Luke 17:20-25

Luke 17:20-25

20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” 22 And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 “They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. 24 “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. 25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 

Since the promise of in the Garden of Eden that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent; there has been a great deal of speculation about who the seed would be and how He would come.  As history unfolded and revelation progressed, the promise of Messiah became clearer.  However, there was still a significant amount of confusion in the days of Jesus about both Messiah and the kingdom.  Today revelation has progressed even farther since the time of Christ but there continues to be a significant amount of confusion the kingdom even today.  The existence of confusion about the coming of the kingdom should not surprise us because Jesus told His disciples that it would be this way.  Resolving these issues is something far beyond the scope of this blog, but this week and next week’s passages give us some helpful insight.  Jesus teaches us some helpful truths about the kingdom.

THE KINGDOM HAS COME: This message is given in response to the inquiry of the Pharisees about the coming of the kingdom.  They wanted to know when it would happen.  Jesus simply told them that the kingdom is not something that would come with any additional signs.  He said that at this juncture in history, the kingdom had already come and was in their midst.  It seems clear that Jesus was referring to Himself and His incarnation.  From the time of the first coming of Christ, there is a very real sense that the kingdom has come.  The Spirit of God indwells believers.  The price of sin has now been paid.  God is calling a body of believers to Himself from every nation of the world.  In this sense, the kingdom has come; it is in our midst as much today as it was in the days of the Pharisees.  We know that Jesus is Messiah and we know that He reigns supreme over the universe.  Jesus reigns as Head of the church and is Lord of every believer.  Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Of this truth there can be no doubt!  The kingdom of God has come because Jesus has come.

THE KINGDOM HASN’T COME: Though the kingdom had come in one sense with the first coming of Christ, there is another sense in which the kingdom has not yet come.  There are many prophecies written about the way the kingdom would be.  Even though Jesus met all the requirements as King, there were many things about the kingdom described in the Old Testament that would not become realities at this time.  In fact, the circumstances that would soon unfold would make the disciples long for the kingdom to arrive.  The desire for the kingdom would become so great that many false kingdoms would rise up and be purported to be the kingdom.  Jesus wants his followers to be warned not to fall for these pseudo kingdoms.  False teachers like to promote false kingdoms of which they are usually “kings” or very influential.  The exercise of caution helps prevent abuse and unwarranted recognition of power.  Jesus wants to protect us from foolishly following false kingdoms instead of preparing diligently for the true and eternal kingdom.

THE KINGDOM WILL COME: At the second coming of Christ, the kingdom will come in a way that is unmistakable.  Like lighting in the sky, it will be very visible, so no one will miss it.  That glorious coming will be preceded by the sufferings of Christ and the persecution of His followers.  This is the kingdom for which every believer longs and is preparing.  When life gets difficult and it does not seem worthwhile to make sacrifices for the cause of Christ, it is important for us to remember the kingdom.  Satan may try to distract us with false kingdoms or try to discourage us by claiming this current world is the only kingdom there will be.  Jesus wants His followers to be assured that there is a glorious kingdom that is still to come, in which He will reign supreme.  There will be no doubt when that kingdom arrives.

APPLICATION: Rejoice in the fact that Jesus has come.  He has paid sin’s price.  He rose from the grave.  He sits at the right hand of the Father.  He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all believers.  We rejoice in these aspects of the kingdom and yet we still struggle, suffer and need to look with hope to a future glorious kingdom.  Rejoice in what we have already.  Hope in what we will have in the future.