Luk 17:20-37 | KingComments | STEP | The Pharisees have a question. They want to know when the kingdom of God will come. They think, they are ready for the kingdom. They think, the question is only when the kingdom will be ready for them. It is a question of blind unbelief. It’s like asking for a sign. They have no eyes to see, because they are blind and because they are blind, they do not see the kingdom of God, because it “is not coming with signs to be observed“. By this, the Lord means that it does not come in external power and glory. Yet He has provided an abundance of evidence that the kingdom of God is present among them, because it is present in His Person. However, they do not recognize God’s King in Him, although He revealed the true power of the kingdom in the many victories over satan and over all the consequences of sin in this world. The true power of the kingdom is revealed in the dependent and obedient Man, in the never failing power of God that is working through Him. They are blind to all of this. They do not appreciate it because they do not appreciate God. As a people they long for what would exalt them and destroy the enemies, but they do not long for what will glorify God and humiliate man. Therefore, the Lord shows them in His answer that, from the time of His rejection until He returns to glory, it is not a matter of “’Look, here [it is]!’ or, ‘There [it is]!’”, but of faith to acknowledge the glory of His Person and to see that the power working in Him is the power of God. The kingdom of God is in their midst and they do not see it because they do not see Him. They think little of the Lord Jesus. This is the downfall for anyone who hears the testimony, but refuses to accept it. Luke speaks of the kingdom of God , not of the kingdom of heaven . Only Matthew speaks of the kingdom of heaven, and he says nowhere, as long as the Lord was on earth, that the kingdom of heaven had come. He does say, however, in accordance with what Luke says here, that the Lord said: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” ( ). The kingdom of God was present when Christ was on earth. He proved this by revealing the power of the Spirit in countless victories over satan. The kingdom of heaven came only after He went to heaven, and from heaven began His hidden reign over the earth. When He returns in glory, He will exercise that government in public form, and there will be no difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. Then will the kingdom come in power and glory and be established.

‏ Luke 17:20-37

The Kingdom of God Is in Christ

The Pharisees have a question. They want to know when the kingdom of God will come. They think, they are ready for the kingdom. They think, the question is only when the kingdom will be ready for them. It is a question of blind unbelief. It’s like asking for a sign. They have no eyes to see, because they are blind and because they are blind, they do not see the kingdom of God, because it “is not coming with signs to be observed“. By this, the Lord means that it does not come in external power and glory.

Yet He has provided an abundance of evidence that the kingdom of God is present among them, because it is present in His Person. However, they do not recognize God’s King in Him, although He revealed the true power of the kingdom in the many victories over satan and over all the consequences of sin in this world. The true power of the kingdom is revealed in the dependent and obedient Man, in the never failing power of God that is working through Him.

They are blind to all of this. They do not appreciate it because they do not appreciate God. As a people they long for what would exalt them and destroy the enemies, but they do not long for what will glorify God and humiliate man. Therefore, the Lord shows them in His answer that, from the time of His rejection until He returns to glory, it is not a matter of “’Look, here [it is]!’ or, ‘There [it is]!’”, but of faith to acknowledge the glory of His Person and to see that the power working in Him is the power of God.

The kingdom of God is in their midst and they do not see it because they do not see Him. They think little of the Lord Jesus. This is the downfall for anyone who hears the testimony, but refuses to accept it.

Luke speaks of the kingdom of God, not of the kingdom of heaven. Only Matthew speaks of the kingdom of heaven, and he says nowhere, as long as the Lord was on earth, that the kingdom of heaven had come. He does say, however, in accordance with what Luke says here, that the Lord said: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Mt 12:28).

The kingdom of God was present when Christ was on earth. He proved this by revealing the power of the Spirit in countless victories over satan. The kingdom of heaven came only after He went to heaven, and from heaven began His hidden reign over the earth. When He returns in glory, He will exercise that government in public form, and there will be no difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. Then will the kingdom come in power and glory and be established.

The Days of the Son of Man

The Lord addresses the word to His disciples. For the Pharisees, He has no further information about the kingdom. For His disciples He does have further teaching about the kingdom of God in its future form and even more about the days that precede it. These will be days when they will long for one of those days they enjoyed during the time of the Lord’s presence on earth.

To His disciples He can speak freely about the future form of the kingdom, that is the form to which the thinking of the Pharisees was limited. The disciples had accepted the Lord by faith, and however little insight they might have, they understood that the kingdom of God was among them. Therefore He can give them Divine light about the future, when He will visibly establish the kingdom.

He warns them not to be deceived. Just before His coming there will be many false christs who present themselves as the promised Messiah. He points out that one will say: “Look there! Look here!” He has just said to the Pharisees that this will not be said (Lk 17:21) because He, the King of God, stood before them in Person.

The Lord gives His disciples insight into the way He comes. They don’t have to listen to all kinds of misleading voices, because when He comes, it will be unmistakably clear that it’s Him. They don’t have to think they should search for Him, as if He will be somewhere in a hidden place. He comes like lightning lightens over the whole earth. Every eye will see Him (Rev 1:7). No one will have to tell another that He is there. His glory and majesty will then be perceptible to all, while His glory can now only be seen by faith (Jn 1:14). Then it is “His day”.

