#146 Lu. 17:20-37  THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Introduction:

    In this text the Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God
would be established.  The answer that He gave was not what they
were expecting.

I.  An understanding of the term "Kingdom of God"

    In it's broadest sense the kingdom of God includes every
place, every person and every thing for God is the Sovereign Ruler
of all.  This includes all the world and all the universe.
    In Old Testament times, "the kingdom" generally referred to
the visible earthly kingdom over which God ruled.  It referred to
the nation of Israel.
    In the time of Christ's earthly ministry, the Jews used the
term to refer to the coming rulership of Christ the nation of
Israel.  They were not thinking in terms of a first coming or
second coming.  They were just thinking of His coming.  They were
expecting that when the Christ would come, He would establish His
throne in Jerusalem, raise an army and drive out the Gentiles.
    Even the disciples of the Lord had this idea.  When Jesus
started on this trip to Jerusalem to be crucified, He informed His
disciples that He would be crucified.  In effect, He was saying,
"I will not establish my throne at this time.  I am going to be
crucified this time."  He did not tell even His disciples at this
time just when He would establish His throne.  But He did, in
effect, tell them that He would not establish it when He got to
Jerusalem on this trip.  He would be crucified.
    However, the disciples still did not get the picture.  They
still had the idea that somehow once they got to Jerusalem, Jesus
would declare Himself openly to be the Christ and the rightful
heir to David's throne in Jerusalem.  They truly believed that
Jesus is the Christ.  When they were asked whom they thought Him
to be the Apostle Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the Living God" and all of the others said the same thing.  Since
they believed Him to be the Christ and since they believed that
the Christ would establish His throne and drive out the Gentile
armies, that is what they were expecting Jesus to do once they got
to Jerusalem.
    The Pharisees, however, rejected the idea that Jesus is the
Christ.  Therefore, they did not at all expect Him to establish
Himself on the throne at Jerusalem.  Would you believe?  The
Pharisees were right on this point and the disciples were wrong?
But the disciples were right on what was really important.  They
did believe that Jesus is the Christ, whereas the Pharisees did
not.

II.  The question as it came from the Pharisees

    It is from the standpoint of their unbelief in Him as the
Christ that they question Him about the establishment of the
kingdom.  V. 20, "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when
the kingdom of God should come..."
    They were not asking because they valued His opinion.  They
were not asking because they thought He might know the answer.
They were not asking because they wanted to know the true answer.
They were asking because they hoped He would say something that
they could use against Him.  They knew that John the Baptist had
said that He is the Christ.  They knew that His followers claim
Him to be the Christ.  They knew, also, that many of the common
people throughout the land say He is the Christ.  They knew also
that Jesus was not doing anything to stop the people from
believing that He is the Christ.  He seemed perfectly willing to
let the people go on believing that He is the Christ.
    Therefore, the Pharisees, along with the Sadducees, were
making an all out effort to expose Jesus to be a fraud and to
convince the masses of people that Jesus is not the Christ.  They
hoped to find some way to put Him to death.  Their questions to
Him about the establishment of the Kingdom were designed to find
something that they could use against Him.  Preferably, they
wanted something that would justify the death penalty.  But if
they could not find anything they could use to put Him to death,
they hoped at least to find something they could use to turn
public opinion against Him.
    Their questions about the establishment of the kingdom
seemed the perfect opportunity to accomplish their purpose.  It
was known to all that the Christ would sit upon the throne of
David.  It was believed by all that He would drive out the Romans.
It was known by all that Jesus was not on the throne at this time.
It seemed an easy task to use their questions to point out to
everyone that it was ridiculous to expect that Jesus would ever
occupy the throne.

