The story of Jesus as recorded in the gospels is about what happens when the Spirit of God appears on Earth, and is resisted by the worldly powers of organized religion and the state. Anytime the message of Christ becomes co-opted by religious doctrine or state power, it has already abandoned its roots, since at its core the Jesus story is about how those very powers will stop at nothing to subvert and destroy the Christ. Though of course they can never succeed - to those with eyes to see and ears to hear, the King remains enthroned.
Christ shows us that self-giving sacrificial love is the true power in the universe, not the top-down tyrannical brute strength of Caesar. Christ's earliest followers proclaimed "Jesus is Lord!", rather than "Caesar is Lord!" which regions conquered by the empire were required to say. The implied subversive question - who is making a better Kingdom? Caesar who puts people on crosses, or Christ who bears the cross in love for all? Caesar who dominates and kills all who oppose with brute strength, or God who raised Christ from the dead?
Why is self-giving sacrifice the ultimate power? Picture water. In some senses, the most submissive substance imaginable. It will flow through your fingers, fit any container you put it in. Yet nothing can compete with it for domination of the planet - it covers 70% of Earth's surface. It uses its power not to dominate like a tyrant, but to quietly nourish each and every thing that lives. This is built into Creation as a prefiguration of Christ. The blood of Christ is spiritual water, and those who drink of it will never thirst again.
in b4 "this isn't politics". The teachings of Jesus very much have political ramifications