Jesus was saying god's kingdom is within

JESUS WAS SAYING GOD'S KINGDOM IS WITHIN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 17:21 21norwill people say, 'Here it is,' or
'There it is,' becausethe kingdom of God is in your
midst."
American Standard Version
neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the
kingdom of God is within you.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there.
For lo, the kingdom of God is within you.
Darby Bible Translation
nor shall they say, Lo here, or, Lo there; for behold,
the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
English RevisedVersion

neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the
Webster'sBible Translation
Neither will they say, Lo here! or lo there! for behold,
the kingdom of God is within you.
Weymouth New Testament
Nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' --for the
Kingdom of God is within you."
WorldEnglishBible
neither will they say, 'Look, here!' or, 'Look, there!'
for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you."
Young's Literal Translation
nor shall they say, Lo, here; or lo, there; for lo, the
reign of God is within you.'

BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
RadicalMistakesRespecting The Kingdom Of God
Luke 17:20, 21
W. Clarkson
Pharisaismtook its hostile attitude towardChristianity because it entirely
failed to understand it. It made two radical mistakes which completelymisled
it.
I. THE MISTAKES WHICH PHARISAISM MADE.
1. As to the characterof the coming kingdom. It thought it was to be outward,
earthly, political, temporal; it was looking and longing for the time when
another David, another Judas Maccabaeus, shouldcome, should liberate the
Holy Land from the graspof the paganpower, and make Jerusalemthe
metropolis, the centre and glory of the earth.
2. As to the evidences and signs of its coming. It lookedfor a grand display of
power, for overwhelming evidences that would strike every eye and startle
and convince every mind that One was at hand who should assume the
sovereigntyawaiting him. And so it came to pass that when Jesus was born at
Bethlehem, a Babe cradledin a manger; when he grew up to be a Carpenter
at Nazareth; when he gathered no army, and struck no blow for national
deliverance;when there was no ostentationabout his method; when he lived
to bless and teachindividual men and women, and wrought his work quietly
and unpretendingly; - Pharisaismdecided that he was not the Coming One,

and that his reign was not to prove the kingdom of God. Pharisaismentirely
mistook God's purpose, and fatally misinterpreted his procedure.
II. THE MISTAKES INTO WHICH WE ARE LIABLE TO FALL. Not, of
course, the same but similar, and equally disastrous.
1. When we look for blessednessin out ward circumstances insteadof in
inward peace. We say, "If I could but win that prize, gain that post, secure
that friendship, earn that income, how bright would be my lot, how glad my
heart, how radiant my life I" But we are wrong. Gladness ofheart and
excellencyof life are not to be found in sunny circumstances, but in a pure
heart, a heart that is at rest, a heart at home with God. "Out of the heart are
the issues oflife;" the fountain of lasting joy rises from our own breast; the
kingdom of God is within us.
2. When we look for blessednessin the time that is beyond. "Mannever is, but
always to be blessed." There is even an unchristian longing for the heavenly
future. When" to abide in the flesh" is more needful for those for whose
welfare we are largelyresponsible, then the "kingdomof God" for us is not in
the distance;it is in the present sphere of duty; it is in present peace, present
joy, present service, in the blessednesswhichChrist gives to his servants
"Before they reachthe heavenly fields, Or walk the goldenstreets," in those
"heavenly places" ofholy service and happy fellowship in which he "has
made them to sit" (Ephesians 2:6).
3. When we waitfor heavenly influences to fall upon us instead of availing
ourselves of those we have. Not only is there no need for any soul to wait for
some remarkable and overwhelming influences before entering the kingdom,
not only is it wholly unnecessary, but it is positively wrong to do so. It is in
those quiet influences which are now working within your heart that God

comes to you. He will never be nearerto a human soul than when his Spirit
fills it with a holy longing, and makes it eagerto know what it must do to
enter into life. Wait not for anything that is coming: acton the promptings
that are within you, and your feet shall then surely stand within the kingdom
of God. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
The kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 17:20, 21
The kingdom of God
J. P. Williams.
It is a kingdom of the mind, the will, the feeling, and the conduct. "My
kingdom is not of this world," formed in a material fashion, resting on visible
forces, but within, seatedin the heart, the intellect, and feeling. Give over,
then, straining your eyes investigating the heavens, the kingdom of God is

among you; the words will bear this rendering, being almost identical in
meaning with the words found in John's Gospel(chap. 1., verse John 1:26),
translated thus — "In the midst of you standeth One whom ye know not."
The laws and principles of the kingdom were fully incorporated in Christ,
they evolved out of His Personlike light from the sun. He informs them that
the kingdom is already present with them, that it bad actually commencedits
operations, and that its spiritual vibrations were then felt. What, then, is this
kingdom?
1. It is a kingdom of new convictions producing new conversions andoutward
reforms. It deals with these three forces of the human character — impulse,
will, and habit. Once it gets a proper hold of these powers it makes the
characteran irresistible force. When religious impulse is graspedby the will
and transformed into life, the characteris such that the gates ofhell cannot
prevail againstit.
2. It is the kingdom of life, or a living kingdom here, rather than an earthly
kingdom yonder. It is new life kindling new ideas and forming fresh habits.
Sometimes it steals in upon the mind as silently as light. Look at the woman of
Samaria, how natural, the new ideas were deposited into her mind, and with
what marvellous rapidity they changedthe current of her thoughts and the
habits of her life.
3. It is a kingdom of new impressions concerning self, God, man, life, time,
and eternity. No personever equalled the founder of Christianity as an
impression-maker, impressions of the highest and purest type were set in
motion, as reconstructive agenciesby Him; and they are still at work
leavening society, and they are divinely destined to continue until the whole
universe of God is entirely assimilatedwith the Divine nature, and thus cause
righteousness andholiness to shine everlastinglythroughout God's dominion.

4. It is the kingdom of love — love revealedin the light of the Fatherhoodof
God, God being knownas a Father, naturally creates a filial reverence in
man, which at once becomes the mightiest force in reclaiming the lost. Like
creates like is a recognizedprinciple in ancient and modern philosophy, as
well as in Christian theology.
(J. P. Williams.)
The kingdom which cometh not with observation
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce.
These words of our Lord open to us an abiding law of His kingdom; an
enduring rule of that dispensation under which we are.
1. It is "a kingdom"; most truly and really a kingdom. Nay, even in some sort
a visible kingdom; and yet at the very same time it is —
2. A kingdom "which cometh not by observation";unseen in its progress, seen
in its conclusion;unheard in its onward march, felt in its results. Let us, then,
follow out a little more into detail this strange combination of what might
almost seemat first sight direct contradictions.
I. And first see HOW REMARKABLY THIS WAS THE CHARACTER OF
ITS OPENING ON THIS EARTH. It was then manifestly a "kingdom." The
angels bore witness of it. Their bright squadrons were visible upon this earth
hanging on the outskirts of Messiah's dominion. They proclaimed its coming:
"Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord." "Glory to God in the highest; peace onearth, good-will towards men."
Nay, the world felt it: "Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalemwith him." The
instincts of the unbelieving monarch made him tremble before the King of
Saints. It was "a kingdom" which was coming. Yet it "came not with

observation." The King of Israel was born obscurely. Angels appearedto
herald Him; yet none save shepherds saw them. There was veil enough over
eachcircumstance of His life to make the dull eye of the world miss the true
meaning of characters it could not help seeing. And afterwards, in the life of
Christ, it was the same. The world was stirred, troubled, uneasy, perplexed. It
felt that it was in the presence ofa strange power. An undefined, unknown,
yet realpresence was with it. But it knew Him not. It was as if some cloud was
shed round Him through which the world could not pierce. "The kingdom"
was even now amongstmen, and yet its coming was unseen.
II. And so, AFTER THE DEATH AND ASCENSION OF CHRIST, "THE
KINGDOM" WENT ON. Still it came, reaching to every part of the earth, but
never "with observation."
III. Once more; SEE HOW THIS IS STILL IN EACH HEART THE LAW
OF ITS ESTABLISHMENT. There also none can evertrace its beginnings.
Some, indeed, may remember when first they felt its life within them, when
first they were duly consciousofits power — though this is far from
universally the case where it is most truly planted — but even in these cases,
this consciousness wasnot its true beginning; any more than the first faint
upgrowth of the tender blade is the beginning of its life; any more than the
first curling of the water is the breath of heaven which it shows:no; life must
be, before it is able to look back into itself and perceive that it does live. Being
must precede consciousness. And as it is at first given, so does it grow. It is the
receiving a life, a being, a breath. It is the passing overus of God's hand, the
in-breathing of His Spirit. This is its secrethistory; and this men cannot
reach. And yet it is "a kingdom" which is thus setup. Wheresoeverit has its
way, there it will be supreme. It makes the will a captive, and the affections its
ministers, and the man its glad vassal. Thoughit "comethnot with
observation," yet it is indeed "a kingdom." Now, from this it behoves us to
gather two or three strictly practical conclusions —

1. This is a thought full of fearto all ungodly men. Depend upon it this
kingdom is set up. It is in vain for you to saythat you do not perceive it, that
you see it not, nor feel it; this does not affectthe truth. It is its law that "it
cometh not with observation";that from some it always is hidden. Your soul
had — if you be not altogetherreprobate, it still has, howeverfaintly exercised
— the organs and capacities forseeing it. But you are deadening them within
yourself.
2. This is a quickening thought to all who, in spite of all the weaknessoftheir
faith, would yet fain be with our Lord. Is this kingdom round about us? Have
we places in it? How like, then, are we to His disciples of old; trembling and
crying out for fearas lie draws ninth to us! How like are we to those whose
eyes were holden, who deemed Him "a strangerin Jerusalem"!How do we
need His words of love; His breaking bread and blessing it; His making
known Himself unto us; His opening our eyes!How should we pray as we
have never prayed before, "Thy kingdom come!"
3. Here is a thought of comfort. How apt are we to be eastdown; to doubt our
own sincerity, to doubt His working in us, to doubt the end of all these tears,
and prayers, and watchings!Here, then, is comfort for our feeble hearts.
Small as the work seems, unobservedas is its growth, it is a kingdom. It is His
kingdom. It is His kingdom in us. Only believe in Him, and wait upon Him;
only endure His time, and follow after Him, and to you too it shall be
manifested.
(Bishop Samuel Wilberforce.)
God's kingdom without observation
J. Lathrop, D. D.

1. The manner in which the gospelwas first introduced was without external
show and ostentation. Worldly kingdoms are usually erectedand supported
by the powerof arms.
2. The external dispensation of Christ's kingdom is without ostentation. His
laws are plain and easyto be understood, and delivered in language levelto
common apprehension. The motives by which obedience is urged are pure and
spiritual, takennot from this, but the future world. His institutions are few
and simple, adapted to our condition, and suited to warm and engagethe
heart.
3. The virtues which the gospelprincipally inculcates are without observation,
distant from worldly show, and independent of worldly applause.
4. As the temper of the gospel, so also the operationof the Divine Spirit in
producing this temper, is without observation. It is not a tempest, an
earthquake, or fire; but a small, still voice. It is a spirit of power, but yet a
spirit of love, and of a sound mind. The fruits of it, like its nature, are kind
and benevolent. They are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
meekness,and goodness.
5. The blessings of God's kingdom are chiefly invisible, and without
observation. The rewards which the gospelpromises are not earthly and
temporal, but heavenly and spiritual. They are not external power, wealth,
and honour; but inward peace, hope, and joy here, and everlasting felicity
hereafter.We will now attend to the reflections and instructions which our
subject offers to us —
1. If the kingdom of God is now among us, we are all without exceptionbound
to acknowledgeit, and submit to it.

2. We learn that it concerns every one, not only to submit to God's kingdom,
but to submit to it immediately.
3. We are here taught that we have no occasionto run from place to place in
order to find the grace ofGod, for we may obtain it in any place where His
Providence calls us. For the Spirit is not confined to certainplaces, its
influences are not at human disposal, nor do its operations come with public
observation. You are to receive the spirit in the hearing of faith. Its influence
on the heart is not like an overbearing storm, but as the gentle rain on the
tender herb, and the dew on the grass.
4. We learn from our subject that true religion is not ostentatious. It seeks not
observation. The true Christian is exemplary, but not vain. He is carefulto
maintain goodworks, but affects not an unnecessaryshow ofthem.
5. It appears that they only are the true subjects of God's kingdom who have
experiencedits power on their hearts.
6. As the kingdom of God comes not to the heart with observation, we are
incompetent judges of the characters ofothers.
(J. Lathrop, D. D.)
The secretworkings ofDivine grace
J. Vaughan, M. A.

The workings ofGod's grace are, for the most part, not only beyond, but
contrary to our calculation. It is not said that " the kingdom of God is not
with observation," but "the kingdom of God cometh not with observation."
And the principle is this — that the greatestand plainest effects are produced
by causes whichare themselves unnoticeable. God is mounting up to His
grand design; but we cannot see the steps of His ascent. If you pass from the
history of the Church to any other province in God's empire, you will find
them all recognizing the same law. It seems to be the generalrule of all that is
sublime, that its motions shall be unseen. Who candiscern the movements of
the planets — whose evolutions we admire, whose courses guide our path?
The day breaks and the day sets;but who canfix the boundaries of the night,
the boundaries of the darkness? You may watchthe departing of summer
beauty — as the leaves are sweptby the autumn wind — but can the eye trace
its movements? Does noteverything — in the sky and in the earth — proclaim
it — as all nature follows its hidden march — that "the kingdom of God
cometh not with observation"? Or, let any man amongstyou, read but a very
few of the leading passages ofhis own life, and let him observe what have been
the great, deciding events of his history — determining, if I may so speak, the
very destinies of his forces. Were they those he anticipated? Did his greatjoys
and sorrows rise in the quarters from whence he expectedthem to rise? Did
not the greatcircumstances ofhis life arise from events quite unexpected?
And did not those things which he counted little, greatly rise and extend
themselves — for evil or for good? And what does all this attest-in providence
and in nature — but that " the kingdom of Godcometh not with
observation"? Butwe are now led to expect, by what we have read, and what
we have seen, and what we have felt, in outward things, that we shall find the
truth of the text, also, when we come to the experience of a man's soul; and
that the "kingdom of God cometh not with observation." A very pious mother
is deeply anxious about the soul of her son. Her fond affections, her holy
influences, her secretprayers-have all been bearing to that one point, of her
child's conversionto God, for many years. But have that mother's prayers
died, because those lips are hushed? "Has God forgottento be gracious,"
when man ceasesto expect? Nay — in His own way, and in His own hour,"
the kingdom" comes.

(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Quiet growth of the Church
DeanGoulburn.
In his other work, the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke beautifully illustrates
these words of our Lord. The Book ofthe Acts gives us the history of the early
Christian Church for about two-and-thirty years after the death of Christ. It
may well surprise a thoughtful readerof this book to remark how little
progress Christianity seems to have made at the end of that period, so far as
the outward life of man was concerned. Nothing amounting to a greatsocial
change is here recorded. The Church had not put down heathen sacrifice, nor
demolished a single idol temple. Scarcelyyet did men's public and sociallife
show any traces ofit. The gospelhad as yet no localhabitation; in looking
down upon the crowdeddwellings of the greatcities of the empire, you would
not as yet have seena spire. Nay, nearly three centuries elapsedafterthe
period describedin the Acts of the Apostles, before buildings gave any note of
the greatmoral revolution which had takenplace in the minds of men; before
the Basilica was divertedfrom its original purpose as a court of justice to the
greatend of Christian worship, and in the semicircularrecess,where the
praetor and his assessors hadsat to lay down the law of the empire, now the
bishop and his attendant presbyters were installed around the holy table, to
expound the higher law of the kingdom of heaven. But yet, though the visible
impression made by Christianity upon human life and manners was thus
slight during the period referred to, we may be quite sure that the gospelwas
then fermenting with peculiar powerin the hearts and minds of men. If the
kingdom of God did not come with observation, this was no proof at all that it
was not within men — that it was not in the very centre of their inner life. If
the powers that be, and the wise men after the flesh, at first thought it beneath
their notice; if Trajanand Pliny regarded Christians merely in the light of an
obstinate and eccentric setof fanatics;this was no proof that a greatsocial
revolution was not preparing in the lower strata of society, and eating away,
like subterraneous volcanic fire, the crust upon which existing institutions

stood. The mustard-seedhad been castinto the earth, and it was swelling and
bursting beneath the soil. The leavenhad been thrown into human nature;
and its influences, though noiseless andunseen, were subtlely and extensively
diffusing themselves through the whole lump. Christ's religion was to win its
way noiselessly, like Himself. Because its blows againstexisting institutions
were so indirect, because they were aimed so completely at the inward spirit
of man, the great men and the wise men after the flesh completely overlooked
them, and dreamt not how they were undermining the whole socialfabric of
heathenism. The scanty notices of Christianity by authors contemporary with
its rise have been thoughtlessly made a ground of objectionagainstit by
sceptics. The believerwill rather see in this fact a confirmation of the Lord's
profound word. The kingdom of Godwas not to come, and it did not come,
with observation.
(DeanGoulburn.)
SecrecyofDivine visitations
J. H. Newman, D. D.
Such has ever been the manner of His visitations, in the destruction of His
enemies as well as in the deliverance of His own people; — silent, sudden,
unforeseen, as regards the world, though predicted in the face of all men, and
in their measure comprehended and waited for by His true Church. See Luke
17:27-29;Exodus 15:19; Isaiah37:36; Acts 12:23;Isaiah30:13; Luke 17:35-
36. And it is impossible that it should be otherwise, in spite of warnings ever
so clear, considering how the world goes onin every age. Men, who are
plunged in the pursuits of active life, are no judges of its course and tendency
on the whole. They confuse greatevents with little, and measure the
importance of objects, as in perspective, by the mere standard of nearness or
remoteness. It is only at a distance that one cantake in the outlines and
features a whole country. It is but holy Daniel, solitary among princes, or
Elijah the recluse of Mount Carmel, who can withstand Baal, or forecastthe
time of God's providences among the nations. To the multitude all things
continue to the end, as they were from the beginning of the creation. The