III.  The answer which Jesus gave the Pharisees

    (V. 20), "...he answered them..."  Jesus knew that they
purposed to use His words against Him, but He  answered their
questions anyway.  He answered because He wanted to help others
who truly wanted to know the truth.
    (V. 20), "...and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with
observation."  That is, the kingdom of God is not to be seen and
observed in the usual manner.  If they had been able to observe
that Jesus was raising a huge army, they would see some visible
evidence that He would sit on the throne.  If they had been able
to see some kind of political structure being formed which could
gain Him the following of the political and religious leadership
in Israel, then they would be able to see evidence that He might
sit upon the throne.
    But Jesus had done nothing to establish a literal physical
throne and nothing to establish Himself as an earthly king in any
way.  This, however, did not mean that He is not a king.  It was
just that the kingdom over which He had come to rule at this time
was not the kind of kingdom that they were looking for.  There
would be no great parades displaying His military force nor His
political following.  There would be no great display of the
wealth that He had supporting Him.  There would be no fiery
political speeches.  There would be no throne of ivory decked with
silver or gold.  There would be no crown of gold decked with
rubies, diamonds and saphires.  There would be no effort to drive
out the Romans.  V. 21, "Neither shall they say, Lo here!  or, lo
there!..." There would be no messages sent throughout the land
saying, "Come see and hear the new king."
    (V. 21), "...for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
Jesus said, in effect, "The kingdom over which I came to rule is
already in operation.  It is already established  and it is right
here within your midst.  You are looking for the wrong things when
you look for the Kingdom of God.  It is already at work among
you."
    Let me remind you that when John the Baptist started his
ministry, his message to Israel was, "The kingdom of God is at
hand."  That is, it was near at hand.  The coming of the King was
near at hand.  Now at this point of His ministry, God's kingdom
was already established and in full operation.  Jesus, the Christ,
was the King.  He was the King of a spiritual kingdom.  He was not
at that time the king of an earthly kingdom.  He was the king of a
spiritual kingdom.  When men, women, boys and girls would repent
of their sins and trust in Him to save them from the fires of
hell, He would save their souls and they would become citizens in
His kingdom.  They would look to Jesus as their spiritual Lord,
their spiritual Leader and Ruler.  He is their Master.  He is
their King from the spiritual point of view.
    Jesus did not tell the Pharisees the full story.  He did not
tell them that He would soon go away to heaven and that one day He
would return to earth.  He did not tell them that when He returns
He will establish His throne in Jerusalem and that He will rule
Israel.  He did not tell them that at that time, He will rule all
the world.
    But He did tell them what they needed to know in order to
understand that at that time He had not come to rule the nation of
Israel.  He had come to be the Lamb of God that can save the lost
from their sins.  If they would only believe Him they could be
saved and be prepared for eternity.  If the unsaved among the
masses of common people would believe Him, they, too, could be
saved and get prepared for eternity.  If His disciples would
believe Him, they would be better prepared for His arrest and
crucifixion.  They were already saved, but even they did not
understand at this time about the kind of Kingdom that He ruled
over in this world.

