Luke 17:20-30

Applebury's Comments

The Coming of the Kingdom
Scripture

Luke 17:20-30 And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.

22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23 And they shall say to you, Lo, there! Lo, here! go not away, nor follow after them: 24 for as the lightning, when it lightened out of the one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. 26 And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: 30 after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and let him that is in the field likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34 I say unto you, In that night there shall be two men on one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 There shall be two women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 37 And they answering say unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Where the body is, thither will the eagles also be gathered together.

Comments

when the kingdom of God cometh.It was the Pharisees who asked Him when the kingdom of God was coming. Were they sincere or were they taunting Him about a favorite subject on which He had been teaching for nearly three years? Of course, not all of the Pharisees were opposed to Him, but most of them were, Nicodemus was sincere in his desire to learn about the kingdomsome would even question this.

If they were sincere, it is evident that they didn-'t understand the nature of His kingdom, for Jesus had to tell them that it could not be located here or there. It was not an earthly kingdom.

the kingdom of God is within you.Some assume that this meant that the kingdom was in their midst as represented by the presence of Christ the King. But more likely, it had to do with the spiritual kingdom or rule of God in the hearts of those who were willing to accept Christ as their King and obey His word. The spiritual kingdom, the church, did come on the Day of Pentecost. The citizens of that kingdom do acknowledge Him as King and Savior so that He does rule in their hearts.

And he said unto his disciples.Having answered the question of the Pharisees, Jesus turned to the disciples to instruct them on another phase of the kingdom, that is, the eternal kingdom of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into which the saints will enter when He comes again. See 2 Peter 1:11.

one of the days of the Son of man.Not one of the days when He was on earth with them, but one of the days of His coming in His glorious kingdom. Just as He was to suffer before that day was to come, so they were to face persecution and even death. As this happened, they would long for the triumph of the gospel and the day of His coming; but it would not be in their day. Paul is a good example of this. See Philippians 1:23 and 2 Peter 1:12-15.

And they shall say to you, Lo, there! Lo, here.This is what false prophets and false Christs would say in order to deceive even the elect at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. See Matthew 24:23-24 and Luke 21:5-8.

for as the lightning.Why shouldn-'t they follow those who would speak of His coming in the days of distress and longing to be with Him? His answer is clear: they would not need to be deceived, for His coming will be as lightning from heaveneverybody will recognize Him when He comes. There will be no need for anyone to say, He is there, or He is here.

He mentioned the nature of His second coming in connection with His prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem to let the disciples see the contrast between His coming and the deceptive claims of the false prophets.

must suffer many things and be rejected.They had failed to grasp this point in His teaching because of their own mistaken notion about the nature of His kingdom. They thought of an earthly kingdom like that of David or Solomon. They dreamed of the time when the Jews would again be a nation respected and honored among the nations of the world. But His kingdom was not of this world. He refused the crown when men tried to force it upon Him, for He came to give His life a ransom for His people. He came to die on Calvary for the sins of the world. He came to conquer the devil who has power of death, and that required His death on the cross (Hebrews 2:14). But death, and suffering, and pain will forever be banished from His eternal kingdom.

As it was in the days of Noah.This refers to His second coming. It will be as sudden and unexpected as the closing of the door of the ark or the raining of fire and brimstone on Sodom.

They ate, they drank, they married, and were given in marriage.This is often taken to mean that extreme wickedness will be a sign of His coming just as extreme wickedness prevailed before the Flood. But the point is this: Life will go on in its normal fashion right up to that day just as it had done in the days of Noah.

There is no reason to assume that eating means gluttony, or that drinking means drunkenness, or that marrying means immorality. No one denies that these sins are present today, or that they have been present in all ages of the past and probably will be when Christ comes again. But these are not signs of His coming, for that will be at an unknown time.
There were to be signs warning people of the approaching destruction of Jerusalem which came in 70 A.D. But the warning about Christ's second coming is given in His word and the word of His apostles. That warning indicates that it will be at an unknown time as life is going on in a normal fashion. That's why He said, Watch and be ready, for no one knows when it will be.

In that day, he that shall be on the housetop.He is still speaking of the day of His second coming. There will be no time to prepare when He comes, Now is the time to make preparation for that great event. This is clearly illustrated by the parable of The Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).