business of state affairs, the movements of society, the course of nature,
proceedas ever, till the moment of Christ's coming. "The sun was risen upon
the earth," bright as usual, on that very day of wrath in which Sodomwas
destroyed. Men cannot believe their own time is an especiallywickedtime;
for, with Scripture unstudied and hearts untrained in holiness, they have no
standard to compare it with. They take warning from no troubles or
perplexities, which rather carry them awayto searchout the earthly causes of
them, and the possible remedies. Pride infatuates many, and self-indulgence
and luxury work their wayunseen, — like some smouldering fire, which for a
while leaves the outward form of things unaltered. At length the decayedmass
cannot hold together, and breaks by its own weight, or on some slight and
accidentalexternal violence.
(J. H. Newman, D. D.)
The coming of the kingdom to individuals
Canon Liddon.
Truly, at a christening we may well reflect that the kingdom of God comes
"not with observation." And if in later years, as too generallyis the ease, the
precious grace thus given is lostand sinned away, and nothing but the stump
or socketofthe Divine gift remains without its informing, spiritual, vital
power, then another change is assuredlynecessary, which we call conversion.
And what is conversion? Is it always a something that canbe appraisedand
registeredas having happened at this exacthour of the clock — as having
been attended by such and such recognizedsymptoms — as announced to
bystanders by these or those conventionalor indispensable ejaculations — as
achievedand carried out among certain invariable and easilydescribed
experiences? Mostassuredlynot. A conversionmay have its vivid and
memorable occasion, its striking, its visible incident. A light from heaven
above the brightness of the sun may at midday during a country ride flash
upon the soul of Saul of Tarsus;a verse of Scripture, suddenly illuminated
with new and unsuspectedand quite constraining meaning, may give a totally
new direction to the will and the genius of an ; but, in truth, the type of the

process ofconversionis just as various as the souls of men. The one thing that
does not vary, since it is the very essenceofthat which takes place, is a change,
a deep and vital change, in the direction of the will. Conversionis the
substitution of God's will as the recognizedend and aim of life, for all other
aims and ends whatever;and thus, human nature being what it is, conversion
is as a rule a turning "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan
unto God," that a man may receive forgiveness ofhis sins and an inheritance
among them that are sanctified. And this greatchange itself, most assuredly,
"comethnot with observation." The after-effects, indeed, appear— the spirit
of self-sacrifice,the unity of purpose which gives meaning, solemnity, force to
life, the fruits of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness,in such measure as belongs to the requirements of the individual
character. Certainly, when the kingdom of God has come into a soul the result
may be traced easilyenough, but the kingdom of God cometh in this case, too,
at least, as a generalrule, "not with observation."
(Canon Liddon.)
Religionis an inward principle, rind cabinet be forced
W. H. Lewis, D. D.
Men love excitement, and to be able to say, "Lo, here is Christ! or, lo, there!"
and they will eagerlyrun after the preacher who canbest minister to this love
of excitement. But religion is an inward principle, a work of personalself-
denial and effort. Vegetationas a generalrule, is more advancedby the gentle
dews and moderate showers than by torrents of rain or the bursting of water-
spouts; so is the work of salvation, by the daily dews of Divine grace, more
than by extraordinary revivals. Let us not disparage revivals, for some truly
deserve the name; but let us be assuredthat the work of God is not confined
to them, and we fear is not often in them at all — that churches may have
some piety which have no greatannual seasonof excitement — that the best
state of things is, where no communion passes without the adding of faithful
souls — that all healthy growth in nature and grace is gradual and from
within — and that "the kingdom of God cometh not with observation."

(W. H. Lewis, D. D.)
The kingdom within
Dr. Harris.
I. RELIGION IS AN INWARD AND SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLE. It is, says
our Saviour, "within you." This is a representationwhich differs from the
ordinary opinion of men. If it be within us, then —
1. It is not determined by geographicalboundaries, by latitude or longitude.
2. It does not consistin an observance ofordinances. This is a representation
which accords with what we find in the sacredpages. Godforms His estimate
of the characters ofmen, not by their actions, or their language, ortheir
opinions, or by anything of a merely outward nature; but by the temper and
frame of their hearts.
II. TRUE RELIGION SUBJECTSTHE SOUL TO THE AUTHORITY AND
REIGN OF GOD.
1. It is spokenof as a kingdom. Now a kingdom is not a scene of anarchy and
rebellion; it is distinguished by order and due subordination.
2. But this is not all. Not only is there subordination, but all is under the
immediate controlof God.(1)God is the author and preserverof that spiritual
and Divine principle in which true religion consists.(2)Godhas appointed all
the means by which it is maintained.

3. Mere necessarysubmissionis not enough. It implies a voluntary subjection
of the heart to the authority of God.
(Dr. Harris.)
The kingdom of God
The WeeklyPulpit.
I. The text is a WARNING AGAINST ILLUSORY VIEWS OF RELIGION.
There is a form of evil in our own day againstwhich we make a strong protest.
There are men in our midst who say, "Lo here; or, lo there." At last the truth
has been discovered. Jacobis come to Bethel, and has dreamed a marvellous
dream. We speak ofmen who sow seeds ofdiscord through pretended light
and holiness. They disturb the peace ofthe church, and lead the unwary
astray.
II. The greattruth which our text suggestsis THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF
THE KINGDOM OF GOD, yea, the reign of God in men's hearts and lives.
The Jews expecteda startling demonstration of the supernatural to their
material advantage;Christ effecteda moral reformation, and laid the
foundation for a spiritual commonwealth. We quote the opening sentencesof
"Christus Consummator," a recent work of greatbeauty by Canon Westcott:
"Gainthrough apparent loss;victory through momentary defeat; the energy
of a new life through pangs of travail — such has ever been the law of
spiritual progress. This law has been fulfilled in every crisis of reformation;
and it is illustrated for our learning in every page of the New Testament."
Such, in a few words, is the basin of that empire of truth which the Son of God
founded, and is now enlarging by His Word and Spirit.
III. In conclusion, observe how emphatic the Saviour is in directing the
attention of His hearers to the fact, THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS

NOT AN EXPECTATION,BUT A REALITY IN THE SOUL — "the
kingdom of God is within you." The seatof the' government is in the heart.
(The WeeklyPulpit.)
The inner heaven
J. Vaughan, M. A.
It is evident that a "kingdom" necessarilyimplies a ruling power, and entire
subordination to the governing principle. But many minds (might I not almost
say most?)have not even this. There is no governing principle at all, unless it
be to please self;and a kingless heartmust be a weak and miserable thing!
There is sure to be disorder, and confusion, and wretchedness — where there
is anarchy; and a man's heart is of that character — so impulsive, so restless;
so sensitive to influences of every kind; so capricious;so many coloured, that
it actually requires a controlling rule which should be a sovereignoverit.
Nothing else will do. A multitude of rulers could not answerthe purpose. They
would only weakenand distract. There must be One, and that One supreme,
and absolute, and alone. Now it is Christ's promise that He will come into
every heart who is willing to receive Him. He comes a King. Now see what
follows. Christ was a Saviour before He was a King. He rose from His cross to
His throne. "He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross." WhereforeGodalso hath highly exalted Him, and given
Him a name which is above every name. He enters therefore the heart a
Saviour-King. What, then, is the first thing which He brings? What is the first
act of sovereignty — what the ground of His kingdom? Pardon, peace, and
rest to the soul. It cannot be but that the first discovery, and on every fresh
realization of such a fact as that, there must be greatjoy. "Can it be true? O
what a happiness! What perfect joy! He is mine and I am His, and nothing
shall ever divide us." So peace makes joy; and joy and peace, uniting, make
love. Oh! it is a strangely-beautiful kingdom where love — love in high
authority — love in power— love in awe-issues its mandates;and love, love in

expectation, love in perfectaccord, love eageron the wing, gives constant echo
to every will of His Sovereign's heart. But are there no laws in that
"kingdom" of peace and love? The strictest. No man — such is the
constitution of our nature — no man could be happy who is not ruled, and
ruled with a very firm hand. We all like, we all require, and we all find it
essentialto our being to be under authority and restraint; and the more
imperative the power, so it be just and good, the happier we are. These are the
essentials,the very characteristics ofthe inner kingdom which is now in every
believer's soul; only, that which is here, is only the dim reflection of all which
is so perfect there; still, it is the same heavenin both worlds. And a man that
has once that "inner heaven" in his heart, how independent he is of all
accidents, and of all external circumstances. Surely, when death comes, it will
be a very little step to that "kingdom " indeed, and to his kindred above.
(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Where is the heavenly kingdom
W. M. Hay Aitken, M. A.
If you ask me what my definition of the kingdom of heaven is, if you ask me
where I place it, I will tell you. Show me a man who is just, who is honest, who
is benevolent, who is charitable, who loves his God, who loves his fellow-men;
show me such a man; yea, bring him here, stand him by my side, and I care
not what be the colourof skin, nor what be his name, or the name of his
nation, or what his socialstanding, or what his financial position, or what be
the degree ofhis intellectual development; I wilt point my finger at that man's
breast, and say: "There, within this man's breastis the kingdom of heaven."
If you ask me againto show you the kingdom of heaven, I will say: "Bring me
a woman that is pure, that is affectionate, that is loyal to her sense ofduty,
that is sympathetic and charitable of speech, that is patient, whose bosomis
full of love for the Divine Being and for those of her race with whom she is
brought in contact;yea, bring that womanhere, stand her by my side; and I
care not whether she be CaucasianorAfrican, whether she be of this nation
or of that, care nothing about her intellectual development; and I will tell you

that the kingdom of heaven is within that woman's soul." Aye, within such a
man and such a woman is a kingdom boundless in extent, perpetual in its
expressionof power, majestic in its appearance, indefatigable in its energy,
Divine in its quality — a kingdom of which there can be but one king, and that
is God; a kingdom for the sovereigntyof which there is but one being fitted —
the Infinite Spirit. And this, as I understand it, is the glory of man and the
glory of woman: that within them there is a realm of capacity, of faculty, of
sense, ofaspiration, of sentiment, of feeling, so fine, so pure, so noble, so
majestic and holy, that its natural king is Infinite Love. It was to introduce
Himself to this realm, to establishHis throne and possessit in this kingdom,
that Jesus, the Son of God and the Sonof Man, alike conjoining in Himself the
Divine and the human in harmonious conjunction, representing the sympathy
of the lowerand the majesty of the higher world, descendedto this earth, and
is today seeking through the operationof His Spirit, entrance to possession. It
is over this kingdom within, He reigns, if He reign at all. It is within this
kingdom that He energizes. It is out of this kingdom that His glory has to
proceed. Notin that which is nominal and technical;not in that which is
verbal and formal; not in that which is in accordancewithcustom and
tradition, is the Saviour present. And they who look for Him in these things
shall not find Him; bat they who searchto discern Him in spirit and life, in
holy expressionof consecratedfaculty in the energy of capacities dedicatedto
God, shall find Him, and they shall find that in these He is all in all.
(W. M. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(21) The kingdom of God is within you.—The marginal reading, “among
you.” has been adopted, somewhathastily, by most commentators. So taken.
the words emphatically assertthe actual presence ofthe Kingdom. It was

already in the midst of them at the very time when they were asking when it
would appear. The use of the Greek prepositionis, however, all but decisive
againstthis interpretation. It is employed for that which is “within,” as
contrastedwith that which is “without,” as in Matthew 23:26, and in the LXX.
version for the “inward parts,” or spiritual nature of man, as contrastedwith
the outward, as in Psalm103:1; Psalm109:22;Isaiah16:11. It was in that
region, in the life which must be born again (John 3:3), that men were to look
for the kingdom; and there, whether they acceptedit or rejectedit, they would
find sufficient tokens of its power.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
17:20-37 The kingdom of God was among the Jews, orrather within some of
them. It was a spiritual kingdom, setup in the heart by the powerof Divine
grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the
judgments of God, which they had been warnedof, found them. Here is shown
what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual.
Thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. When Christ
came to destroy the Jewishnation by the Roman armies, that nation was
found in such a state of false security as is here spokenof. In like manner,
when Jesus Christ shall come to judge the world, sinners will be found
altogetherregardless;for in like manner the sinners of every age go on
securelyin their evil ways, and remember not their latter end. But wherever
the wickedare, who are marked for eternal ruin, they shall be found by the
judgments of God.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
"Lo here! or, Lo there!" When an earthly prince visits different parts of his
territories, he does it with pomp. His movements attract observation, and
become the common topic of conversation. The inquiry is, Where is he? which
way will he go? and it is a matter of important "news" to be able to say where
he is. Jesus says that the Messiahwouldnot come in that manner. It would not
be with such pomp and public attention. It would be silent, obscure, and
attracting comparatively little notice. Or the passage mayhave reference to

the customof the "pretended" Messiahs, who appearedin this manner. They
said that in this place or in that, in this mountain or that desert, they would
show signs that would convince the people that they were the Messiah.
Compare the notes at Acts 5:36-37.
Is within you - This is capable of two interpretations.
1. The reign of God is "in the heart." It does not come with pomp and
splendor, like the reign of temporal kings, merely to controlthe external
"actions" andstrike the senses ofpeople with awe, but it reigns in the heart
by the law of God; it sets up its dominion over the passions, andbrings every
thought into captivity to the obedience ofChrist.
2. It may mean the new dispensation is "evennow among you." The Messiah
has come. John has ushered in the kingdom of God, and you are not to expect
the appearance ofthe Messiahwith greatpomp and splendor, for he is now
among you. Mostcritics at present incline to this latter interpretation. The
ancient versions chiefly follow the former.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
21. Lo here! … lo there!—shut up within this or that sharply defined and
visible geographicalorecclesiasticallimit.
within you—is of an internal and spiritual character(as contrastedwith their
outside views of it). But it has its external side too.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
The latter words of this verse seemfairly to admit of a double interpretation,
as you here may signify the disciples of Christ, who had receivedChrist as
their Lord, over whom he exerciseda spiritual dominion and jurisdiction, or

as it may respectthe whole Jewishnation, amongstwhom the kingdom of God
was now exercised, by the preaching of the gospel, and the power of Christ
put forth in the casting out devils, and other miraculous operations. I incline
to the latter, as differing from those that think these words were spokenwith a
peculiar respectto the disciples;I rather think them a reply to the Pharisees,
as corrective of their false notion and apprehension of the Messiah, as if he
were yet to come, and to setup a temporal principality; for it is said, Luke
17:22, And he said unto the disciples, as if he did but then speciallyapply his
discourse to them; en hmin thus signifieth, Luke 7:16 John 1:14. You (saith
our Saviour) are much mistakenas to the nature of my kingdom, and indeed
of the kingdom of the Messiah, in the expectationof which you live. It is not a
kingdom of the same nature with the kingdoms of the world, it comethnot
with pomp: and splendour, for men and womento observe;they shall not say,
Lo here he cometh! Or, Lo there he goeth!The kingdom of Godis now in the
midst among you, though you observe it not.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Neither shall they say,.... Orshall it be said by any, making their observations,
and pointing to this, or that place:
lo here, or lo there; in this, or that place, country or city, the kingdom of God
is set up; the throne of the Messiah is there; and there are the "regalia", or
ensigns of his regalpower;no such thing will fall under the observations of
man, not but that this would be said, and was saidby some persons, as it is
suggestedit should, Luke 17:23 and it appears from Matthew 24:26 that some
would say he was in such a wilderness, and others, that he was in some private
retirement in a house, or that he was in such a town or city; as particularly it
was said in Adrian's time, that he was in a place calledBither, where Bar
Cochabsetup himself for the Messiah:but the sense of the words is, that no
such thing ought to be said; and if it was said, it would not be true; nor should
it be credited: and the Cambridge copy of Beza's adds, "believe not"; as in
Matthew 24:26