IV.  The explanation which Jesus gave His disciples

    In verse 22 Jesus ceases to address the Pharisees and
addresses His disciples.  I am sure that the disciples heard what
Jesus had to say to the Pharisees.  I am not sure that the
Pharisees heard what Jesus now says to the disciples.  V. 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."  His disciples were headed for troublesome times.  He
would soon be arrested and crucified.  The people who had
persecuted Him would persecute them.  They would remember the good
old days when Jesus was with them ministering to the huge crowds.
Oh how they would long to see those days again!  Even more than
that.  They would come to understand that He will some day return
to earth and that He will sit on the throne in Jerusalem and rule
the world in peace and righteousness.  Oh, how they will long for
that time to come.  But there will be considerable space of time
in between the departure of Jesus and their own deaths and that
will be a time of suffering and persecution.  Oh, how they will
long for the return of the Lord!
    V. 23, "And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go
not after them, nor follow them."  In those days of trouble when
they will so long to see the Lord, they will hear the news, "He is
over in such and such a place.  Come and see Him."  Jesus is
forewarning them not to go.  He will not be in those places.
False Christs will arise and try to deceive the people into
thinking that they Christ has returned when He hasn't.  False
prophets will proclaim the false Christs to be the real Christ.
Jesus is telling them, "Don't believe the false prophets.  Don't
go to see the false Christs.  Don't listen to them.  They are
telling you lies.  Don't believe their lies."
    V. 24, "For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one
part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so
shall also the Son of man be in his day."  You have seen the
lightening in thunderstorms when they are nearby.  The lightening
will strike and light up the sky from horizon to horizon.  The
thunder follows with a great crash.  Nobody has to wonder if there
was lightening.  That is the way it will be when Jesus does
return.  When the Lord returns, the brilliance of His glory will
light up the sky from horizon to horizon.  We are told in
Revelation 1:7 that when He comes every eye shall see Him.  There
will not be any doubt whether or not this is the Christ.  Every
eye will see Him come and everybody will know that He is the
Christ.  Until that happens there is no need to listen to anybody
who says that the Christ has come and you should go see him.
    However, before the Christ would return, He must first go
away.  Before He would go away, He must first accomplish the
purpose for which He came.  He must die on the cross for lost
sinners.  V. 25, "But first must he suffer many things, and be
rejected of this generation."  After He has died on the cross and
arisen from the grave then He would go away.
    V. 26-27, "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be
also in the days of the Son of man.  They did eat, they drank,
they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed
them all."  Noah warned the people for the one-hundred and twenty
years that it took him to build the ark.  He warned them that a
flood was coming and that they should repent of their sins.  But
instead of repenting, the people went about their business as
usual.  Then went about their daily affairs as if there were no
danger whatsoever.  They had their meals.  They had their
weddings.  They did whatever else their lifestyles included.  It
was not until the flood came and it was too late that they
realized that Noah had preached to them the truth.  They did not
realize that the judgment of God was coming upon them in the form
of a flood until it was too late.  The flood destroyed them all.
Noah and his family were saved through the flood, but the others
were all destroyed.
    So it was in the days of Lot when God destroyed the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah.  V. 28-29, "Likewise also as it was in the
days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold,
they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of
Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them
all."  In those days the people of Sodom and Gomorrah went about
their business as usual.  Like the people of Noah's day they ate
their meals, they drank whatever it was they drank.  They bought
merchandise.  They sold their goods.  They worked in their fields.
They build houses.  They played their games.  They had their
parties.  But they did not realize that the judgment of God was
coming upon them in the form of fire from heaven until it was too
late.  They were all destroyed.  Lot and his daughters escaped to
safety, but the others were all destroyed including Lot's sons-in-
law.
    V. 30, "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man
is revealed."  The end-time events and the second coming of Jesus
is going to be much like that.  A relative few people will repent
of their sins and make preparation for the coming of Jesus by
trusting in Him for salvation.
    V. 31, "In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and
his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and
he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back."  In
this verse Jesus forewarns about the coming of the Gentile armies
upon the city of Jerusalem in end-time events.  they should not
waste time.  They should flee for their lives without delay.  He
reminded them of Lot's wife.  V. 32, "Remember Lot's wife."
Lot's wife hesitated looking back with desire to the city of
Sodom, wishing she was still back there.  Because of this she
became a pillar of salt.
    Men are to take a lesson from her at the time when the Gentile
armies come upon Jerusalem.  They are to waste no time.  They are
to get out.  If they take the time to salvage their material
possessions they will pay with their lives.  If they are willing
to give up their material possessions they can escape with their
lives.  V. 33, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose
it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." The city
of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel, which has rejected and
crucified the Christ will suffer the judgment of God in the form
of the Gentile armies.  A relative few will escape, but the great
majority will be killed.
    A similar warning is issued to those who are unsaved.  V.  34-
36, "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed;
the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.  Two women
shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other
left.  Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and
the other left."

V.  The question which the disciples asked Jesus

    V. 37, "And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord?..."
That is, "Where will all this great judgment of the Great
Tribulation take place?  Will it be a world-wide judgment or will
it be limited to a certain locality?  The answer is that the Great
Tribulation will be a time of world-wide suffering, but the
greater suffering will take place in and around Jerusalem and the
holy land.
    Our Lord's answers their question in this way:  (V.  37), "...
And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the
eagles be gathered together."  In the realm of nature, the eagles
and vultures gather where there are dead bodies.  In the Great
Tribulation, the greater suffering will be where the greater
trouble is.  The greater troubles will be around Jerusalem where
the Anti-Christ and his armies will be.

Conclusion:

    Today the question is not, "When will the Lord return and when
will the millennial kingdom begin?  The question is, "Are you
saved?  Have you repented of your sin?  If you were to die today,
where would you spend eternity?  If Jesus were to come today or if
you were to die today, would you be ready to go?  If not, then
come to Jesus today and be saved.