WWUTT 2452 The Kingdom of God is In Your Midst (Luke 17:20-22)

The Pharisees Ask When the Kingdom of God Is Coming

Jesus was asked by the Pharisees, when is the kingdom of God coming? And he said to them, it's not coming in ways that can be observed. It's not coming the way that you think it's going to come. The kingdom of God is in the midst of you when we understand the text.

This is when we understand the text, a daily Bible commentary that we may be equipped for every good work in Jesus Christ our Lord. Please tell others about our ministry at www .utt .com. Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. In our study of the gospel of Luke, we come back to chapter 17, looking at the last section of this chapter where Jesus talks about the coming of the kingdom. Let me begin reading here in verse 20.

We'll go through verse 37. Hear the word of the Lord. Being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God would come? He answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is or there.

For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And he said to the disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the son of man and you will not see it. And they will say to you, look there or look here, do not go out or follow them.

For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the son of man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the son of man.

They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So will it be on the day when the son of man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away.

And likewise, let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife, whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night, there will be two in one bed, one will be taken and the other left.

There will be two women grinding together, one will be taken and the other left. And they said to him, where Lord? And he said to them, where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. So you can break this up into two obvious parts.

Luke’s Teaching on the Kingdom and the Olivet Discourse

Jesus talking with the Pharisees, first of all, in verses 20 and 21, and then Jesus talking to his disciples in verses 22 to 35, before the question that the disciples ask at the close there in verse 37.

But you have that long discourse right there that sounds like, this sounds a lot like the Olivet Discourse in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, at least parts of the Olivet Discourse. So you might be tempted to think that this is Luke's edition of the Olivet Discourse.

Now, why do we call it the Olivet Discourse? Well, because if you'll remember in Matthew, from the time that Jesus enters into Jerusalem, the triumphal entry, teaches in the temple, there's the cleansing of the temple, he teaches in the temple, and then in chapter 23, he issues the seven woes to the Pharisees and departs from the temple.

And at the beginning of chapter 24, saying to his disciples as they, they're marveling at the structures and the building and the temple itself in Jerusalem. And Jesus says, you see all these, I tell you, not one stone will be left on top of another, they will all be thrown down.

And it's after he departs from there and goes up on the Mount of Olives. He was staying in Bethany during that week before he was to be crucified, which was on the other side of the Mount of Olives. So as he's going up the mountain, the disciples come to him and they ask him, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign of your coming? And so Jesus answers them and tells them about what we know to be the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Now, he also answers their question about what will happen when he returns.

So that's part of the discourse as well. But there are elements of that discourse that use some verbiage, just like what we're reading here. So we might think of this response to the disciples as being Luke's writing of the Olivet discourse, but that doesn't happen until chapter 21.

That when we get there, you'll see that as like, okay, yeah, that definitely sounds a lot more like Matthew chapter 24. But there are some elements of that discourse that appear right here. Now, this is an interesting insertion from Luke because we don't really know where this is at on Jesus' journey.

And I've even read from a couple of commentaries that said this could have been something that did happen later once Jesus came to Jerusalem. And for whatever reason, Luke just happens to stick it right here, a reminder of the coming of the kingdom.

It's almost like if he's writing a narrative of sorts, remember that back in, what did we read yesterday? Verse 11, on the way to Jerusalem, he was passing between Samaria and Galilee. Here he comes across some Pharisees.

So is this fast forwarding to Jerusalem? Almost as part of Luke's reminder that that's where Jesus is going. So here's a bit of some foreshadowing of some of the things that Jesus is going to talk about when he gets there.

We don't know, but this does get dropped in a very odd spot. It is kind of strangely placed. I don't think it's beyond us to imagine that this is still going on while Jesus is in that place between Galilee and Samaria.

That's certainly possible. But right after this in chapter 18, we have a series of parables. You have the parable of the persistent widow. You have the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Jesus saying, let the little children come to me and then his exchange with the rich young ruler.

So those things flow out from what Jesus says here about the kingdom of God. And so it could be that Luke is putting this here as kind of a narrative device, even if it may be something that Jesus talks about later.

Maybe this is actually part of the Olivet Discourse or at least Luke's edition of it in chapter 21, but he takes this part and puts it here as a setup for the parables that are coming in chapter 18, which pertain to the kingdom of God.

And even that exchange with the rich young ruler, the rich young ruler can't enter the kingdom of God because he continues to depend on his stuff instead of on Christ, who is our only way into the kingdom.

So Luke puts this exchange right here to set up the lessons that are coming next, even if it doesn't happen in chronological order with the things that we just read about in chapter 17 and what's coming up in chapter 18.

So it's more as a teaching device that this gets stuck here so that we're learning something about the kingdom in between the events that we just read about, especially Jesus cleansing 10 lepers, and only one of them comes back to praise God, to give thanks to Jesus.