for behold the kingdom of God is within you: in the electof God among the
Jews, in their hearts; it being of a spiritual nature, and lying in righteousness,
and peace, andjoy in the Holy Ghost; in the dispossessionofSatan, the strong
man armed; in the putting down of the old man, sin, with its deceitful lusts,
from the throne; and in setting up a principle of grace, as a governing one;
and so escapesthe observationof natural men, and cannotbe pointed at as
here, or there: hence it appears, that the work of grace is an internal thing; it
is wrought in the hearts of men; it has its seatin the inward parts, and is
therefore called the inner, and the hidden man: it does not lie in words, in an
outward professionof religion: it is oil in the vesselof the heart, and is distinct
from the lamp of a visible profession;it does not lie in external works and
duties, but it is an inward principle of holiness in the soul, or spirit of man,
produced there by the Spirit of God, and is therefore calledby his name, John
3:6 and it also appears to be a very glorious thing, since it is signified by a
kingdom: it is a rich treasure;it is gold tried in the fire, which makes rich; it
is an estate, thatgoodpart, and portion, which cannever be takenaway; it is
preferable to the greatestportion on earth men canenjoy; even the largest
and richestkingdom in the world is not to be compared with it; it is a
kingdom which cannotbe moved; and as it is glorious in itself, it makes such
glorious who are partakers of it: "the king's daughter is all glorious within",
Psalm45:13 and it is high in the esteemof God; it is the hidden man of the
heart, but it is in his sight; it is in his view, and is in his sight of greatprice: it
is likewise evident from hence, that it has great power and authority in the
soul; it has the government in it; it reigns, through righteousness, unto eternal
life; and by it, Christ, as king of saints, dwells and reigns in his people. Now
this is not to be understood of the Scribes and Pharisees, as if they had any
such internal principle in them, who were as painted sepulchres, and had
nothing but rottenness and corruption in them: but the sense is, that there
were some of the people of the Jews, ofwhom the Pharisees were a part, who
had been powerfully wrought upon under the ministry of John, Christ, and
his apostles;and were so many instances of efficacious grace,and of the
kingdom of God, and of his Gospelcoming with powerto them. Though the
words may be rendered,

the kingdom of God is among you; and the meaning be, that the king Messiah
was already come, and was among them, and his kingdom was already setup,
of which the miracles of Christ were a full proof; and if they could not discern
these signs of the times, and evident appearances ofthe kingdom of God
among them, they would never be able to make any observationof it,
hereafter, or elsewhere.
Geneva Study Bible
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God
is {c} within you.
(c) You look around for the Messiah as though he were absent, but he is
amongstyou in the midst of you.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 17:21. οὐδὲ ἐροῦσι, nor will they say; there will be nothing to give
occasionfor saying:non erit quod dicatur, Grotius.—ὧδε, ἐκεῖ, here, there,
implying a visible objectthat can be located.—ἐντὸς ὑμῶν, within you, in your
spirit. This rendering best corresponds with the non-visibility of the kingdom.
The thought would be a very appropriate one in discourse to disciples. Not so
in discourse to Pharisees.To them it would be most natural to say “among
you” = look around and see my works:devils castout (Luke 11:20), and learn
that the kingdom is already here (ἔφθασεν ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς). Kindred to this
rendering is that of Tertullian (c. Marcionem, L. iv., 35): in your power,
accessible to you: in manu, in potestate vestra. The idea “among you” would
be more clearly expressedby ἤδη ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν. Cf. John 1:6. μέσος ὑ.
στήκει, etc., one stands among you whom ye know not—cited by Euthy. to
illustrate the meaning of our passage. Field(Ot. Nor.) contends that there is
no clearinstance of ἐντὸς in the sense of “among,” andcites as an example of
its use in the sense of“within” Psalm 103:1, πάντα τὰ ἐντός μου.

Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
21. for behold, the kingdom of God is within you] intra vos est, Vulg. As far as
the Greek is concerned, this rendering of entos is defensible (comp. Matthew
23:26), and the spiritual truth expressedby such a rendering— which implies
that “the Kingdom of God is...righteousness andpeace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17)—is most important. See
Deuteronomy 30:14. So that Meyeris hardly justified in saying that the
conceptionof the Kingdom of God as an ethicalcondition of the soul is
modem not historico-biblical. But entos humon may also undoubtedly mean
among you (marg.), ‘in the midst of your ranks,’as in Xen. Anab. i. 10, §3;
and this rendering is more in accordance (i) with the context—as to the
sudden coming of the Son of Man; and (ii) with the fact,—forit certainly
could not be said that the Kingdom of God was in the hearts of the Pharisees.
The meaning then is the same as in John 1:26; Matthew 12:28. But in either
case our Lord implied that His Kingdom had already come while they were
straining their eyes forward in curious observation, Luke 7:16, Luke 11:20.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 17:21. Οὐδὲ ἐροῦσιν, neither shall they say) viz. they who point out the
kingdom. The verb put without the noun is consonantwith this view. For the
world does not recognise the messengersofthe kingdom.—[ὧδε—ἐκεῖ,here—
there) Here includes under it the notion of the present time; there, that of the
future.—V. g.[187]]—ἰδοὺ γὰρ, for behold) Ye ought to turn your earnest
attention to the fact: Then you will see that the kingdom of God is already
within your reach. This true (well-grounded) Behold, is put in antithesis to the
Behold [“Lo, here or there”]which is lookedfor without goodground.[188]
For behold (ἰδοὺ γὰρ) does not belong to (stand under) ἘΡΟῦΣΙΝ, they shall
say.—ἐντὸς, within) Ye ought not to look to times that are future, or places
that are remote: for the kingdom of God is within you; even as the King
Messiahis in the midst of you: John 1:26 [“There standeth one among you
(μέσος ὑμῶν) whom ye know not”], Luke 12:35. Within is here used, not in
respectof the heart of individual Pharisees(although in very deed Christ

dwells in the heart of His people: Ephesians 3:17), but in respectto the whole
Jewishpeople. The King, Messiah, and therefore the kingdom, is present: ye
see and ye hear [Him]. The LXX. use ἐντὸς answering to ‫ברק‬ of those things
which are in a man; but in this passageHe is speaking ofmore than one. So
the LXX. ed Hervag.,[189]Deuteronomy5:14, ὁ ἐντὸς τῶν πυλῶν σου.
Raphelius compares the words found in Xenophon, ὅσα ἐντὸς αὐτῶν καὶ
χρήματα καὶ ἄνθρωποι ἐγένοντο, “whateverboth property and men were
inside (within), with them, in the camp.”—ἔστιν, is)The Present, appositely,
and with emphasis. It cannot be said, the kingdom cometh, but it is now
present: see John 3:8.
[187]The note of the Gnomon on Luke 17:20, and the reference to Luke
17:37, implies that place, not time, is the leading idea of the answeras to the
here and the there. Time is only a subordinate notion in it.—E. and T.
[188]ADabc Orig. 1,238c,4,294c, Hil. Vulg. have ἢ ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖ, as Rec. Textand
Lachm. read. But BL omit ἰδοὺ; and so Tisch.—E. andT.
[189]This edition was brought out at Basle, Τῆς Θείας γραφῆς, παλαίας
δηλάδη καὶ νέας ἅπαντα, by John Hervagius, 1545. The preface was by
Melancthon. The text of Lonicerus is chiefly followed:there are in it some
valuable various readings.—E. andT.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 21. - Neither shall they say, Lo here: or, lo there! for, behold, the
kingdom of God is within you. That kingdom will be marked out on no map,
for, lo, it is even now in your midst. It may be asked - How "in your midst"?
Scarcelynot as Godetand Olshausen, following Chrysostom, think, in your
hearts. The kingdom of God could not be saidto be in the hearts of those
Pharisees to whom the Masterwas especiallydirecting his words of reply

here. It should be rather understood in the midst of your ranks; so Meyer and
Farrar and others interpret it,
Vincent's Word Studies
Within
Better, in the midst of. Meyer acutelyremarks that "you refers to the
Pharisees,in whose hearts nothing certainly found a place less than did the
ethical kingdom of God." Moreover, Jesus is not speaking of the inwardness
of the kingdom, but of its presence. "The whole language ofthe kingdom of
heaven being within men, rather than men being within the kingdom, is
modern" (Trench, after Meyer).
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 17:20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the
kingdom of God was coming, He answeredthem and said, “The kingdom of
God is not coming with signs to be observed;
KJV Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees,whenthe
kingdom of God should come, he answeredthem and said, The kingdom of
God cometh not with observation:
when the kingdom of God was coming Luke 10:11;16:16; 19:11;Acts 1:6,7

with signs to be observedLuke 17:23,24;Daniel2:44; Zechariah4:6; John
18:36
Luke 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 17:20-37 The Presentand Future Kingdom - StevenCole
Luke 17:20-21 The Invisible Kingdom of God, Part1 - John MacArthur
Luke 17:20-21 The Invisible Kingdom of God, Part2 - John MacArthur
WHEN IS THE
KINGDOM OF GOD COMING?
Now having been questionedby the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God
was coming - This is not a bad question, although it originates in this case
from a group of men who are generallybad! The Jews in generalwere looking
for the Kingdom of God. They knew it was coming from the Old Testament
and from the rabbim had taught. And as MacArthur says they were all
"premillennialists!" And why would they ask Jesus aboutthe timing of the
Kingdom of God? One reasonof course is because He had repeatedly made
reference to the Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven)
Steven Cole - We can’t be sure whether the Pharisees were questioning Jesus
in a hostile sense ornot. Given their track record, they may well have been
asking skeptically, “Whenis the kingdom coming?” The generalJewishbelief
was that the kingdom of God would begin with a bang, with a powerful
Messiahestablishing His rule in Israeland delivering the nation from her
enemies. But here is this carpenter from nowhere with His ragtag band of
fishermen, and there is no sign that He is going to defeat the Romans and
usher in the glorious new age. Sure, there were some miracles, but where is
the clearevidence that He is establishing His kingdom rule?

And so it is as if the Pharisees were saying "Okay, youhave been talking
about the Kingdom of God. We are ready for it to come. When is it coming?
You have not done any of the signs that we have been taught that would
accompanythe coming of the Kingdom of God!"
In Luke 19:11 we read of their expectationthat the Messiahwas going to
inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth -
"While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable,
because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposedthat the kingdom of God
was going to appear immediately." (See in depth comments on the Kingdom
of God in notes on Lk 19:11+).
This was the prevalent Jewishexpectation(or at leastcertainly their hope) in
Jesus'day -- the Kingdom of God was going to appearimmediately. And this
expectationexplains the events that accompaniedHis "Triumphal Entry" (see
significance ofthis entry) into Jerusalemdescribedby the writers of the
Gospels.
Matthew recorded...This took place to fulfill what was spokenthrough the
prophet: 5 “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING
IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN
ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’” 6 The disciples
went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and
the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He saton the coats. 8 Mostof the
crowdspread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from
the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him,
and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David;
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna
(Save us now) in the highest!” 10When He had entered Jerusalem, allthe city

was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is
the prophet Jesus, fromNazareth in Galilee.” (Mt21:4-11)
Luke recorded
They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus
on it. 36 As He was going, they were spreading their coats onthe road. 37 As
soonas He was approaching, nearthe descentof the Mount of Olives, the
whole crowd of the disciples beganto praise God joyfully with a loud voice for
all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “BLESSED IS THE KING
WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;Peace in heaven and glory in
the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd saidto Him, “Teacher,
rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “Itell you, if these become
silent, the stones will cry out!” 41 When He approachedJerusalem, He saw
the city and wept over it, (Lk 19:35-41-note)
Matthew quotes Zechariah's prophecy that Israel's King was coming
(Zechariah 9:9), but notice He was coming on a donkey not on a white horse
like a conquering general. He will come that way the SecondTime (Rev 19:11-
16), but not in His first Coming. But the Jews for the most part did not see
Messiah's two comings!Luke's version emphasizes that the Jews welcomed
Jesus as King Who would establishthe Kingdom of God.
Having been questioned (1905)(eperotaofrom epí = an intens. + erōtáō = to
ask, inquire of, beg of) in the NT means "to interrogate, inquire" (Zodhiates).
Friberg says eperotao means (1) of inquiry in generalask, put a question,
inquire (Mk 9.32, 33);(2) as a legaltechnicalterm interrogate, examine,

question (Acts 5.27);(3) as seeking to know God ask after, desire to know (Ro
10.20);(4) as making a request for something ask for, demand (Mt 16.1)
Gilbrant on eperotao - In classicalGreek usageeperōtaō(from epi + erōtaō)
means “to consult or put a question to someone.” In later Greek it is a more
technicalterm used for asking a formal question either at a meeting or in the
process ofmaking a contractor accepting the terms of a treaty. In Greek
religion eperōtaō means “to put a question or a request to a god” (cf. Bauer).
The Septuagint uses eperōtaō to translate shā’al, “to ask.” It occurs most
generallyin the historicalbooks (e.g., 2 Sa 2:1; 1 Chr 10:13; cf. Jer21:2).In
the New Testamenteperōtaō is used56 times and is most frequently found in
Mark. It carries the basic sense of “to ask,” but three nuances of meaning are
found: (1) asking or seeking aftersomething, like a sign (Matthew 16:1;
Romans 10:20); (2) probing someone for something, such as the judicial
examination (with investigation) and counterquestioning that the Pharisees
used with Jesus (Mt 22:35:Mk 12:28); (3) approaching an authority for
answers (Luke 2:46; 9:45; 1 Corinthians 14:35). Eperōtaō may indicate
intensity since it can mean “demanding” rather than just “asking” (erōtaō).
Thus erōtaō is translated“to pray,” but eperōtaō is not. (Complete Biblical
Library Greek-EnglishDictionary)
Eperotao - 55x in 55v - ask(5), ask...question(1), ask...questions(1), asked(14),
asked...aquestion(1), asking(2), asking...questions(1), question(3),
questioned(18), questioning(9). Matt. 12:10;Matt. 16:1; Matt. 17:10;Matt.
22:23;Matt. 22:35; Matt. 22:41; Matt. 22:46;Matt. 27:11;Mk. 5:9; Mk. 7:5;
Mk. 7:17; Mk. 8:23; Mk. 8:27; Mk. 8:29; Mk. 9:11; Mk. 9:16; Mk. 9:21; Mk.
9:28; Mk. 9:32; Mk. 9:33; Mk. 10:2; Mk. 10:10;Mk. 10:17; Mk. 11:29;Mk.
12:18;Mk. 12:28;Mk. 12:34;Mk. 13:3; Mk. 14:60;Mk. 14:61;Mk. 15:2; Mk.
15:4; Mk. 15:44; Lk. 2:46; Lk. 3:10; Lk. 3:14; Lk. 6:9; Lk. 8:9; Lk. 8:30; Lk.
9:18; Lk. 17:20; Lk. 18:18;Lk. 18:40;Lk. 20:21; Lk. 20:28;Lk. 20:40;Lk.
21:7; Lk. 22:64; Lk. 23:6; Lk. 23:9; Jn. 18:7; Acts 5:27; Acts 23:34;Rom.
10:20;1 Co. 14:35

Eperotao - 74 verses Ge 24:23;Ge 26:7; Ge 38:21;Ge 43:7; Nu 23:3; Nu
23:15;Nu 27:21;Dt. 4:32; Dt. 18:11;Dt. 32:7; Jos. 9:14; Jdg. 1:1; Jdg. 8:14;
Jdg. 18:5; Jdg. 20:18;Jdg. 20:23;Jdg. 20:27;Jdg. 20:28; 1 Sa 9:9; 1 Sa 10:22;
1 Sa 14:37; 1 Sa 23:2; 1 Sa 28:6; 1 Sa 28:16; 1 Sa 30:8; 2 Sa 2:1; 2 Sa 5:23; 2
Sa 11:7; 2 Sa 14:18;2 Sa 16:23;2 Sa 20:18;1 Ki. 12:24; 1 Ki. 22:5; 1 Ki. 22:7;
1 Ki. 22:8; 2 Ki. 1:2; 2 Ki. 8:6; 1 Chr. 10:13; Job 8:8; Job 12:7; Ps. 137:3;
Prov. 17:28;Eccl. 7:10; Isa. 19:3; Isa. 30:2; Isa. 65:1; Jer. 21:2; Jer. 30:14;
Ezek. 14:7; Ezek. 14:10;Ezek. 20:1; Ezek. 20:3; Ezek. 21:21;Da 2:10; Da
2:11; Da 2:27; Hos. 4:12; Hag. 2:11; Zech. 4:4; Zech. 4:12
He answeredthem and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to
be observed - At first hearing, this statementmight seemconfusing because
clearly Jesus did many signs and wonders as describedby all four Gospel
writers. But these were not the signs the Pharisees (orthe nation as a whole)
were looking for -- they were looking for signs in the heavens, cataclysmic
signs, greatsigns about which their OT prophecies had written, signs that
would precede the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. To fully
graspwhat the Pharisees were asking and what Jesus answeredyou must
understand the context, specificallythe eschatologicalbeliefs of the Jews of
the first century. As described below John MacArthur summarizes this
eschatologicalcontext. The point of Jesus'reply to the Phariseesis that they
had wrongly interpreted the OT eschatology, especiallyregarding earth
shaking signs. Yes, the Kingdom had come (the King was present) but it was a
spiritual kingdom and not a visible kingdom and that is what the Pharisees
and most of the Jews missed.
John MacArthur describes what the first century Jews (not just the Pharisees
but the nation as a whole) were expecting in the future for the nation of Israel.
It is especiallynotable that they were looking for and expecting a visible
Kingdom of God. "And with Jesus'repeatedmentions of the Kingdom and
the phrase the Kingdom of God, the Jews were hoping that He would bring in

the Kingdom. Notice how severaltimes they try to crown Him king. Why did
they do this? Because theythought from His words and actions that He was
the King of the visible Kingdom they were looking for. And of course they
were correctthat Jesus was the King, but they did not understand that first
He had to be receivedby faith as King of their hearts, King of an invisible,
internal Kingdom. And recallHis triumphal entry into Jerusalemon His last
week oflife. Becausetheyexpected the imminent establishmentof the
Kingdom of God, the Jewishcrowds were shouting "BLESSED IS THE
KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD" (Lk 19:37-note)The
Jews thought that this was His coronation, and when they realized it was not,
they calledfor His crucifixion (Lk 23:21-note)." (Bolding added)
Kingdom (932)(basileia from basileus = a sovereign, king, monarch) denotes
sovereignty, royal power, dominion. Basileia canalso referto the territory or
people overwhom a king rules. Matthew used the synonymous phrase the
Kingdom of Heaven(32x) probably to appeal to the Jews who refusedto say
the Name of God, as an way to convey their sense of unworthiness.
Observed(3907)(parateresis frompara = beside + tērēsis = custody, keeping,
observance)means close observation, attentive watching (as with one's eyes)
or scrutiny. It was used in classic Greekofphysicians carefully watching
symptoms of a disease, ofastronomers observing the motion of heavenly
objects, or of a soldier’s surveillance of untrustworthy hostages (Liddell-
Scott). In a related sense the term is used of the carefulobservance ofrules or
commandments (Moulton-Milligan).
Wiersbe adds that parateresis means "in classicalGreek to observe the future
by signs. It carries the idea of spying, lying in wait, and even scientific
investigation. The point Jesus made was that God’s kingdom would not come
with great“outward show” so that people could predict its arrival and plot its
progress. The Pharisees’questionwas legitimate, but it was also tragic;for

