Actions that were inherently political.
A Kingdom Without Borders
After Jesus’ resurrection, his disciples carried this mission forward. In Acts, we see them healing the marginalized, sharing resources, crossing ethnic boundaries, and boldly declaring that Jesus—not Caesar—is Lord. Their message turned the world upside down.
At first, the disciples thought God’s kingdom would center on Israel as a nation. But they soon realized it was far bigger: a kingdom that included every tribe, tongue, and nation. A kingdom without borders, centered not on one nation but on King Jesus.
That means our ultimate citizenship isn’t American, or Israeli, or any other nationality.
Paul calls us ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20)—representatives of a kingdom not of this world. The church isn’t meant to be the religious wing of any political party. As Brian Zahnd says, “The church is an embassy of the kingdom of Christ—a kingdom that is not from this world.”
The Kingdom Is Political—but Not Partisan
Jesus was political, but he wasn’t Republican or Democrat, red or blue—or even purple. He can’t be pigeonholed by our modern categories, or those that existed in his day. Sometimes he aligned with one side, sometimes he confronted both. But he was never captive to the ideologies of his day.
When the religious leaders wanted to stone a woman caught in adultery, Jesus didn’t sit in the middle and say, “Well, I see both sides.” He sided with the vulnerable and exposed hypocrisy. He took sides—always on the side of the kingdom of God.
Here’s the challenge: too often we start with American politics and try to fit Jesus into it. We baptize our partisan convictions with Jesus-language. But that’s backwards. We must start with Jesus, in his context, and then discern our politics in light of him.
Letting Jesus Shape Our Politics
The danger is real: if we consume more Fox News or CNN—or more social media—than we consume Jesus’ teachings, our politics will shape Jesus rather than Jesus shaping our politics. We’ll end up over-hearing or under-hearing him, filtering his radical message through partisan lenses.
Consider the issue of caring for the poor. In Scripture, this is central to God’s kingdom. But when I preached on James’ command not to show favoritism to the rich, some people accused me of “going woke.” Why? Because in American politics, caring for the poor is often associated with the left. But in the Bible, it’s associated with Jesus. Our politics distorted our ability to hear him correctly.
Seeking First the Kingdom
Too often, evangelicals have reduced God’s kingdom to life after death. But in the New Testament, the kingdom is here and now. It’s what happens when we live out Jesus’ teachings in real time. It’s upside-down, cruciform, love-shaped politics that challenge the powers of this world.
At Crosspoint, I’m grateful for how I see this lived out. We have people across the political spectrum serving together in our Kingdom Communities—working against sex trafficking, feeding the hungry, pursuing racial reconciliation, and supporting those in recovery. These aren’t partisan efforts; they’re kingdom efforts. And they demonstrate the reign of Jesus breaking in here and now.
A Final Challenge
The invitation is simple but costly: let Jesus shape your politics instead of letting your politics shape your Jesus. Refuse to over-hear or under-hear him. Listen rightly. Let his kingdom confront your loyalties, your assumptions, and your identity.
Because the good news is this: Jesus is King. His kingdom is here. And it’s a kingdom that heals, liberates, feeds, welcomes, and transforms.
The question is: will we hear him?
