Luk 17:20-21 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Luke 17:20-37: 17:20-37 This is the first of two discourses in Luke’s Gospel on the coming of the Kingdom and the return of the Son of Man (see also ch 21 ). Summary for Luke 17:20-21: 17:20-21 When will the Kingdom of God come? The common understanding among Jews was that the Messiah would establish God’s Kingdom in Jerusalem; he would defeat Israel’s enemies and bring in a period of peace, prosperity, justice, and righteousness (see 3:15 ; cp. Acts 1:6 ). The Pharisees were apparently challenging Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah because he was not defeating the Romans or establishing his Kingdom physically on earth. Jesus did not reject this future manifestation of the Kingdom (see Luke 21:27 ; Matt 24:30-31 ) but pointed out that the Kingdom of God was being revealed to them through his ministry, though they were missing it. • The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs: Jewish apocalyptic literature of Jesus’ day looked for visible signs in the heavens to signal the coming of the Messiah’s kingdom. Jesus elsewhere affirmed that such signs would appear (see Luke 17:24 ; 21:25 ; Acts 2:19-20 ), but the Pharisees were missing the manifestation of the Kingdom in Jesus’ immediate ministry (cp. Luke 7:22 ). • the Kingdom of God is already among you (or is within you, or is in your grasp ): The Kingdom of God was already being revealed through Jesus’ words and actions. It is unlikely that Jesus would say, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” to those who were rejecting his message.

a17:20-37►

b21►

c17:20-21►

d3:15►

eActs 1:6►

fLuke 21:27►

gMatt 24:30-31►

hLuke 17:24►

i21:25►

jActs 2:19-20►

kLuke 7:22►

‏ Luke 17:20-21

Summary for Luke 17:20-37: 17:20-37 ^a This is the first of two discourses in Luke’s Gospel on the coming of the Kingdom and the return of the Son of Man (see also ch 21 ^b).
Summary for Luke 17:20-21: 17:20-21 ^c When will the Kingdom of God come? The common understanding among Jews was that the Messiah would establish God’s Kingdom in Jerusalem; he would defeat Israel’s enemies and bring in a period of peace, prosperity, justice, and righteousness (see 3:15 ^d; cp. Acts 1:6 ^e). The Pharisees were apparently challenging Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah because he was not defeating the Romans or establishing his Kingdom physically on earth. Jesus did not reject this future manifestation of the Kingdom (see Luke 21:27 ^f; Matt 24:30-31 ^g) but pointed out that the Kingdom of God was being revealed to them through his ministry, though they were missing it.

• The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs: Jewish apocalyptic literature of Jesus’ day looked for visible signs in the heavens to signal the coming of the Messiah’s kingdom. Jesus elsewhere affirmed that such signs would appear (see Luke 17:24 ^h; 21:25 ⁱ; Acts 2:19-20 ^j), but the Pharisees were missing the manifestation of the Kingdom in Jesus’ immediate ministry (cp. Luke 7:22 ^k).

• the Kingdom of God is already among you (or is within you, or is in your grasp): The Kingdom of God was already being revealed through Jesus’ words and actions. It is unlikely that Jesus would say, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” to those who were rejecting his message.