Before that, He must first suffer a lot and be rejected by this generation. Their wickedness and rebellion against God must reach their summit. Then comes the judgment.

The Days of Noah and of Lot

The Lord compares the days of the Son of Man with the days of Noah. Then people lived their own lives in a way that God had to say that the earth was corrupt in His sight and that it was filled with violence (Gen 6:11-12). The days of the Son of Man are the days when He exercises His dominion as the Son of Man over creation. That reign will begin with the righteous judgment of sin.

In Lk 17:22, “the days of the Son of Man” means the days when the Lord Jesus was on earth. In Lk 17:26, “the days of the Son of Man” are the days preceding His second coming to earth. These are the days in which we also live. Next comes “His day” (Lk 17:24), the period that refers to His reign in glory.

That we too live in the days before His coming, we see from the references to the days of Noah and of Lot. Those days were characterized by the same things that characterize our days. The Lord describes the life of the days of Noah from a different perspective than in the book of Genesis. He points to the everyday life of ordinary people. That life consisted of eating and drinking and marrying. You might ask yourself why this should be judged. Surely, these are not sinful things, but all ordinances instituted by God Himself, aren’t they? That is true, but when these things make up man’s life and they have excluded God from their world, they are evil activities. Therefore the judgment has come on all, no one has escaped.

The Lord also refers to the days of Lot. We know from the book of Genesis what kind of a depraved city Lot lived in. But also here the Lord presents Sodom as a city in which people lived to whom the daily activities consisted of various activities that were not in themselves wrong or sinful. Remarkable is that He no longer speaks about marriage. That had been discarded in wicked Sodom.

Judgment comes because they do all ordinary activities without even giving God a place whatever in them. Ban God from daily life and judgment comes. Sodom has experienced that. Lot could be saved with difficulty. He even had to be dragged along (Gen 19:16), because he delayed leaving Sodom. The judgment has come on all, no one has escaped.

The judgment on the earth and the judgment on Sodom, the two examples of total and final judgment, represent the situation that will also arise on the day the Lord Jesus appears as the Son of Man. In the case of Noah, a warning has preceded it. For one hundred and twenty years he built on the ark and all this time he preached that the judgment would come (2Pet 2:5), but they did not believe him. Therefore, the judgment for all those people has suddenly come. The judgment on Sodom has also suddenly come, with only a warning for Lot and his family. Likewise, the coming of the Son of Man to judge will suddenly take place (1Thes 5:3). Then will all those who have corrupted the earth become corrupt (Rev 11:18).

When the Son of Man comes, there is no time to lose. Then it will become clear what the heart is focused on. The Lord warns not to consider anything important. Any delay in fleeing is fatal. Delay is caused when someone thinks of valuable things he has at home. Wherever someone is, there is only one thing important at that moment and that is saving his life. Anyone who, despite the seriousness of the situation, chooses for his goods, proves that these things are idols for them. They have him in control. The result is that he dies.

Faithfulness to the Lord and to His testimony shall be true and saving wisdom. Anyone who considers some earthly possession more important than his life will lose his life. The Lord remembers to the wife of Lot. She could not come loose from Sodom in her heart, and that was fatal to her (Gen 19:17 ; 26). Her heart was at the place where God brought judgment.

How is that with us? He who thinks he can hold on to life in this world, while the Lord says he must let go of it, will lose his life. Whoever lets go of his life and gives it into the hand of the Lord, will be allowed to preserve it.

Taken or Left

God knows who really are disciples of the Lord Jesus and who are only disciples in appearance. Whosoever does not belong to Him, He takes by judgment. Those who do belong to Him will be left to enter the kingdom of peace.

In His judgment He distinguishes between the closest relationships, such as those of husband and wife who lie together in bed during the night. Another scene is that of two women grinding flour in the morning to bake bread. One of them will also be taken by the judgment, while the other will be left to enter the kingdom of peace. Another scene is the work on the field that two people are working on during the day. There, too, the separation takes place.

Thus we see three situations in which people will find themselves when the Lord appears suddenly: at night, in the morning and during the day. It shows that His coming is seen everywhere on earth. In one part of the hemisphere it is night and people lie on their bed, in the other hemisphere it is day and people are at work.

The character of the judgment makes it clear that this is not about the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70. We see the hand of God Who knows to distinguish between what He must take by judgment and what He must leave to enter the realm of peace. Nor is it the judgment of the dead, but a judgment on earth: they are in a bed, at the mill, in the field.

The disciples ask where the judgment will take place. The Lord answers that it will be where the dead body, the bait, is. A dead body is a body without a spirit. It represents the wicked Israel that has rejected God in Christ. It is also every other dead body, wherever it is, because it is generally applicable to every human being individually. On anyone who has no life of God and is therefore a dead body, judgment will descend as vultures to whom prey does not escape because that prey is lifeless.