Jesus had been ministering among them for some three years, and these men
were still in spiritual darkness. Theydid not understand who Jesus was or
what He was seekingto accomplish. Their views of the kingdom were political,
not spiritual; Jewish, not universal.”
THE EXPECTATION OF THE JEWS
REGARDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD
MacArthur gleans much of the following from The History of the Jewish
People in the Time of Christ, (Volume 2 -Topic - The Messianic Hope, here is
a cumulative index) written by historian, Emil Schurer (biography) who
collectedthe ancientmaterial from the time of Christ and piecedtogetherthe
eschatologyespousedby the Jews in the first century (see Schurer's topics
coveredunder "The Messianic Hope")...
Here is what the Jews expected.
(1) the coming of Messiahwouldbe precededbe a time of tribulation or
trouble, even like birth pangs
(Ed Comment: Schurer was correct here, and it was not the Roman
occupationof the first century, not even the destruction of the Temple in 70
AD, which certainly was not followedby the establishment of Messiah's
Kingdom. This "time of tribulation" is referred to severaltimes in Scripture
=GreatTribulation; Daniel's Seventieth Week;" a time of distress suchas
never occurredsince there was a nation until that time" = Daniel 12:1-note.
See discussionofthe "Time of Jacob's Trouble" in note on Jeremiah 30:7; see
commentary on Jesus'OlivetDiscourse Matthew 24:15 Matthew 24:16
Matthew 24:17 Matthew 24:18 Matthew 24:19 Matthew 24:20 Matthew
24:21).

(2) in the midst of this trouble and turmoil there would appear a prophet like
Elijah, heralding the coming of Messiah(Ed: cf the mysterious "two
witnesses"in Revelation11:3ff-note).
(3) Messiahwould establishHis kingdom, age and glory and vindicate His
people.
(4) and they found this in the Sibylline Oracles, the nations would ally to fight
the Messiah. Theywould literally interrupt all of their wars to come and fight
againstHim (Ed: See Revelation16:14-16-note).
(5) the Messiahwoulddestroy all the opposing nations, subjugate them all
(Ed: See Revelation19:11-21,espRev 19:15-note).
(6) the restorationof Jerusalemwould occur. It would be made new and
magnificent. (Ed: See Zechariah14:10-11-note)
(7) scatteredJews from all over the world would return to Israel. (Ed: Ezekiel
36:24-note)
(8) Israel would become the centerof the world and all nations would be
subjectedto the Messiah. (Ed: See Zechariah14:16-note)
(9) the Messiahwouldestablish the kingdom and the kingdom would be a time
of eternal peace, righteousness andglory. (Ed: See Isaiah2:2-4-note, Jer
33:15-16-note)

(MacArthur goes onto say) That's pretty accurate. Tribulation, an
announcement of the arrival of the Messiah, a prophet before He comes, like
Elijah. He comes, the world fights Him. He defeats them. He sets up His
kingdom, restores Jerusalem, gathers His people, His sheep from all over the
world. Israelbecomes the centerof the world. Jerusalemthe throne from
which He reigns. And He goes into a kingdom that is forever, a kingdom of
peace, righteousnessandglory. That's goodeschatology. That's my (John
MacArthur's) eschatology. And some people saysomebody invented this type
of eschatologyin the 1800's? Theseexpectationsonthe part of the Jews were
drawn from Old Testamentteaching and they were embellished by extra
biblical writers. They got a little carriedaway, but the basic eschatologyis
fairly sound. And remember, the first century Jews did not see two comings
of Messiahbut only saw one. Their idea was, all Jesus neededto do was show
up and do this (set up the Kingdom of God). They did not expect (or
understand) that He would come (first) to establisha spiritual kingdom. They
were not looking for an internal kingdom, a spiritual kingdom. To put it
simply, they were not looking for a Savior because they did not see their need
to be saved. And that is why Jesus'message wasso offensive. It wasn't that
they did not want the kingdom of God. It was not that they didn't like to hear
Jesus speak aboutthat kingdom. It was not that they were not looking for a
King. But it was the kind of kingdom Jesus was talking about that agitated
them.
The Jews tried on a number of occasionsto force Jesus to be a King. And He
had to prevent that from happening. In their minds they had experienced
enough tribulation, and even now were living through the tribulation. The
time was right for the King and the kingdom. They were weary of the
subjugation and oppressionof a series ofconquerors who had occupiedtheir
land, currently the Romans. And when Jesus came along, He just could not be
the Messiah, fornot only did He not conquer the Romans and establish His
throne, but where were all the signs in heaventhat were to accompanythe
coming of the Kingdom of God? The Jews had developed an eschatological

scheme which taught that there would be signs in the heavens, signs in the
earth, cataclysmic events, but not signs like healing or even resurrections and
any of the other miracles Jesus was performing. They did not anticipate those
"signs" and they simply did not fit into their systemof eschatology. And then
when Jesus startedtalking about dying, it was an absolute absurdity because
their understanding of the King was that He would come to conquer, not to be
conquered (Ed: Of course He did conquer Satan, sin and death!). And even
the disciples were struggling with their own expectations of this kingdom of
God. They knew those covenants in the Old Testament. The Pharisees who
askedthis question knew all of these prophecies. And they knew that God
keeps His Word. They knew that God had to fulfill His promises to Israel.
And it just frankly did not look like Jesus was the One to bring about the
fulfillment of the prophecies to Israel. (The Invisible Kingdom of God, Part 1)
RelatedResource fromAndy Woods
The Coming Kingdom - Part 1 of a 41 part series!!! (for the rest of the articles
click here and scrollthrough the pages)
Here is Emil Schurer's Outline of The MessianicHope
Relationto the older Messianic Hope
Historical Survey
Systematic Statement
a. Last Tribulation and Perplexity
b. Elias as the Forerunner
c. The Appearing of the Messiah
d. Last Attack of the Hostile Powers

e. Destructionof the Hostile Powers
f. Renovationof Jerusalem
g. Gathering of the Dispersed
h. The Kingdom of Glory in Palestine
i. Renovationof the World
j. The GeneralResurrection
k. The LastJudgment, Eternal Salvationand Condemnation
l. Appendix—The Suffering Messiah
Literature
Luke 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold,
the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
KJV Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the
Look, here it is Luke 21:8; Matthew 24:23-28;Mark 13:21
the kingdom of God Romans 14:17;Colossians 1:27
in your midst - within you or, among you. Luke 10:9-11;Matthew 12:28; John
1:26
THE INVISIBLE, INTERNAL, ETERNAL
KINGDOM OF GOD
Stein introduces this lastsectionof Luke with some interesting comments -
The setting of this material is unspecified, and as the introductory seam

reveals, there is no necessarytie with the preceding material. Luke wove this
sectionfrom various traditional materials and placed it here for reasons other
than chronology. Why he placed this material at this point, however, is
unclear. The accountconsists oftwo different sets of material. The first speaks
of the “alreadynow” or realized aspectof God’s kingdom (Lk 17:20–21). The
secondspeaks ofthe “not yet” or future aspectofthe kingdom (Lk 17:22–37).
The two sets ofteachings are connectedby catchwords:“come” (Lk 17:20)—
“is coming” (Lk 17:22); “here it is” or “there it is” (Lk 17:21)—“there he is!”
or “here he is!” (Lk 17:23). Similar material is found in Luke 21:7–35-note. ...
Within this “little Lukan apocalypse” we find side-by-side teachings that
demonstrate the twofold nature of God’s kingdom. The realized nature of the
kingdom is seenin Luke 17:20–21. In fulfillment of the OT promises God’s
kingdom is seenby Jesus and Luke as having already arrived so that the
Pharisees’questionin Lk 17:20 reveals the same error as the statement in Lk
14:15. Questions involving the future coming of God’s kingdom must not lose
sight of the already-now dimension of the kingdom. Already now the kingdom
has come, and the future not-yet dimension of God’s kingdom will be shared
only if one now enters the kingdom in its present manifestation. (New
American Commentary)
Wiersbe - The Jewishpeople lived in an excitedatmosphere of expectancy,
particularly at the Passoverseasonwhenthey commemoratedtheir
deliverance from Egypt. They longed for another Moses who would deliver
them from their bondage. Some had hoped that John the Baptist would be the
deliverer, and then the attention focusedon Jesus (John6:15). The fact that
He was going to Jerusalemexcitedthem all the more (Luke 19:11). Perhaps
He would establishthe promised kingdom! (Bible Exposition Commentary)
Nor will they say, ‘Look (idou), here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ - Jesus counters
their belief that the Kingdom of God would come in an obvious way that
would be visible to all to behold (including great signs to behold). To the
contrary, God’s kingdom would not be precededby signs that could be

observed. The Phariseeswere completelyoff base regarding their theologyof
the Kingdom. Then Jesus reallyrocks their boat with His next declaration.
Jesus had made it very clearwhat was required to "see" this "invisible"
kingdom. Speaking to Nicodemus He said “Truly, truly, I sayto you, unless
one is born againhe cannot (absolutely continually will not be able to) see the
Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).
Jesus gave a similar explanation in Matthew
Jesus answeredthem, “To you it has been granted to know (ED: TO "SEE"
SPIRITUALLY) the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has
not been granted. 12 “Forwhoeverhas, to him more shall be given, and he
will have an abundance; but whoeverdoes not have, even what he has shall be
takenawayfrom him. 13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables;because
while seeing they do not see (THE INVISIBLE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM), and
while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “In their case the
prophecy of Isaiahis being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON
HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;YOU WILL KEEP ON
SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15 FOR (term of explanation =
EXPLAINING WHY THEY CANNOT SEE THE SPIRITUAL, INVISIBLE
KINGDOM OF GOD)THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME
DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELYHEAR, AND THEY HAVE
CLOSED THEIR EYES (SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING), OTHERWISE
THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITHTHEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I
WOULD HEAL THEM.’ 16 “But blessedare your eyes, because theysee;
and your ears, because theyhear.

Belovedbrother or sisterin Christ, does the fact that you cantruly see the
invisible Kingdom of God not give you indescribable joy and a deep sense of
humility that cries "Why me Lord? Why am I so privileged?" How blessedwe
are as believers to be able to see and understand the Kingdom of God which is
shrouded in total mystery to the majority of the people we encounter daily.
This should motivate us even more to share the Gospelwith them, trusting in
the Spirit to "open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light ("I
ONCE WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE" listen to this version!) and from the
dominion of Satanto God, that they may receive forgiveness ofsins and an
inheritance among those who have been sanctifiedby faith in Me." (Acts
26:18-note)
Paul echoes the words of Jesus regarding the inability of the unregenerate
man to see the Kingdom of God explaining that...
"a natural man does not accept(WELCOME)the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot (ABSOLUTELY IN NOT
ABLE TO)understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (YOU
MUST HAVE SPIRITUAL EYES TO SEE THE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM
OF GOD).(1 Cor2:14-note)
Simply stated, if you do not recognize the King (Jesus)you cannot see the
Kingdom of God. However, as explained below, the day will come when even
the spiritually blind will see the Visible Kingdom, for they will then behold the
Visible King. Sadly, it will be too late to repent at that time. Today is the day
of salvation!
For behold (idou = "listenup" "Don't miss this!"), the kingdom of God is in
your midst - What is Jesus saying? He is saying the Kingdom of God is
present now, at the moment He spoke those words. One can only imagine the

look of confusion and consternationon the Pharisees andJews in general
when Jesus made this declaration! Even Jesus'owndisciples did not
comprehend what He was saying and so in Lk 17:37 ask “Where, Lord?” (in
context a question related to the Kingdom of God).
The kingdom of God - see note below.
Kingdom (932)(basileia from basileus = a sovereign, king, monarch) denotes
sovereignty, royal power, dominion. Basileia canalso referto the territory or
people overwhom a king rules, his sovereignrealm. Mostof the NT uses refer
to the Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew's gospel). And as
discussedin this section, one needs to understand that the kingdom refers to a
present, invisible Kingdom where Jesus is sovereignoverbeliever's hearts and
the future, visible kingdom, which John MacArthur explains
Jesus told the disciples in the Upper Room, “Truly I sayto you, I will never
againdrink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the
kingdom of God” (ED: HE IS REFERRING TO THE FUTURE EARTHLY
KINGDOM HE WILL ESTABLISH WHEN HE RETURNS). (Mark 14:25).
At the sheepand goatjudgment (ED: THIS EVENT COINCIDES WITHHIS
SECOND COMINGAND SHOULD BE DISTINGUISHED FROM THE
GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT1000YEARS LATER - Rev
20:11-15-note)“the King will sayto those on His right [the sheep], ‘Come, you
who are blessedof My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world’” (Mt. 25:34), but for those who reject Him “there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when [they] see Abraham and Isaac and
Jacoband all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but [they themselves]being
thrown out. And they will come from eastand westand from north and south,
and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:28-29). This
(ED: VISIBLE ASPECT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD) refers to our Lord’s

millennial reign on earth (Rev. 20:1-6-note). (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary – Luke 11-17)
The verb "is" (in your midst) is in the presenttense signifying the Kingdom of
God was presentnow, even as Jesus was speaking. Butthey could not see it!
They were waiting and looking for the Kingdom of God (see the summary of
their JewishEschatology), but it was continually present now! The Pharisees
(and most of the Jews and most of fallen mankind) simply did not have their
spiritual eyes opened to be able to see the Kingdom, because atpresentit is a
spiritual Kingdom, not a visible kingdom. When Christ returns as King of
kings (Rev 19:11-16-note), the invisible Kingdom of God will suddenly and
forever become a visible Kingdom. In the RevelationJohn writes of this
"visibility"
BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye
(REGENERATEAND UNREGENERATE)willsee Him, even those who
pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be.
Amen. (Rev 1:7-note)
The phrase in your midst is not translatedas accuratelyas it could be. A more
accurate translationis the kingdom of God is within you. In fact most of the
modern Bible translations have a marginal note that says "within you" (the
more literal translation) and some add "within your grasp" (but I think the
latter paraphrase is a bit of a stretch). Some commentaries argue that if it
were translated "in you" or "within you" then it would imply that the
Kingdom of God was actuallypresent in the Pharisees,whichof course it was
not.
John MacArthur comments on in your midst - Many translators, seekingto
avoid the apparent difficulty of Jesus saying that the kingdom was inside the

unbelieving Pharisees,translate the phrase in which it appears in your midst.
Howevera different phrase, en mesō, is regularly used to communicate the
idea of “in the midst of,” or “among” (e.g., Mt. 10:16; Lk 2:46; 8:7; 10:3;
22:27;24:36; Acts 1:15; 2:22; Heb. 2:12). The apparent difficulty is easily
resolvedby understanding your in the broadestnational sense rather than as
a narrow reference to the Pharisees.As was inevitably the case, the crowd
listening to the Lord’s dialogue with the Pharisees ranthe gamut from the
outright rejecters to the curious but uncommitted, to the true disciples of
Jesus. The Lord was reinforcing the point that the spiritual kingdom is
internal and not manifested by observable signs. (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary – Luke 11-17)
Wiersbe - The statement“the kingdom of Godis within you” has challenged
Bible translators and interpreters for centuries, and many explanations have
been given. One thing we can be sure of is that He was not telling the
unbelieving Pharisees thatthey had the kingdom of God in their hearts! The
Greek prepositioncan mean “within,” “among,” or“in the midst of.” Jesus
was saying, “Don’t look for the kingdom ‘out there’ unless it is first in your
own heart” (see Rom. 14:17). At the same time, He may also have been saying,
“The fact that I am here in your midst is what is important, for I am the King.
How can you enter the kingdom if you rejectthe King?” (see Luke 19:38–40)
The Pharisees were preoccupiedwith the greatevents of the future but were
ignoring the opportunities of the present (Luke 12:54–57).
In your midst (1787)(entos)is a preposition which means inside, which is
exactly what Jesus means in the only other NT use of this word declaring to
the Phariseesto "first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish so that the
outside of it may become cleanalso." (Mt 23:26). BDAG says entos "(1)
pertains to a specific area inside someth., inside, within, within the limits of"
and (2) pertaining to wha tis inside an area, content."
Gilbrant - Entos is properly an adverb of place and was used that wayin
classicaland Attic Greek, the Septuagint, the inscriptions, and other Greek

documents of the First and SecondCenturies A.D. It became an improper
preposition which took as its objecta noun in the genitive case. In the
Septuagint (e.g., Isaiah16:11;Psalm 103:1)entos refers to the inside of man
(i.e., the heart). It is used only as an improper preposition in the New
Testament. However, it still functions adverbially.
Earlier in Luke Jesus had taught about the Kingdom of God...
Luke 13:18-21-note So He was saying, “Whatis the kingdom of God like, and
to what shall I compare it? 19“Itis like a mustard seed, which a man took and
threw into his own garden;and it grew and became a tree, and THE BIRDS
OF THE AIR NESTEDIN ITS BRANCHES.” 20 And againHe said, “To
what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 “It is like leaven, which a
woman took and hid in three pecks offlour until it was all leavened.”
The kingdom of God begins in the heart of all who believe and it grows and
grows like the mustard seedand like leaven until it is fully realized in its
millennial glory, which is the final phase of the expanding Kingdom of God on
earth. In other words, the Kingdom of God begins as a spiritual Kingdom in
the heart but is consummatedin a visible Kingdom on earth in the
Millennium.
Just to reiterate -- So how does the Kingdom of God grow? Everytime a
person accepts Christas Savior and Lord the Kingdom of God grows or
expands so to speak, justas Luke describedin Acts 2:47 writing that "the
Lord was adding to their number day by day [Kingdom of Godexpanding]
those who were being saved." And not only does this aspectofthe Kingdom of
God grow like a mustard seedor like leaven, but one day when Christ the
King is revealedso too will be His loyal subjects. Paul explains this aspectof
the Kingdom of God in Romans 8 writing...