Remember Lot's wife.The story is found in Genesis 19:26. Her heart was set on that wicked city even in the hour of its terrible destruction. The Christian is warned not to have his heart set on this world that will be destroyed by fire when He comes. Not even a longing glance at the world where sin did its corrupting work will be tolerated when the Lord comes. The one who seeks to preserve life as he is living it here will lose it, but the one who sets his hope on the Lord and life eternal will find it.

In that night there shall be two men in one bed.Not only is the coming of Christ to be at an unexpected time, but it will also be at a time of separation (Matthew 25:32). Jesus dramatically pictures that time by saying, Two men shall be sleeping in a bed; one shall be taken and the other left, Two women shall be grinding together; one of them shall be taken and the other left. The same thought is suggested by the separating of the wheat from the tares (Matthew 13:40).

Where the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.These words are also found in Matthew 24:40 where they may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. The judgment on Jerusalem was like that of the Judgment Day, for both deal with the rejection of Christ. The words as Luke records them definitely refer to the final Judgment and the separation that will occur when He comes. The disciples had asked, Where, Lord? That is, Where would this terrible thing take place? Would it be on this earth? Would it be at the end of the age? The final separation is at the end of the age (Matthew 13:40). But of course, sin separates and brings judgment wherever it is practiced. Jesus-' words seem to indicate that wherever a condition exists that merits judgment, there judgment will come.

Summary

Occasions of stumbling are inevitable, but there is a fearful penalty involved in causing the little ones who believe in Christ to fall. The brother who sins and repents is to be forgiven, even if it happens seven times a day.
This is a command that is to be obeyed. It took no miracle to do so. The disciples had been given power to perform miracles and the faith through which that power was made operative. They could even command a tree to be planted in the sea and it would obey them. They, then, as intelligent followers of Christ could obey His command to forgive. Jesus illustrated the point with the story of the servant whose duty it was to do all that his master told him to do.
As Jesus and His disciples were traveling along the route that lay along the border between Samaria and Galilee, they met ten men who were lepers. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest. As they went they were healed. Only one, a Samaritan, returned to thank Him. Jesus said, There were ten healed, were there not? Why was it that only the Samaritan returned? Ingratitude? Jesus-' language seems to indicate that it was. Their failure does emphasize the gratitude of the foreigner who came back to glorify God for what happened to him.
The Pharisees asked Jesus, When is the kingdom coming? They may have been taunting Him, or again they could have been sincere. He said, It is within you. Evidently they were not submitting to God's rule or they would have known this.
This became an occasion for Jesus to teach His disciples about His second coming. As they faced persecution, they would long for the triumph of the gospel and the eternal kingdom of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He warned them against those who would say that it is here or there, for when He comes all will know about it. But it will be at an unknown time and a time of separation. Judgment, of course, will come wherever there is a condition that merits it.

Questions

1.

What is the connection between Jesus-' command to forgive, the disciples request for increased faith, and the story of the unprofitable servant?

2.

How often should one be forgiven?

3.

On what condition is one to be forgiven?

4.

What responsibility does the one who is sinned against have?

5.

What does James say about the erring brother?

6.

What did the disciples imply by their request for increased faith?

7.

Why didn-'t they need to have their faith increased?

8.

What did they need?

9.

What may be done to help those who are weak in faith?

10.

What is the lesson of the story of the unprofitable servant?

11.

Why did the lepers stand afar off?

12.

Why did Jesus tell them to show themselves to the priest?

13.

When did their healing take place?

14.

Who was the one who returned to glorify God?

15.

What about the nine?

16.

Explain the fact that the faith of the Samaritan made him whole.

17.

Why did the Pharisees ask Jesus about the kingdom of God?

18.

Why did He say that it was not here or there?

19.

Where, then, is the kingdom?

20.

Why didn-'t the Pharisees know this?

21.

What phase of the kingdom did Jesus have in mind as He spoke to the disciples?

22.

What did He mean by one of the days of the Son of man?

23.

What would happen before that time?

24.

Why were they to pay no attention to those who would say that it is here or there?

25.

What does the reference to lightning from heaven indicate about the coming of Christ?

26.

What does the reference to Noah teach about His coming?

27.

What marks the difference between the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the second coming of Christ?

28.

How did Jesus show that there will be no time to prepare when He comes?

29.

Why did He say, Remember Lot's wife?

30.

How did He show that His coming will be at a time of separation?

31.

What is meant by, Where the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together?