He's almost seen as someone here who will inherit the kingdom of God, while the other nine, they receive physical healing, but don't appear to have been transformed in their hearts. So then you have this statement that Jesus makes to the Pharisees that the kingdom of God can't be observed by saying, look, there it is, there it is, but rather it's in the midst of you.

It's a transformation of the heart of the people of God who are followers of Jesus, just like we saw with the leper who was cleansed and came back and praised God, and Jesus said, rise and go your way, your faith has made you well, or your faith has saved you.

That's the entrance into God's kingdom, faith in Jesus Christ. So let's look at this teaching on the coming of the kingdom, and we'll look at this between today and tomorrow. We start again with Jesus being asked by the Pharisees.

And once again, they just kind of pop up. It's strange that they are right here, considering where we're at in Jesus' journey on his way to Jerusalem. But nonetheless, however Luke inserts this at this part in the narrative, some Pharisees asked Jesus about when the kingdom of God would come.

Now, he's probably not being asked in seriousness. This is not on the level. This is the Pharisees perhaps mocking him in some way, or this question could have been asked to try to catch Jesus. Has this guy who's talking about the coming of the kingdom, has he really thought this through?

Or maybe they are trying to feel him out for when he might be ready to lead his revolt so that they can be ready for it, or they can alert the Roman guard or something like that. It could be that's the motivation behind their asking Jesus about the kingdom.

Of course, Jesus is not gonna lead a rebellion or anything like that, but that's not what the Pharisees think. The Jews were anticipating their coming Messiah to be like a conquering king as David was.

So if Jesus is the guy that the people are talking about, is the one that we've been waiting for, well, if he's gonna mount up some sort of revolt, and remember the Pharisees don't think that he's the Messiah.

So if he's gonna mount up some kind of revolt, we better be ready for that. So their question, when will the kingdom of God come, is essentially to say, or to ask him, when is it that you're gonna launch this whole thing?

Because we wanna be ready to make a response to that. But Jesus answers them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is, or there, for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

Now, this would have been an astonishing statement, not just to the Pharisees, but even the disciples who are there with Jesus. They think he is going to be an emancipator. So the day is coming and they're just waiting for it.

And they even think they're going back to Jerusalem to mount this thing. This is all part of Luke reminding us, verse 11, on the way to Jerusalem. So they think that when they get there, this is when all this thing is gonna break forth.

This is when this is gonna break out. Jesus is taking us there. He's going to kick out the Herods. He's gonna sit on the throne of David. And then from that position, we're gonna drive the Romans out and he's gonna make Israel great again.

The disciples think this, the Pharisees don't think that he's going to do that. They're not on his side at all. They're probably gonna side more with the Romans. They didn't care for the Herods themselves, but they would definitely have alerted the Romans to say, hey, this Jesus is a problem and we need to do something about this.

We know that's what the Pharisees would have done in this circumstance, because that is what they eventually do. You have the Jews and the Romans conspiring together to put the son of God to death. All of that by God's sovereign hand, of course.

But here where Jesus says that the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that they can be observed, that the kingdom can be observed, the Pharisees are surely going, what is he talking about? Because isn't that what we're waiting for?

Or maybe they would think among themselves, this is clearly not the guy. And these disciples are in for a world of shock when they realize that he's not going to do what they think he's going to do. Maybe that was their talking amongst themselves.

But again, even to the disciples, to hear Jesus say this was very puzzling. And before waiting for them to ask a question, he turns around and teaches his disciples in verse 22. So their question doesn't come until verse 37.

Where, Lord? Now, it's like they weren't paying attention when they asked that, because Jesus said, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is or there.

And then what did the disciples ask in verse 37? Where is it going to be? Were you not paying attention? It is not going to be something that is a physical kingdom on earth that you can point to and say, there is the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God is in the midst of you. He says to the Pharisees, not saying to them that they have the kingdom of God within themselves. That's not what he's saying to them. It's in the midst, like in the midst of you, no.

It's in the midst of you, as if he's saying to them right here, right now, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. It's Jesus and his disciples. And it's going to grow a lot more. But this is how the kingdom of God grows.

It is a transformation of the heart that takes place through the preaching of the gospel. And the more the gospel goes out, the more people believe it, the more the kingdom of God grows. It expands and it grows throughout the generations.

Now, 2000 years of this has been going on and the kingdom of God is still being added too. So that when you get to Revelation and John sees in chapter six and seven, a multitude that is so great that it cannot be counted.

He's looking at saints that have been accumulated into this kingdom for 2000 plus years. We don't know when the coming of Christ is going to be, but we know now at this point, it's over 2000 years of preaching the gospel that all of these saints, all of these Christians have come into this kingdom and have become an innumerable population in heaven.

Like we demographically can probably look across the globe. And you've surely heard this said before that there's something like one and a half billion Christians on the planet. Christian in like the demographic sense.