For the anxious longing of the creationwaits eagerly(apekdechomai)for the
revealing (apokalupsis = MEANS TAKING THE LID OFF TO REVEAL
WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY HIDDEN - SAINTS TODAY ARE IN A STAGE
OF "INCUBATION" WHICH ONE DAY WILL HATCH OUT IN GLORY!)
of the sons of God (BELIEVERS - SURE HOPEFULLY SOME OF YOUR
UNREGENERATE FRIENDSKNOW YOU ARE BELIEVERS [cf Mt 5:16,
Php 2:15] BUT THEY HAVE NO CLUE OF WHAT YOU WILL BE ON
THAT DAY WHEN YOU ARE GLORIFIED!). 20 For the creationwas
subjectedto futility, not willingly, but because ofHim who subjectedit, in
hope (ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE OF FUTURE GOOD)21 that the creation
itself also will be setfree from its slaveryto corruption into the freedom of the
glory of the children of God. (THIS DESCRIBESSAINTS IN THEIR
ETERNALGLORIFIED STATE!) (Ro 8:19-note;Ro 8:20-21-note)
John also alludes to the fact that the world looks atus today and has no clue
as to our real identity in Christ and thus who we are destined to become when
we are glorified...
See how greata love the Father has bestowedon us, that we would be called
children of God; and such we are. For this reasonthe world does not know us,
because it did not know Him (THEY DID NOT KNOW THE KING AND
THUS THEY ARE UNABLE TO RECOGNIZE HIS SUBJECTSIN THEIR
FULL GLORY FOR IT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVEALED). 2 Beloved, now
we are children of God, and it has not appearedas yet what we will be. We
know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just
as He is.(1 Jn 3:1-note, 1Jn 3:2-note)
So when the King returns in His glory, the world will see Him and will also see
His loyal subjects arrayed in His glory. Oh, happy day!

In your midst - The kingdom of God was in their midst because the rule of
God was being acknowledgedby many (that is of course whatcausedthe
Pharisees considerable jealousyand angst). AMILLENIALISTS use this verse
to say that Jesus Himself did not believe in a literal 1000 yearreign on earth
AND thus prophecies regarding Israel are not to be interpreted LITERALLY
(this was Augustine's approachto the Scripture).
MacArthur writes that "The kingdom of which Jesus spoke is, as Paul wrote,
marked by “righteousness andpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Ro 14:17+).
It exists in the hearts of all those in whom the King lives. The wonder of
wonders is that the Trinity takes up residence in the hearts of those who
embrace Christ and enter the spiritual kingdom. In John 14:17 Jesus
promised that the Holy Spirit would indwell believers, while in John 14:23 He
added, “If anyone loves Me, he will keepMy word; and My Father will love
him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (Ibid)
Cole sees a slightly different meaning to Jesus'explanation of the kingdom in
their midst - “The kingdom of God is here in your very midst in the person of
the King, and yet you have not recognizedit because youwrongly expectit to
be ushered in with greatflourish.” It is interesting howeverthat Cole then
goes onto describe the growth of the kingdom of God alluding to Luke 13:18-
19-see notes andwrites "Thus the initial coming of God’s kingdom begins
relatively unnoticed, like the mustard seedplanted in the ground. As people
yield their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, He begins to reign in their
hearts. In that sense His kingdom is presently being establishedin and
through His church, as the gospelis proclaimed and believed. But, this is not
the final form of His kingdom. He will return personally in power and glory to
judge His enemies and to rule over the whole earth, as He goes onto teach
(Luke 17:22-37)."
The kingdom of God - Matthew uses the synonymous phrase the Kingdom of
Heaven where "heaven" is used as a "euphemism" for the Name God which
orthodox Jews would not pronounce. Thus Matthew being sensitive to the

Jewishscruples, substitutes the name of the divine place for the name of the
divine Person(God). Other than the Gospelof Matthew, the NT writers
referred to the Kingdom of God. In simple terms this phrase defines that
sphere over which God exercisessupreme, sovereignauthority. As discussed
in Jesus'day the Kingdom of Godwas invisible and internal, being manifest
in the hearts of believers, those who are subject His rule. Note that both Jesus
(Mt 4:17+, Mt 10:7+, Lk 4:43+, Lk 8:1+, Lk 16:16+)and the apostles (Phillip
in Acts 8:12+, Paul in Acts 20:25+, Acts 28:31+)focusedon the preaching of
the Kingdom of God.
See Tony Garland's interesting analysis of The Arrival of the Kingdom of God
See George Peters'article on Lk 17:21 entitled "The passagemostrelied on to
prove the Church-Kingdom theory utterly disproves it."
Backgroundon Peters - Without a doubt the most extensive work everwritten
on the Kingdom of Godis George N. H. Peters (a Lutheran pastor) three
volume work published in 1884 and entitled "The Theocratic Kingdom."
What is fascinating about his life work, which is some 2189 pages in length, is
that (1) he was not a dispensationalist, (2) he approachedthe interpretation of
the Holy Scriptures from a literal perspective and (3) he believed that the
Scriptures clearlytaught that God was not finished with Israeland that there
would be an earthly Kingdom of Godover which Jesus Christ would reign as
King.
Luke repeatedly alludes to the Kingdom in both his Gospeland the book of
Acts. His use in the Gospelis interesting as many commentators saythat
Luke's Gospelis primarily directly to Gentiles. And yet Luke places great
emphasis on the Kingdom of God which is indeed what the Jews ofJesus'day
were looking and hoping for.

For those who literally interpret Rev 20:1-10+ here is a proposed schematic...
KINGDOM OF GOD PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
FROM BIBLE.ORG
Here are all of Luke's uses of Kingdom (including the phrase "Kingdom of
God").
Luke 1:33-note and He will reign over the house of Jacobforever, and His
kingdom will have no end."
Ryrie - As the Davidic Messiah, Jesuswill reign over the house of Jacob,
which will happen in the millennial kingdom. This promise is not now being
fulfilled simply because the church is not the house of Jacob, andChrist is
presently at the right hand of the Father, which is never equated with the
throne of David.
Luke 4:43-note But He said to them, "I must preachthe kingdom of God to
the other cities also, for I was sentfor this purpose."
Comment: Notice that "the kingdom of God" is the main theme of Jesus'
preaching. This is its first mention in Luke where it occurs 32 times (cf. Mark
1:14, 15+). The Jews understoodthis as the time when God would openly
assume His royal power.

Luke 6:20-note And turning His gaze towardHis disciples, He began to say,
"Blessedare you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Comment: The poor in spirit are those who belong to the kingdom of God and
thus they are by default believers in Messiah, those who are born again (cf
John 3:3+).
Luke 7:28-note "I sayto you, among those born of women there is no one
greaterthan John; yet he who is leastin the kingdom of God is greaterthan
he."
MacArthur - John was greaterthan the OT prophets because he actually saw
with his eyes and personally participated in the fulfillment of what they only
prophesied (Mt 11:10, 13+;cf. 1Pe 1:10, 11+). But all believers after the cross
are greaterstill, because they participate in the full understanding and
experience of something John merely foresaw in shadowy form—the actual
atoning work of Christ.
Luke 8:1-note Soonafterwards, He begangoing around from one city and
village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve
were with Him,
Luke 8:10-note And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the restit is in parables, so that
SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT
UNDERSTAND.

Comment: Only those born againcould "see"(and understand, cf John 3:3+)
the mysteries (hidden from view of unregenerate men but revealedby God to
His children in the faith) of this phase of the Kingdom of God in contrastto
the day when the King returns and all men when then see the Kingdom of
God, but only those born again will gain entry into the Millennial Kingdom.
Luke 9:2-note And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to
perform healing.
Comment: So not only Jesus but His disciples were proclaiming the Good
News ofthe Kingdom of God which could only be entered by grace through
faith.
Luke 9:11-note But the crowds were aware ofthis and followed Him; and
welcoming them, He beganspeaking to them about the kingdom of God and
curing those who had need of healing.
Luke 9:27-note But I sayto you truthfully, there are some of those standing
here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God." (Matthew
adds "until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Mt 16:28)
Comment: Jesus is referring to Peter, John, and James, who would witness
the transfiguration (but not everyone agrees with this interpretation but the
context favors the transfiguration which follows immediately Lk 9:28-36),
which would be a "preview of coming attractions," so to speak. And so in this
special, unique moment, the otherwise invisible kingdom was made visible in
part to these three chosenmen so that they might have a foretaste of the
glories to be revealedwhen Jesus returned as King of kings to setup His
earthly kingdom to be ruled from Jerusalem(cf Mt 24:30-note).

Luke 9:60-note But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead;
but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:62-note But Jesus saidto him, "No one, after putting his hand to the
plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Comment: I'm a farm boy and if you drive the tractorcontinually looking
backwards, your furrows will be crooked. Jesus is calling him to lay aside
double mindedness for no one can follow Christ with a divided heart, and thus
they will miss the Kingdom of God.
Luke 10:9-10-note and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The
kingdom of God has come near to you.' 'Even the dust of your city which
clings to our feet we wipe off in protest againstyou; yet be sure of this, that
the kingdom of God has come near.'
Comment: As the disciples went out they were to emphasize the Kingdom of
God because as we have noted that is what the Jews were looking for. The
kingdom came near because the King was present and His messageexplained
how to enter His Kingdom. To miss the messageis to miss the Kingdom of
God (then and still true today).
Luke 11:2-note And He saidto them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed
be Your name. Your kingdom come. (An imperative - "let it happen" is the
idea).

Comment: This is a prayer most of us have prayed but probably never really
understood what we were praying. To ask Godfor His Kingdom to come has
two applications. The first is that the invisible Kingdom would come into
hearts of lostaround us, and in believing in Jesus, theywould enter His
Kingdom. This growth of the Kingdom of God by addition of new believers is
depicted by the tiny mustard seedgrowing into a huge tree and the speck of
leavenspreading throughout the flour. John MacArthur goes into greater
depth and sees actually3 ways the invisible Kingdom grows - see his sermon
on this verse.
Luke 11:17-18-note ButHe knew their thoughts and said to them, "Any
kingdom divided againstitself is laid waste;and a house divided againstitself
falls."IfSatan also is divided againsthimself, how will his kingdom stand? For
you saythat I castout demons by Beelzebul....Luke 11:20-note "Butif I cast
out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon
you.
Comment: The kingdom of God was upon them because the King was present
in their midst. If they had receivedJesus as Redeemerand Lord, they would
have entered into the invisible Kingdom of God, but in their state of self-
righteousness andhardened hearts, not only did they not receive Christ, but
they committed an abominable blasphemy againstHim!
Luke 12:31-note "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to
you. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Fatherhas chosengladly to give
you the kingdom.
Comment: Jesus is calling for us to focus not on earthly, material things but
on His kingdom, worshiping, serving and proclaiming that kingdom, the
sphere where Jesus rules as King and Lord.

Luke 13:18-note So He was saying, "What is the kingdom of God like, and to
what shall I compare it?...Luke 13:20-note And again He said, "To what shall
I compare the kingdom of God?
Comment: We have already explained that just as these start small and grow
big, so too would the Kingdom of God, starting in individual hearts in an
invisible form today, but in the future being world wide and visible. This
reminds me of Habakkuk's prophecythat "the earth will be filled With the
knowledge ofthe glory of the LORD, as the waters coverthe sea." (Hab 2:14-
note).
Luke 13:28-29-note "Inthat place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth
when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacoband all the prophets in the
kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. 29 "And they will come
from eastand westand from north and south, and will recline at the table in
the kingdom of God.
Comment: Forthose who reject Jesus'proclamationof the Kingdom of God,
there is but one alternative and that is eternal punishment. MacArthur
explains "The torment of hell will not be limited to the pain of punishment,
but will include the remorse, shock, andsurprise of those who ended up there
despite thinking they were going to heaven. The more people in hell knew
about the gospel, the more profound their remorse will be; their pain will be
proportional to their level of rejection. And since their rejectionwill be
eternal and incurable, so will their sin be and the judgment of that sin." Why
would the Jewishpeople be shockedwhen one minute after death they were in
hell? It was because they took it for granted that they would be savedsimply
because they were physical children of Abraham. But unless they believed as
did Abraham (Ge 15:6-note), they would not enter the Kingdom of heaven
with their Jewishpatriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

Luke 14:15-note When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him
heard this, he said to Him, "Blessedis everyone who will eatbread in the
kingdom of God!"
MacArthur - This was a beatitude; a toastdirected at himself and his fellow
Pharisees,affirming that they will be among the blessedat the heavenly
banquet in the kingdom of God. (ED: AS I LIKE TO SAY WHEN A
PERSON IS DECEIVED, BYDEFINITION THEY DO NOT KNOW THEY
ARE DECEIVED - THIS MAN IS NOT DECEIVED TODAY FOR HE IS IN
HADES AWAITING THE FINAL GREAT WHITE THRONE
JUDGMENT!)It was not only a pronouncement of blessing on themselves,
but also a scornful rebuke of the Lord’s declarationthat they were too proud
to enter God’s kingdom (cf. Lk 14:11). His words bounced off their confidence
that their Abrahamic ancestry(cf. John 8:33-59)and adherence to the
traditions, regulations, and rituals would secure a place for them at God’s
banquet. Notonly did they fully expectto be at that heavenly feast, but also to
be in the seats ofhonor. (MacArthur New TestamentCommentary – Luke 11-
17)
Luke 16:16-note "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John
(REFERRINGTO THE OT); since that time (JESUS TOOKCENTER
STAGE)the gospelofthe kingdom of Godhas been preached, and everyone is
forcing his way into it (SEE Luke 9:23-note; cf. Lk 14:26-27-note)
Luke 17:20-21-note Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when
the kingdom of God was coming, He answeredthem and said, "The kingdom
of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, 'Look,
here it is!' or, 'There it is!' Forbehold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
Luke 18:16-17-note ButJesus calledfor them, saying, "Permit the children to
come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such

as these. 17 "Truly I sayto you, whoeverdoes not receive the kingdom of God
like a child will not enter it at all."
Comment: Referring to the role of faith in Jesus as the requirement to enter
the Kingdom of God, invisible today, but one day in the future visible.
Luke 18:24-25-note And Jesus lookedathim and said, "How hard it is for
those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25 "Forit is easierfor a
camelto go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God."
Comment: Wealthis like a god that obscures one's needfor the true God!
Luke 18:29-note And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one
who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of
the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and
in the age to come, eternallife.”
Comment: Matthew's Gospel(Mt 19:28)adds the phrase "in the
regeneration" (Mt19:28), which in simple terms refers to Jesus'earthly,
millennial kingdom. MacArthur adds that "That kingdom will be the rebirth
of the world; paradise regained. Those who have been granted a spiritual
rebirth at salvationwill participate in the rebirth of the earth; the “times of
refreshing” (Acts 3:19) and the “periodof restorationof all things” (v. 21). It
is the kingdom about which Jesus taughtthe disciples for forty days between
His resurrectionand ascension(Acts 1:3). In that kingdom, the apostles will
“sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Luke 19:11-note While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to
tell a parable, because He was nearJerusalem, and they supposed that the
kingdom of God was going to appearimmediately.
Comment: The crowdfollowing Jesus thought that Jesus was getting ready to
setup His earthly kingdom, the kingdom that the Jews had been anticipating
and for which they were fervently longing. The verb "appear" is a nautical
term like a ship appearing on the horizon. Again, the majority of Jews had
failed to receive His messagethat they must first enter the invisible Kingdom
of God by grace through faith and then they would be able to enter the King's
earthly kingdom. As John wrote "He came to His own, and those who were
His own did not receive Him (AS SAVIOR AND KING)." (Jn 1:11).
Luke 21:10-note Then He continued by saying to them, "Nationwill rise
againstnation and kingdom againstkingdom,
Luke 21:31-note "So you also, when you see these things happening,
recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
Luke 22:16-note for I say to you, I shall never again eatit until it is fulfilled in
the kingdom of God."...Lk 22:18-note forI sayto you, I will not drink of the
fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes."
Comment: O glorious day! Notice that with the phrase "until the kingdom of
God comes" is a clearreference to the future visible reign of King Jesus. At
that time He will eatand drink againin His millennial kingdom. What a
tragedy to miss this glorious celebrationby rejecting His offer of salvation!