People who would claim to be Christian, who in some sense would adhere to that religion, be they Catholic or Eastern Orthodox or Protestant. There are one and a half billion professing Christians on the planet.

They're not all born again, but they fit that category of being Christian. I suppose we can number them in that sense, but that's only to fit certain population charts. That's not a description of the kingdom of God.

It's not one and a half billion people on the planet right now are all members of the kingdom of God. It is only those who are followers of Jesus Christ. And though we might be able to number them in a census or by taking surveys or something like that, we've not been measuring them over the thousands of years of church history.

And so once we get into the kingdom, and by the way, that number of saints in the kingdom, that number of saints in heaven, specifically around the throne and praising God is not just the church since Christ.

It's also the saints before Christ. So all of the saints together, all Israel, all the church, Israel, like true Israel, meaning, everybody who has been saved by grace through faith, whether before Christ coming or after, they are all gonna be around the throne and praising God.

And we really have no idea, no concept of what that number is gonna be like. More are being added every day. More are coming into the kingdom. And we will not be able on this earth to count them or point to them and say, there is the kingdom of God.

This is one of the reasons why I'm just not of the camp that believes there's gonna be a literal Christian force that exists on the planet as though every nation will be Christianized and it will be the majority population of the planet that everybody can look to and say, see, look, the nations have been discipled and the majority of the planet is now Christian.

I don't see that anywhere, especially in Jesus' teaching pertaining to the coming of the kingdom of God. There will certainly be a great growth of Christians, but there's also going to be a great growth of evil.

Even the angel says at the end of the book of Revelation, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is near. Let the evil doer still do evil and the filthy still be filthy and the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy.

So we are going to see a growth and an expansion of the kingdom of God in the sense that more people are going to become Christian and there will be a growth of Christians all over the world. And in some particular locations, even, there will be so many Christians that you will have established a Christian culture.

That's happened in America in the past. That still exists in America to some degree. It can happen in America again. Or God may be so fed up with this nation that he turns it over to be devoured by its enemies.

Who knows? And there are other nations of the world that are like that, have a history of being Christian, but have since gone away from God and have fallen into grave sin. God may turn them over to a depraved mind to be consumed by their passions.

And just as Israel had enemies that came into them and destroyed them, so it could very well be with the nation that you live in now. And that's all in God's good timing. The kingdom of God is not going to be observed by borders and land plots.

It is going to be in the hearts of the people who become followers of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is in the midst of you. You won't be able to say, look, here it is, or there. And that's not to say that the people of God won't be visible.

We're absolutely visible. We should be. You can drive down streets in America and pass by houses of worship where Christians gather there every Sunday and maybe even other days of the week. And I've been in churches where there was something going on in that church every single day of the week.

You could pass by those places and you know, people of God gather there for worship. So yes, there are Christians that are visible. We should be visible. We should be out there even shining a light so that people may see our righteous deeds and give glory to God who is in heaven as Jesus talks about in Matthew chapter five.

And we must be out there sharing the gospel so that people can hear the good news and they too can turn from their sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, become part of this kingdom. Because as Jesus is bringing the kingdom in, judgment is going to come against those who oppose it.

And so to be saved from judgment, you must turn from your sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's part of our duty as citizens of this kingdom that we would go out with the message of the gospel to others, that we would be in the midst of them sharing the gospel.

The kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And that's just the first couple of verses that we've looked at here. Jesus responding to the Pharisees in this way and in saying that the kingdom of God is not coming the way that you think it's going to come.

They were, again, they were looking for an emancipator. They were looking for a great military leader. And Jesus is saying, that's not the way that it's gonna happen. It's in the midst of you. It's gonna be through the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ that a person turns from sin to Jesus and is saved.

And that's how we grow the kingdom of God. My friends, there is only one Christian nation on earth. There might be nations that exist that have Christian laws and a majority of Christian people that we might buy some adjective describe as being Christian, but there's really only one true Christian nation.

That's the church. And Peter even says so in 1 Peter 2, 9, you are a holy nation. And let us be set apart for the kingdom of God to the praise of his glorious grace. Heavenly father, we thank you for what we have read here.

And I pray as citizens of this kingdom that we would live as citizens of your kingdom. We are obedient to the things that you have commanded us. We rejoice in Christ our savior and love to tell the story of his redeeming love and we'll go out to others and we'll tell them of the gospel of Jesus Christ who died on the cross, who rose again from the dead, who ascended on high and is seated at the right hand of God who is coming back again to judge the living and the dead.

All who believe in him will not perish, but we'll have everlasting life. Make us courageous, enthusiastic with that message that we share it with others and the kingdom of God spreads. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus name, amen.

The Church as the True Christian Nation

Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog sharing personal thoughts, alerting readers to false teachers and offering commentary on the church and social issues. You can find a link to the blog through our website, www .utt .com.

Thank you for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's word when we understand the text.