Luke 22:29-30-note andjust as My Fatherhas granted Me a kingdom, I grant
you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit
on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Comment: The kingdom the Father had granted Jesus is a reference to His
Messianic Kingdom (Millennium).
Luke 23:42-note And he was saying, "Jesus,remember me when You come in
Your kingdom!" 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall
be with Me in Paradise.”
Comment: The thief on the cross understood what the religious Jews in their
pride and hard hearts simply could not see!His reference to your kingdom
was a plea for forgiveness ofhis sins. He had seenChrist forgive those who
crucified Him and so he soughtpersonalforgiveness.
Luke 23:51 -note he (Joseph- Lk 23:50)had not consentedto their plan and
action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the
kingdom of God;
Comment: What was Josephwaiting for? Ultimately the same thing as the
other Jews but his eyes had been opened to understand that it had to first be
entered by faith and later would come in full bloom in the Millennium.
MacArthur adds that Joseph"joins the list of righteous people whom Luke
mentions, including Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist
(Lk 1:5-note), Simeon(Lk 2:25-note = "looking for the consolationofIsrael"),
and Anna (Lk 2:36-38-note "allthose who were looking for the redemption of
Jerusalem"). According to John 19:38 Josephwas a disciple of Jesus Christ,
albeit a secretone, who was afraid to make his faith in Christ known. But

while many secretdisciples were false disciples, and not true believers (John
12:42-43), he was a true disciple, as his actions demonstrate." (MacArthur
New TestamentCommentary – Luke 18-24)
Acts 1:3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by
many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and
speaking ofthe things concerning the kingdom of God.
Comment: Jesus was "filling in the blanks" regarding the disciple's
understanding of the Kingdom of God, especiallythe truth related to His rule
over believer's hearts, which was the sphere (the "kingdom")over which He
was to be King. He must have also spoke aboutaspects ofthe future
Millennial kingdom as suggestedby their question in Acts 1:6 where they
wanted to know the specific time when this glorious Kingdom would be a
reality?
Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying,
“Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
Comment: The disciples still held on to the hope that now that Jesus had been
crucified, He would establishHis earthly kingdom. When Jesus was askedby
the Phariseesaboutthe Kingdom of God, He answered"behold, the kingdom
of God is in your midst. The Pharisees andmost of the Jews (including His
disciples)were expecting that when the Messiahcame, He would bring in a
political Kingdom. But Jesus counteredtheir belief by explaining that His first
coming would make available an "internal," invisible Kingdom in the hearts
of all who believed in Him. It would not be until His SecondComing that He
would establish His external, visible Kingdom, a Kingdom for which His
disciples had been praying for centuries (Mt 6:10-note - and unfortunately
many have not fully understood for what they were praying!). As described
above in Acts 1:3, even after His resurrection and shortly before He ascended
Jesus had been "filling in the blanks" regarding His coming Kingdom. And in

that context their question in Acts 1:6 is very significantregarding a proper
understanding of the Kingdom of God. Even the ESV Study Bible comments
that "The disciples...concludedfrom his resurrectionand the promise of the
Spirit that the messianic era had dawnedand the final salvationof Israel was
imminent." Two points are significant - (1) Jesus did not refute their
understanding of the restorationof the Kingdom, but their understanding of
the timing of that restoration(see Acts 1:7-8) (2) Notice the verb restore which
in in Greek verb apokathistemiwhich means to restore to an earlier condition,
to reinstate, to return to a position. They had just askedabout the nation of
Israelas to when it would be restoredto its former position as chief of the
nations in the Kingdom of God. Those who hold to the false teaching that the
promises to Israel have been replacedby the Church have considerable
difficulty with passages like Acts 1:6. Why? Becauseif Israelhas been
replacedby the Church, this passage wouldmake absolutely no sense and one
would think Jesus wouldhave correctedthem. In other words, the Church
had not even come into existence!How could it be restoredto its earlier
condition? Clearly it could not be because it did not have an "earlier
condition." The disciples' question is referring to the Kingdom being restored
to the nation of Israel. This is another peg in the coffin of replacement
theology. (See What is replacementtheology/ supersessionism?)
MacArthur agrees writing that Jesus'answerin Acts 1:7 (He saidto them, “It
is not for you to know times or epochs which the Fatherhas fixed by His own
authority;) "shows thatthe apostles’expectationofa literal, earthly kingdom
mirrored what Christ taught and what the OT predicted. Otherwise, He
would have correctedthem about such a crucial aspectof His teaching."
Constable agrees"thatJesus did not correctthe disciples for believing that
the messianic kingdomwould come. He only correctedtheir assumption that
they could know when the kingdom would begin and that the kingdom would
begin in a few days."

Dwight Pentecost - “This passage makesit clearthat while the covenanted
form of the theocracyhas not been cancelledand has only been postponed,
this present age is definitely not a period in which a new form of theocratic
administration is inaugurated. In this way Jesus not only answeredthe
disciples’question concerning the timing of the future Davidic kingdom, but
He also made a cleardistinction betweenit and the intervening present form
of the theocratic administration.”
John A. McLeanwrites - Amillennialists do not believe that God will restore
an earthly kingdom to Israelas Israelbut that He will restore a spiritual
kingdom to the church, which they believe has replacedphysical Israel as
“spiritual Israel” or “the new Israel.” Premillennialists believe that since the
promises about Messiah’searthly reign have not yet been fulfilled, and since
every reference to Israelin the New Testamentcanrefer to physical Israel, we
should anticipate an earthly reign of Messiahonthe earth following His
secondcoming. (Did Jesus Correctthe Disciples’View of the Kingdom?”
Bibliotheca Sacra 151:602(April-June 1994):215-27)
MacArthur adds this comment by first asking:What kingdom? The visible
(external) Kingdom of God. The apostles sharedthe fervent hope of their
nation that Messiahwould come and take up His earthly kingdom. Often
Jesus had taught them prophetically about the future (Mt 13:40-50;24, 25;
Luke 12:36-40;17:20-37;21:5-36). The enthusiastic question they were asking
Him, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" is thus
perfectly understandable. After all, here was the resurrectedMessiah
speaking with them about His Kingdom. They knew of no reasonthe earthly
form of the Kingdom could not be set up immediately, since the Messianic
work signaling the end of the age had arrived (ED COMMENT:OR SO
THEY THOUGHT, BUT THEY WERE MISTAKEN BECAUSE THEY DID
NOT UNDERSTAND THAT FIRST MUST COME THE Time of Jacob's
Distress describedin Jeremiah30:7-note). It must be remembered that the
interval betweenthe two comings of Messiahwas not explicitly taught in the

Old Testament. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were greatly
disappointed that Jesus had not redeemedIsrael and set up the kingdom
(Luke 24:21-note). Further, the apostles knew that Ezekiel36 and Joel2
connectedthe coming of the kingdom with the outpouring of the Spirit Jesus
had just promised. It is understandable that they hoped the arrival of the
kingdom was imminent. Surely it was for this kingdom they had hoped since
they first joined Jesus. Theyhad experienceda roller coasterride of hope and
doubt which they now felt might be over. (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary – Acts 1-12)
Acts 3:19-21 (Luke makes a definite allusion to the Kingdom quoting Peteras
he addresses the Jews afterhe was filled with the Spirit on Pentecost)
“Therefore repentand return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order
that times of refreshing (THIS REFERS TO THE COMING KINGDOM -
NOTE HOW IT IS LINKED WITH THE SECOND COMINGIN NEXT
VERSE)may come from the presence ofthe Lord; 20 and that He may send
Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 Whom heaven must receive (HIS
ASCENSION AND HIS SEATING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE
FATHER DURING THE CHURCH AGE, THE "DIVINE PARENTHESIS")
until the period of restoration(SEE BELOW) of all things about which God
spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
Comment: This phrase the PERIOD OF RESTORATION speaksofthe
coming Kingdom of Messiah. And to substantiate this premise notice that
restorationis the Greek wordapokatastasis(usedonly here in Scripture and
meaning a restitution of a thing to its former condition) which is derived from
the rootverb apokathistemi. Apokathistemi is the same verb used by the
disciples in their question to Jesus in Acts 1:6 which we have discussedabove.
This associationis clearly no accidentfor both passagesreferto the same
period of time, the coming Kingdom of God, the time when Messiahrules and
reigns from His Holy City (see Zech 14:16, 20-21-commentary)

Tannehill comments that "There is a close connectionbetweenthe hope
expressedin 1:6 and the conditional promise of Peterin 3:19–21, indicatednot
only by the unusual words ‘restore’and ‘restoration...butalso by the
references to "times" (kairos in Acts 1:7) and "seasons"("times" = kairos in
Acts 3:19) in both contexts. The ‘times of restorationof all that God spoke’
through the prophets include the restorationof the reign to Israelthrough its
messianic King.” (RobertC. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts)
Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the goodnews about the
kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men
and women alike.
Comment: This refers not to the visible kingdom, but to the invisible
kingdom, for one must first enter that kingdom by grace through faith before
they could enter the visible Messianic Kingdom.
Acts 14:22 (After they had preached the gospelto that city and had made
many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch- Acts
14:21)strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue
in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the
kingdom of God.”
Comment: In view of many tribulations perseverancewouldbe necessary.
And those who persevere to the end will be saved(Mt 24:13, Heb 3:6, 14) and
enter the Kingdom. Don't misunderstand -- their perseverance wouldnot save
them, but it would be an indication that they were genuinely saved(and thus
enabled to persevere by the indwelling Spirit).

Acts 19:8 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly
for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
Comment: Of course Paul was explaining to them about the invisible
Kingdom which could only be entered by faith in the Messiah. The following
three uses of kingdom in Acts (below)have the same sense. Paulwas
explaining the way of salvation.
Acts 20:25 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went
about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.
Acts 28:23 When they had seta day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging
in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about
the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both
the Law of Moses andfrom the Prophets, from morning until evening.
Acts 28:31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.
Comment: What was Paul testifying about in Acts 28:23? Whatis he
preaching in this verse and Acts 20:25? The Gospelby which if receivedand
believed one enters into the Kingdom of God now and in the future when it is
consummated at the return of the King of that kingdom.
SCOFIELD:Kingdom Old TestamentSummary
I. Dominion over the Earth before the Call of Abraham.

(1) Dominion over creationwas given to the first man and woman (Ge 1:26-
28). Through the fall this dominion was lost, Satanbecoming "prince of this
world" (Mt 4:8-10; Jn 14:30). Cp Heb 2:5-9
(2) After the flood, the principle of human government was establishedunder
the covenantwith Noah(Gen 9:6; see Gen9:16, note). Biblically, this is still
the charterof all government.
II. The Theocratic Kingdom in Israel.
(See also 1Sa 8:7, note.) The call of Abraham involved, with much else, the
creationof a distinctive people through whom greatpurposes of Godtoward
the human race might be workedout (see Israel, Ge12:1-3;Ro 11:26, note).
Among these purposes is the establishment of a worldwide kingdom.
The history of the divine mediatorial rule in Israel:
(1) Its establishment under Moses (Ex19:3-7;cp. Ex 3:1-10;24:12).
(2) Its administration under leader-judges (Jos 1:1-5; Jdg 2:16-18).
(3) Its administration under kings (1Sa10:1,24;16:1-13;1Ki 9:1-5).
(4) Its end at the captivity (Ezek 21:25-27;cp Je 27:6-8; Da 2:36-38)
III. The Future Restorationofthe Theocratic Kingdom.

(1) The Davidic Covenant (2Sa 7:8-16, 16, cp Ro 1:3 "descendantof David" =
Messiah];Ps 89:3-4,20, 21,28-37).
(2) The exposition of the Davidic Covenantby the prophets (Isa 1:25, 26 to
Zech 12:6-8). They describe the kingdom as follows:
(a) It will be Davidic, to be establishedunder David's heir who is to be born of
a virgin, therefore truly man, but also "Immanuel," "Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"(Isa 7:13 - 14; 9:6 - 7; 11:1; Jer23:5;
Ezek 34:23 (Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he
will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.24 "And I, the
LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I,
the LORD, have spoken.)
Ezek37:24;Hos3:4-5).
(b) It will be a kingdom heavenly in origin, principle, and authority (Da 2:34,
35,44, 45), but set up on the earth, with Jerusalemas the capital (Isa 2:2-4;
4:3,5; 24:23;33:20; 62:1-7;Jer 23:5; 31:38-40;Joel3:1,16-17).
(c) The kingdom is to be establishedfirst over regathered, restored, and
convertedIsrael, and is then to become universal (Ps 2:6-8; 22:1-31;24:1-10;
Isa 1:2-3; 11:1,10-13;60:12; Jer23:5-8; 30:7-11;Ezek 20:33-40;37:21-25;
Zech 9:10; 14:16-19).
(d) The moral characteristicsofthe kingdom are to be righteousness and
peace. The meek, not the proud, will inherit the earth; longevity will be
greatly increased;the knowledge ofthe LORD will be universal; beast-
ferocity will be removed; absolute equity will be enforced;and open sin will be
visited with instant judgment; whereas the enormous majority of earth's

inhabitants will be saved(Ps 2:9; Isa 11:4,6 - 9; 26:9; 65:20; Zech 14:16 - 21).
The N.T. (Rev 20:1 - 5) adds a detail of immense significance -the removal of
Satanfrom the scene. It is impossible to conceive to what heights of spiritual,
intellectual, and physical perfection humanity will attain in this, its coming
age of righteousness andpeace (Ps 72:1 -10; Isa 11:4 - 9).
(e) The kingdom is to be establishedby power, not persuasion, and is to follow
divine judgment upon the Gentile world powers (Ps 2:4-9; Isa 9:7; Da 2:35,44-
45; 7:26-27;Zech 14:1 - 19). See Zech6:11, note.
(f) The restorationof Israeland the establishmentof the kingdom are
connectedwith the advent of the LORD, yet future (Deu 30:3 - 5; Ps 2:1 - 9;
Zech 14:4).
(g) The chastisementreservedfor disobedience in the house of David (2 Sam
7:14; Ps 89:30 - 33)fell in the captivities and worldwide dispersion. Since that
time, though a remnant returned under prince Zerubbabel, Jerusalemhas
generallybeen under the political authority of Gentiles. The Davidic Covenant
has not been abrogated(Ps 89:33 - 37), however, but is yet to be fulfilled (Acts
15:14 - 17).
Kingdom (New Testament.), Summary:
Kingdom truth is developedin the N.T. in the following order:
(1) The promise of the kingdom to David and his descendants, and described
in the prophets (2 Sam 7:8 - 17, and notes; Zech 12:8), enters the N.T.

absolutely unchanged(Luke 1:31 - 33). The King was born in Bethlehem (Mat
2:1; cp. Mic 5:2) of a virgin (Mat 1:18 - 25;cp. Isa 7:14).
(2) The kingdom announced as "near" (Mat4:17, note) by John the Baptist,
by the King, and by the Twelve, was rejectedby the Jews, firstmorally (Mat
11:20, note), and afterward officially (Mat 21:42 - 43), and the King, crowned
with thorns, was crucified.
(3) In anticipation of His officialrejection and crucifixion, the King revealed
the "secrets"ofthe kingdom of heaven (Mat 13:11, note) to be fulfilled in the
interval betweenHis rejectionand His return in glory (Mat 13:1 - 50).
(4) Afterward He announcedHis purpose to "build" His Church (Mat 16:18,
notes;cp. Eph 3:9 -11), another "mystery" which is being fulfilled in this
present age contemporaneouslywith "the secrets ofthe kingdom of heaven."
The "secretsofthe kingdom of heaven" and the "mystery" of the Church
(Eph 3:9 - 11)occupy for the most part the same period, i.e. this present age.
(5) The secrets ofthe kingdom will be brought to an end by the "harvest"
(Mat 13:39 - 43,49 - 50)at the return of the King in glory, the Church having
previously been caughtup to meet Him in the air (1 Th 4:13 - 17).
(6) Upon His return the King will restore the Davidic monarchy in His own
Person, regatherdispersedIsrael, establishHis powerover all the earth, and
reign 1000 years (Mat24:27 - 30;Acts 15:14 - 17; Rev 20:1 - 10). And
(7) the kingdom of heaven (Mat 3:2, note), thus establishedunder David's
divine Son, has for its object the restorationof the divine authority in the

earth, which may be regardedas a revolted province of the greatkingdom of
God (Mat 6:33, note). The Kingdom Age of 1000 years constitutes the seventh
dispensation(Rev 20:4, note). When Christ defeats the last enemy, death (vv.
24 - 26), then He will deliver up the kingdom to "Godthe Father," that "God
[i.e. the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] may be all in all" (v. 28).
The eternal throne is that "of God and of the Lamb" (Rev 22:1).
WILLIAM BARCLAY
In Luke 17:20-21 Jesusansweredthe question of the Phariseesas to when the
kingdom of God would come. He said that it would not come with signs that
watchfor. The word he used is the word used for a doctor watching a patient
for symptoms of some disease which he suspects.
We are not quite sure what Jesus wenton to say. The Greek may mean two
things.
(a) It may mean, the kingdom of God is within you. That is to say, the
kingdom of God works in men's hearts; it is to produce not new things, but
new people. It is not a revolution in material things that we are to look for, but
a revolution in the hearts of men.
(b) It may mean, the kingdom of Godis among you. That would refer to Jesus
himself. He was the very embodiment of the kingdom, and they did not
recognize him. It was as if he said, "The whole offer and secretof God are
here--and you will not acceptthem."

JIM BOMKAMP
. VS 17:20-21 -“20 Now having been questionedby the Pharisees as to
when the kingdom of God was coming, He answeredthem and said, “The
kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;21 nor will they say,
‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your
midst.”” - When askedby some Pharisees aboutwhen God’s kingdom was
coming, Jesus says first of all that the kingdom of God ‘is not coming with
signs to be observed’and that it is actually ‘in your midst’
2.1. The source of this question about the timing of the coming of
God’s kingdom is some Pharisees. Thoughwe have seenthe growing hatred
of the Pharisees forJesus and that they were now plotting how to kill Him, the
motive for this question is not given and it is possibly unimportant for us to
know this detail.
2.2. Jesus’answerthat the kingdom of God will not come ‘with
signs to be observed’reveals that the arrival of God’s kingdom will be quite a
different event than the consummation of His kingdom. The first advent of
Christ was one that revealedthe humbled suffering Saviorfor mankind in
which the emphasis was Jesus’death upon the cross to make atonement for
the sins of mankind. The secondadvent of Christ is still a future event and it
will be a time of exaltation for the glorious and exaltedking Jesus as He

executes justice and vengeance upon His enemies, and as He takes His throne
and begins the reign of His Millennial Kingdom upon the earth.
2.3. The first advent of Christ came with signs for but a few upon
the earth, including Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, Elizabeth, some shepherds,
some wise men from Mesopotania. The restof the world was unaware of what
greatthings were occurring upon the earth in fulfillment of God’s plan to
establishHis kingdom upon the earth. Thus, Jesus was correctin stating that
God’s kingdom would not arrive with signs to be observed. The Second
Advent of Christ will be a different story when it arrives, there will be many
signs to be observedat that time (see Luke 21; Matt. 24; Mark 13).
2.4. A book called Concise Theologythat I found in my Bible
software has the following quote concerning Christ’s SecondAdvent, “The
New Testamentrepeatedlyannounces that Jesus Christ will one day be back.
This will be his “royalvisit,” his “appearing” and “coming” (Greek:
parousia). Christ will return to this world in glory. The Savior’s second
advent will be personaland physical (Matt. 24:44;Acts 1:11; Col. 3:4; 2 Tim.
4:8; Heb. 9:28), visible and triumphant (Mark 8:38; 2 Thess. 1:10;Rev. 1:7).
Jesus comes to end history, to raise the dead and judge the world (John 5:28-
29), to impart to God’s children their final glory (Rom. 8:17-18;Col. 3:4), and
to usher in a reconstructeduniverse (Rom. 8:19-21;2 Pet. 3:10-13). His
executionof this agenda will be the lastphase and final triumph of his
mediatorial kingdom. Once these things are done, the applying of redemption
againstSatanic opposition, which was the specific work of the kingdom, will
be over. When Paul says that Christ then “hands over the kingdom” and

becomes subjectto the Father(1 Cor. 15:24-28), he is not implying any
diminution in Christ’s subsequent honor, but is signifying the completion of
the plan for bringing the electto heaven that the risen Son was enthroned to
carry through. The electin glory, purified and perfected, will forever honor
the Lamb as the one who was able to open the book of God’s plan for the
accomplishing and applying of redemption in history, and make what was
planned happen (Rev. 5).”
2.5. The Kingdom of God arrived when Jesus was conceivedofthe
virgin Mary and then born in Bethlehem, and thus the translation we are
using here for the phrase ‘the kingdom of God is in your midst’ brings out
what I believe Jesus is trying to communicate about His kingdom. Jesus is
here therefore His kingdom is here. Some translations have confusedthe
interpretation of this phrase by rendering the phrase ‘the kingdom of God is
within you.’ Jesus wouldnever have told some Phariseesthat the kingdom of
God was ‘within’ them because this contradicts what the scriptures teachus
about the fact that Christ is not within unbelievers and that salvationoccurs
in a person’s life when he/she receives Christin his/her life. In fact, the New
Testamentexpressesthe truth that salvationinvolves receiving Christ into
your life in many ways, including:
GENE BROOKS
Luke 17:20-37 - The Coming of the Kingdom
Two Women at the Mill (James Tissot)

Key Truth: Luke wrote Luke 17:20-37 to encourage believers to be obedient
and faithful, focusedand free until He Returns.
Key Application: Today I want to show you what God’s Word says about
Christ’s Return.
Pray and Read: Luke 17:20-37
Contextual Notes:
Throughout his Gospel, Luke emphasizes the importance of walking in faith
and avoiding unbelief. He has made it clearthat every individual who meets
Jesus Christ must make a decisionabout Him. Christ must be receivedor
rejected. His claims must be believed or denied. When the Gospelshifts gears
at Luke 9:51, Luke urges us to prioritize faith over unbelief (Luke 10:1-11:36)
and warning us to trust the Lord rather than ourselves (Luke 11:37-12:59).
Christ then calls us to a Kingdom marked by grace (Luke 13:1-21),
repentance (Luke 13:22-35), provision (Luke 14), and redemption of the lost
(Luke 15), and warns us to prepare for the next world by responding to God’s
Word with repentance (Luke 16)and to guard againstsin with faithful
obedience to forgiveness resulting in thankfulness (Luke 17:1-19).
In the passagebefore us, a question raised by the Pharisees aboutthe coming
kingdom of God stimulates Christ’s instruction to the disciples to wait for His
Return with a steadfastcommitment to serving (Luke 17:20-37).
Sermon Points:
1. Stay obedient and faithful until He Comes (Luke 17:20-25)
2. Stay focusedand free until He Comes (Luke 17:26-37)
Exposition: Note well,

1. STAY OBEDIENT AND FAITHFUL UNTIL HE COMES (Luke 17:20-
25)
a. Notice that though Jesus has not yet endured his crucifixion, death, burial,
and resurrection, His eyes are focusedbeyond that to His SecondComing
(Heb 12:1-3). Jesus answers a question about the SecondComing (Luke 17:20-
21), deals with the fictional rumors about the SecondComing (Luke 17:22-23)
and the facts (Luke 17:24). He then provides a prerequ+isite for the Second
Coming (Luke 17:25).
b. Luke 17:20-21 – Not visibly/does not come with observation:With Jesus
just before miraculously healing ten lepers, it’s kind of ironic that the
Pharisees askthe question about the coming of the kingdom. So Jesus points
out the obvious. Still, his answerhas confusedmany. This Greek phrase is
better translated “with signs predicting its arrival,” in other words, with
dramatic heavenly signs common in the end-time literature of his day. Jesus
answers the Pharisees’questionabout the Coming of the Kingdom by telling
them, “The Kingdom of Godis alreadyamong/with you.” Jesus’point is that
the Phariseesare missing the kingdom’s manifestationthrough Jesus. Jesus is
also handling a healthy tension with the way he answers the question, because
the Kingdom of God has present and a future components. Jesus deals with
the presentcomponent in his answerto the Pharisees, explaining that the
Kingdom will not come at first in an outward visible form, but rather through
Jesus’ownministry.
c. The Pharisees, Luke has shownin Luke 16, are materialists. The only
kingdom they caredabout was the kingdom to be establishedin this world at
history’s end. Oddly, though, they also had a strong expectationof the
reestablishmentof God’s kingdom on earth through a Davidic Messiah. Butin
this present age we are called to experience an already here, but not yet fully
complete Kingdom of God – not pseudo-kingdoms that human beings imagine
or dream about saying, “There he is.”
d. APPLICATION: Though the everydayness of life doesn’t seemobvious or
exciting, God’s powerand presence has continued to be in your midst. God is
with us, and He is at work!

ADAM CLARKE
Verse 20
Cometh not with observation - With scrupulous observation. That this is the
proper meaning of the original, μετα παρατηρησεως, Kypke and others have
amply proved from the best Greek writers. As if he had said: "The kingdom
of God, the glorious religion of the Messiah, does notcome in such a way as to
be discerned only by sagacious critics, oris only to be seen by those who are
scrupulously watching for it; it is not of such a nature as to be confined to one
place, so that men might say of it, Beholdit is only here, or only there: for this
kingdom of God is publicly revealed;and behold it is among you; I proclaim it
publicly, and work those miracles which prove the kingdom of God is come;
and none of these things are done in a corner."
Dr. Lightfoot has well observedthat there are two senses especiallyin which
the phrase "kingdom of heaven," is to be understood.
The promulgation and establishment of the Christian religion.
The total overthrow of the Jewishpolity.
The Jews imaginedthat when the Messiahshouldcome he would destroy the
Gentiles, and reign gloriouslyover the Jews:the very reverse of this, our Lord
intimates, should be the case.He was about to destroy the whole Jewishpolity,
and reign gloriouslyamong the Gentiles. Hence he mentions the case ofthe
generaldeluge, and the destruction of Sodomand Gomorrah. As if he had
said: "The coming of this kingdom shall be as fatal to you as the deluge was to
the old world, and as the fire and brimstone from heaven were to Sodom and
Gomorrah." Our Lord states that this kingdom of heaven was within them,

i.e. that they themselves should be the scene ofthese desolations, as, through
their disobedience and rebellion, they possessedthe seeds ofthese judgments.
See on Matthew 3:2; (note).
Verse 21
Lo here! or, lo there! - Perhaps those Pharisees thought that the Messiahwas
kept secret, in some private place, knownonly to some of their rulers; and
that by and by he should be proclaimed in a similar wayto that in which
Joashwas by Jehoiada the priest. See the account, 2 Chronicles 23:1-11.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 20-21
1. A short lessonfor the Pharisees17:20-21
Jesus" teaching aboutthe arrival of the kingdom arose out of a question from
the Pharisees. It was a reasonable questionsince both John the Baptist and
Jesus had preachedfor some time that the kingdom was at hand. Probably
they askedit to discredit Jesus who now spoke ofthe kingdom as postponed
(cf. Luke 11:53-54;Luke 13:34-35). Mostofthe Jews expecteda Messiah,
according to their messianic ideas, to appear very soonand free them from
their Roman yoke.
"The form of the Pharisees"questionshows that they are thinking of the
Kingdom as something still future. They believe that it will come;and they
ask "when?"" [Note:Manson, p304.]

Jesus probably meant that signs that the Pharisees askedJesus to perform
would not precede the messianic kingdom( Luke 11:29). Another view is that
Jesus meant no signs that people canobserve will precede the kingdom. [Note:
Marshall, The Gospel. . ., p654-55;Manson, p304.]However, He told the
disciples that the signof the coming of the Sonof Man would precede it (
Matthew 24:3; Matthew 24:27). A third view is that Jesus meant that the
coming of the kingdom would not be an observable process.[Note:Liefeld, "
Luke ," p997.]Still, as the Old Testamentpredicted the coming of Messiahto
reign, it certainly would be observable. A fourth view is that Jesus meant that
the kingdom would not come because the Jews observedcertainrites such as
the Passover. [Note:R. J. Sneed, ""The Kingdom of God is within you" (
Luke 17 , 21)," Catholic BiblicalQuarterly24 (1962):363-82.]Theycould not
make it begin. Many of the Jews in Jesus" dayapparently believed that
Messiahwouldcome at a Passovercelebration. [Note:Marshall, The Gospel. .
., p653.]The Greek wordparateresis, translated"signs to be observed"
(NASB) or "carefulobservation" (NIV), literally means watching, spying, or
observation. Neverthelessthere is nothing in the context that connects with
the idea of observing Jewishrites.
There would be no dramatic change in Jesus" dayto announce that the
kingdom had arrived either. The kingdom was alreadyamong Jesus" hearers
in the personof the King ( Luke 11:20), but because the nation had rejected
Jesus His hearers would not see the kingdom. God had postponed it ( Luke
13:34-35).
". . . a kingdom canhardly be "here" or "there", and so the reference must be
to the ruler himself." [Note:Ibid, p655. Cf. Morris, p259.]
The NIV translation "within you" (Gr. entos hymon) is unfortunate because it
implies a spiritual reign within people. The Old Testamentteaching
concerning the messianic kingdom was uniformly an earthly reign that

included universal submissionto God"s authority. Nowhere else does the Old
or New Testamentspeak ofthe kingdom as something internal. [Note:
Manson, p304;Marshall, The Gospel. . ., p655.]Moreoverevenif the
kingdom were internal, it would hardly have been within the unbelieving
Pharisees whomJesus was addressing. Itwas in their midst or among them in
that the Messiahwas standing right in their presence. If they had believed on
Him, the kingdom would have begun shortly, immediately after Jesus" death,
burial, resurrection, ascension, the Tribulation (cf. Daniel9:24-27), and His
return. It was within their reach. [Note:C. H. Roberts, "The Kingdom of
Heaven (Lk. xvii21)," Harvard TheologicalReview41 (1948):1-8.]
STEVEN COLE
The Lord Jesus spoke onseveraloccasionsaboutthe coming of His kingdom.
Our text is one of two major such passagesin Luke (the other being in 21:5-
36). Our text falls into two sections:in the first (17:20-21), Jesus responds to
the Pharisees’questions as to when the kingdom of God is coming; in the
second(17:22-37), He speaks to the disciples on the same topic. He shows us
that there is a two-fold nature to the kingdom, both a present and future
dimension. Darrel Bock (Luke [IVP], p. 287)sums up Jesus’reply here: “You
do not need to look for the kingdom in signs, because its King (and so its
presence)is right before you. But its display in comprehensive powerwill
come visibly to all one day. You will not need to hunt to find it then.” Or, as
another commentatorputs it, Jesus “teaches thatthe kingdom of God is
already a present reality in Him but that its final consummation lies in the
future when He comes in divine majesty” (Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary
on the Gospelof Luke [Eerdmans], p. 444).
Bible prophecy is not given so that we can sit around and speculate about
what will happen in the future. It is always given so that we can apply it to

how we live in the present in light of what God has promised to do in the
future. Specifically, it is crucial that we understand personally how to be in
God’s kingdom, because Jesus makesit clearthat His awful judgment will fall
suddenly and certainly on everyone who is not in His kingdom. He shows us
here that …
To be in God’s kingdom, we must be personally related to God’s King Jesus
and we must faithfully await the kingdom’s consummation when He returns
in glory to judge everyone.
1. To be in God’s present kingdom we must be personally relatedto God’s
King Jesus (17:20-21).
We can’t be sure whether the Phariseeswere questioning Jesus in a hostile
sense ornot. Given their track record, they may well have been asking
skeptically, “Whenis the kingdom coming?” The generalJewishbelief was
that the kingdom of God would begin with a bang, with a powerful Messiah
establishing His rule in Israeland delivering the nation from her enemies. But
here is this carpenterfrom nowhere with His ragtag band of fishermen, and
there is no sign that He is going to defeat the Romans and usher in the
glorious new age. Sure, there were some miracles, but where is the clear
evidence that He is establishing His kingdom rule?
So Jesus answers them (17:20b-21), “The kingdom of God is not coming with
signs to be observed;nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For
behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” It is important to translate the
end of verse 21 “in your midst,” not as the NIV and KJV translate, “within
you.” That translation is possible grammatically, but it is impossible
contextually. Jesus neverwould have told the skepticaland hypocritical
Pharisees thatthe kingdom of God was within them. Besides, Jesusoftentalks
about a person entering the kingdom, but He does not talk about the kingdom
entering the person.

So what He meant is, “The kingdom of God is here in your very midst in the
person of the King, and yet you have not recognizedit because youwrongly
expectit to be ushered in with greatflourish.” When Jesus says that the
kingdom is not coming with signs to be observed, He is referring to the initial
coming of the kingdom, not to His SecondComing, because He quickly adds
(to His disciples)that that coming will be like a flash of lightning in the sky,
which is pretty dramatic and obvious. Thus the initial coming of God’s
kingdom begins relatively unnoticed, like the mustard seedplanted in the
ground. As people yield their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, He begins to
reign in their hearts. In that sense His kingdom is presently being established
in and through His church, as the gospelis proclaimed and believed. But, this
is not the final form of His kingdom. He will return personally in powerand
glory to judge His enemies and to rule over the whole earth, as He goes onto
teach(17:22-37).
As I said, prophecy is never given so that we can sit around and speculate on
the future. It is given so that we cansubmit our lives to God’s purpose for
history. Thus, the application of verses 20 & 21 is: If you have not personally
believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior and thus are not living daily under His
lordship, then you are not in the kingdom of God. You are in serious danger
of coming under His awful judgment when He returns as suddenly as a flash
of lightning, and then it will be too late! To be in God’s present kingdom, we
must be personally related to God’s King Jesus by trusting in Him as our
Savior from sin and submitting to Him as the Lord of our thoughts, words,
and deeds.
If you are truly in God’s present kingdom, then you will be in His future
kingdom when He returns in powerand glory. But Jesus gives His followers
some warnings to take to heart so that they will be sure to endure until He
comes.

BOB DEFFINBAUGH
Sign-Seeking andthe Coming of the Kingdom (Luke 17:20-37)
20 Once, having been askedby the Pharisees whenthe kingdom of God would
come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful
observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the
kingdom of God is within you.” 22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is
coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you
will not see it. 23 Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go
running off after them. 24 Forthe Son of Man in his day will be like the
lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25
But first he must suffer many things and be rejectedby this generation. 26
“Justas it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of
Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage
up to the day Noahentered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyedthem
all. 28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking,
buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire
and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyedthem all. 30 “It will be
just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who
is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them.
Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 RememberLot’s
wife! 33 Whoever tries to keephis life will lose it, and whoeverloses his life
will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one
will be takenand the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain
together;one will be takenand the other left.” 37 “Where, Lord?” they asked.
He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
Introduction

One thing that Jesus has pointed out about the Pharisees (notto mention
others) is that they tended to appraise things by appearances. The Sermonon
the Mount, as recordedby Matthew, makes much of this. The Lord Jesus told
men that sins were not merely external (murder, adultery, etc.), but internal
(anger, lust, greed). So, too, righteousness was notso much the doing of
external acts (fasting, tithes and offerings, long prayers), but in the attitudes
of the heart. In chapter 16, Jesus accusedthe Phariseesofbeing far too
external in their orientation:
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these
things, and they were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those
who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for
that which is highly esteemedamong men is detestable in the sight of God”
(Luke 16:14-15).
Is it not easyto understand that when it came to the coming of the promised
kingdom of God, men would expect its arrival to be signaled by various
external “signs and wonders”? And who but the Pharisees wouldexpectto
observe them and recognize the kingdom first. In the gospels ofMatthew and
Mark, we are told it was the Pharisees who persistentlychallengedJesus to
prove Himself by performing signs (Matthew 12:38; 16:1; Mark 8:11).
In our passage, the subject is the kingdom of God and its coming. The
Pharisees askedJesuswhenthe kingdom was to come. Jesus briefly answered
their question, in a way that showedthey would not, indeed they had not,
recognizedthe kingdom as having already come. From this starting point,
Luke records the teaching of our Lord on the coming of the kingdom which
was raisedby the questioning of the Pharisees.

It is most important to take note of the factthat there are three errors
describedin our text, all of which have to do with the secondcoming. The first
is the error of the Pharisees(verses 20-21). The seconderroris that of our
Lord’s disciples (verses 22-25). The lasterror is that of the people as a whole,
the masses (verses26-32). Froma study of our text, and from a study of the
gospels as a whole, we can see that no one fully understood the prophecies of
the Old Testamentand how they would be fulfilled in Christ. At best, some
had bits and pieces of the story, but no one could put them all together. If this
is true, we should be instructed that none of us, who live in the 20th century,
have a complete understanding of Bible prophecy. We may, like some in
Jesus’day, feelthat we are experts in the area of the coming of the kingdom,
but we, like they, are not. We, too, have many misconceptions concerning the
return of our Lord and the establishment of His kingdom on the earth. We
need these words from the lips of our Lord as much as the people of His day
needed them.
In our study, we will focus our attention on these three errors, their causes,
and their remedy. We will seek to learn how the secondcoming, the coming of
our Lord’s kingdom, can play a vital role in our lives, and how our lives play a
greatrole in terms of our eagernessforthe coming of our Lord and His
kingdom. We will see, as well, that the three errors described in our text apply
to matters other than the secondcoming, too. Let us listen well to these
inspired words about the second coming, its relationship and its relevance to
us.
The Structure of the Text
Our text contains two main paragraphs, the first of which concerns the
Pharisees (verses20-21).The secondparagraphis significantly largerand
contains our Lord’s instructions directed to His disciples (verses 22-37). The
subject of both paragraphs is the coming of the kingdom of God. The text can
be subdivided into the following sections:

(1) The Pharisees andthe Kingdom of God (vv. 20-21)
(2) The Disciples and the Kingdom of God (vv. 22-37)
(3) The Dangerof over-zealous expectation(vv. 22-25)
(4) The Dangerof worldly preoccupation(vv. 26-32)
(5) Summation (vv. 33-37)
The Context of the Text
It is fairly easyto determine the paragraph structure of our text. It is not so
easyto determine the length of the passage to study in this lessonbecause
Luke is developing an argument and thus there is an on-going interconnection
of the paragraphs. The principle subjectof our text is the coming of the
kingdom of God. The subject does not end with our text, however. In chapter
18 it goes on. The petition of the woman in verses 1-8 is for justice, and the
point of the parable is that the Lord’s disciples should not grow weary in
prayer. Especiallyin view is praying for the coming of His kingdom, at which
time justice will be brought to the earth. The prayer of the persistent widow is
followedby two other prayers, that of the self-righteous Pharisee and of the
penitent tax-collector(18:9-14). These prayers reflectthe pride and self-
righteousness whichthe Lord will judge at His coming, and the repentance
and faith which He will reward when He comes.

Thus, the flow of thought moves from the timing of the coming of the kingdom
(the question of the Pharisees)to the nature of that coming, the dangers
associatedwith it, and the appropriate attitudes for true disciples. In chapter
18 steadfastprayer for the coming of the kingdom is urged, followedup by the
characterof those who will possessthe kingdom. The story of the rich young
ruler instructs us as to the hindrances to the kingdom which are experienced
by the rich. The Lord then reminded His disciples that His death would soon
occurin Jerusalem, something which they still could not grasp (18:31-34). The
last story of chapter 18, that of the healing of the blind man (18:35-43)
provides us with an example of persistence in prayer.
There is a close connectionbetween17:20-37 andthe preceding context of
Luke. The Phariseeshave, of course, beenprominent, largelydue to their
opposition to Jesus, His teaching, and His practice. The immediately
preceding texts have dealt primarily with how disciples should live their life in
the present, but we will soon discoverthat our attitudes and actions in the
present have much to do with our attitude and actions with regardto the
coming kingdom of our Lord. Let us save this matter for later on.
The Pharisees’QuestionandJesus’Response
(17:20-21)
20 Once, having been askedby the Pharisees whenthe kingdom of God would
come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful
observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the
kingdom of God is within you.”
It is interesting that it would be the Pharisees who would approachJesus with
this question—interesting, but not surprising. The Phariseeslookedupon
themselves as the experts in spiritual matters. No doubt they would have
expectedMessiahto have come from among their elite group. They seemedto

look upon themselves as the accrediting agencyfor all spiritual ministries. I
understand that the Pharisees’questionabout when the kingdom was to come
was an implied rejectionof Jesus as the Messiah. I believe that it was but
another of their efforts in a long-standing commitment (cf. Luke 11:53-54)to
trip up the Lord Jesus and to thus be able to publicly discredit Him.
As usual, Jesus was not takenback by their question. Jesus’answerhas two
parts. The first part of His answerpertains to the “carefulobservation” ofthe
Pharisees (note the “your” in verse 20). The secondpart of Jesus’response
pertains to the people of Israelat large (note “people” in verse 21). The
generalthrust of our Lord’s response is that neither the Pharisees northe
people would recognize the coming of the kingdom.
I believe that the Pharisees wronglythought they had everything under
control. They had a very neatly packedreligious system. They had their
beliefs carefully organized, and they had a very preciselylaid out code of
conduct—a law for every occasion. Thus, they had a theologicalformula for
the kingdom and its coming. They felt, I think, that they would simply apply
the standards they had setup to every potential “Messiah”and would thus be
able to judge when the true Messiahhad come. They seemedto think, as well,
that they would have ample time to apply their tests and to come to their
conclusions. The term that is translated “carefulobservation” in the NIV is
one that was usedby the ancients for a doctorwho carefully observed the
symptoms of a patient, in order to diagnose his illness (very appropriate for
Dr. Luke). The same term was used for the “carefulobservation” of the
heavens, of those who were experts in astronomy. One could watch the course
of a planet, or could plot the trajectory of a comet, and thus be able to forecast
where it would be at a certaintime.
The Pharisees mayvery well have thought that they could deal in the same
fashion with the arrival of the kingdom of God. They would simply apply all

of their standards and tests (assuming, of course, that they were absolutely
correctand infallible) over a period of time, and then in a very cautious and
scientific way pronounce the true Messiahto be such. Surely they would be
able to tell the real thing.
Jesus saidotherwise. Theywould not be able to do so, and neither would the
people at large. They would not be able to point to the Messiahor the
kingdom and say, “Here it is” or “There it is.” The question must therefore
be, “Why?” I do not think the answeris that there are no indications of His
coming, but that the expectations of what the “King” and the “kingdom”
would be like were so distorted that they would never recognize the real thing.
The conceptof the kingdom was so secular, so earthly, so materialistic, that
the kingdom of our Lord was never seriouslyentertained as an option. Jesus
simply did not fit the preconceivedexpectations ofthe Pharisees andthe
people, and neither group had any thought of changing these. Thus, Jesus
simply had to go. And this was in spite of the fact that Jesus did produce many
signs, attesting His identity as Messiah(cf. John 9:16; 11:47; 12:37).
The laststatement of our Lord, reported in verse 21, is the most perplexing of
this paragraph: “The kingdom of God is within you.”
Just what does this mean? Is Jesus saying that the kingdom is a spiritual
matter, a matter only of the heart, and thus an “inside” thing? I think that
while there is some truth here, it was not at all our Lord’s point. The specific
term used may never have been used with the meaning “among.” This I can
readily accept. But perhaps the unusual term “within” is stressing two things
at once. First, the kingdom of God was alreadypresent in the personof Jesus
Christ, the Messiah. Second, however, while Jesus was “intheir midst” (so to
speak), He was never one of them, never one of the Pharisees, andnever one
with the Jews either. Jesus was utterly different in that His kingdom did not
conform to the Pharisaicalexpectationsnor to the popular ones. Jesus was

“within” His people, but not “one of them” in the sense ofwhat His kingdom
entailed.
Lest we conclude that no one could recognize the King and His kingdom, let
us recall that severalpeople did, even at His birth. Those whose expectations
conformed to the prophets of the Old Testament, and who were illuminated
by the Holy Spirit could and did recognize the King. Mary, Elizabeth,
Zacharias, Simeon, Anna, and John the Baptist all recognizedJesus as the
coming King, and spoke of the coming of His kingdom. While the words and
works of Jesus should have been sufficient evidence, the hardness of men’s
hearts prevented them from seeing the obvious, no matter how hard they
looked.
GreatTexts of the Bible
The Coming of the Kingdom
And being askedby the Pharisees, whenthe kingdom of God cometh, he
answeredthem and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is
within you.—Luke 17:20-21.
1. There are few sayings of our Lord whose meaning has been more disputed.
What did our Lord mean? Did He mean, as we at first are sure to understand
Him to mean, that the Kingdom of God is to be lookedfor, not in the outward
scene ofman’s life but in the heart of man himself? That is no doubt, in one
sense, mosttrue. The Kingdom of God, as St. Paul says, is righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and it is within ourselves, though not only

within ourselves, thatthese things are found. Or, secondly, did the Lord here
speak of His own presence in the world? Did He mean that the Kingdom, or
reign, of God was already realized in His own Person, and in the little band
which was living under His direction? That also is, no doubt, most true. In
Jesus and His little company the Pharisees had already“in the midst of them”
those in whom God was indeed ruling. Or, thirdly, was our Lord’s meaning,
as we should now say, eschatological? DidHe mean that it was idle to watch
for the dawn of the Kingdom of God, since that Kingdom would come
suddenly, and in its noontide glory, without any gradual dawn to herald its
coming? A moment before its arrival we shall detect no sign of it. And then, as
the hour strikes, “Lo!the kingdom of God is in the midst” of us! Eachof these
meanings is possible, and eachis attractive; how shall we decide between
them?
The context provides us with an answer. We read the next verses and this is
what we find: “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.
And they shall sayto you, Lo, there! Lo, here! go not away, nor follow after
them; for as the lightning, when it lighteneth 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.” Now, surely, these later verses explain the earlier. The disciples
themselves, the Lord seems to say, will in the days to come raise the same
question as the Pharisees have raised, and raise it with a longing desire which
even the Phariseesdo not know. By the disciples, indeed, the coming of the
Kingdom will be bound up with the coming of the Sonof Man; the fulfilment
of all their loftiesthopes will rest with Him. But they, too, in their longing
desire, will be tempted to “follow wandering fires,” and the Lord bids them
resistthat temptation. When the Son of Man does come to bring the Kingdom,
the lightning itself will not be plainer, or more sudden in its coming, than He.
Can we doubt, then, that our Lord’s words to the Pharisees had a similar
meaning? They, too, are eschatological, as the words to the disciples are. They,
too, warn us that the Kingdom of God will come very suddenly, and that we
must ever be ready for it.

2. Let us first try to understand what the Kingdom is, and then let us interpret
its coming as both present and future, that is to say, as already in a certain
sense among us, and yet in another sense only to come at the end of all things.
The idea of the Kingdom as “within,” or its inward and spiritual nature will
be reservedfor another sermon.
The translation of the last clause is most uncertain. In the Authorized Version
it is “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you”; or, as the margin reads,
“among you.” The RevisedVersionhas it: “The kingdom of God is within
you,” with “in the midst of you” in the margin. Dr. Muirhead, in his
EschatologyofJesus, thinks that our Lord expressly chose anambiguous
expression, not committing Himself to the statement that the Kingdom of God
was within the Pharisees,and yet not missing the opportunity of suggesting its
essentialinwardness.
I
The Kingdom
The true conceptionof the Kingdom of God will not necessarilybe the
conceptionwhich is most easyto grasp, or the conceptionwhich the earliest
Gospelmight most easilysuggestto us; it will be the conceptionwhich can
take its place in actualhistory. We know from the Old Testamentwhat the
Kingdom of God meant, and was found to be, before the Lord came. We know
from the New Testament, and from our own experience, what it meant and
has been found to be in the life of the Church. Our Lord’s conceptionof it
must surely have been the conceptionwhich can link the one with the other
without breach of continuity. That conceptionmay have been complex, like
His own wonderful personality. Becauseit is complex, we may wish to simplify

it by sacrificing to one element in it all the rest. But that is a temptation which
we shall be bound to resist, and to resist precisely because we desire to be true
to history. Neitherthought nor life is simple, and we must acceptthem as they
are.
1. What, then, did the Kingdom of God mean to Israel before our Lord came?
(1) In the Bible the Kingdom of God is in no way concernedwith physical
boundaries. The Kingdom of God means the rule of God, and that not just as
an abstractidea, but in a concrete form, the rule of God as it takes shape in
the sphere where it is actually exercised. To be ruled by God is the greatest
blessing which men can enjoy; it brings with it every possible blessing. The
misery of the world to-day, and every single unhappiness of our own, result
simply from this, that neither we nor our circumstances are ruled by our
Heavenly Father as they ought to be. Fartoo much they are either the sport of
our own wilful impulses, or under the foolish rule of people as foolish and
wilful as ourselves. And always where there has been true spiritual insight,
men have known where the source ofthe evil lay, and longedfor its removal.
What was needed, they knew, was not a different kind of human rule, but the
rule of God.
(2) But the best minds in Israel went further than that. They were certain that
God’s purpose did exactly correspondto man’s need. Israelitself was in God’s
intention the sphere of God’s rule. As Samuel expressedit, the Lord their God
was their King. Justin so far as Israelfrankly acceptedthe Divine rule and
obeyed the Divine commands it found in its own experience the unspeakable
blessing which they brought.
(3) Was, then, this all that was necessary?Notso, and for two reasons. In the
first place, the sin of Israelwas continually defeating the Divine purpose for it,

and Israelitself, in consequence,continually falling under the cruel despotism
of its heathen neighbours. And in the secondplace, Israelwas not the world,
while the rule of God was neededeverywhere. And so we find that, while
prophet and psalmist do the fullest justice to the Divine rule that already
exists, while they love to dwell upon it and long for themselves and for their
country to appropriate it more and more, they nevertheless look beyond the
present to a far fuller establishmentof the rule of God. Israelitself must be
purged of its sin; it must be brought to a new and willing submission to its
true King; the laws of God must be put into its mind and written upon its
heart; then the oppressorwill be castdown, and all be well with Israelunder
its Divine Judge and Law-giver and King. And, to pass to the wider hope, the
Kingdom of God must come to the other nations also, and come, just as it had
come to Israel, by God’s personalaction, by His own free and loving gift.
(4) Moreover, to those who thus hoped and believed, every manifestation of
Divine judgment or mercy was a real coming in power of the Kingdom of
God. This manifestationmight not accomplishall that was needed; that might
be man’s fault, and not God’s. But it was a realmanifestation, so far as it
went, and it pointed to a further and fuller manifestation in the time to come.
If God smote Egypt or Babylon, if He brought back His people from captivity
and establishedthem in their own land, God’s servants rejoicedin the
present, and lookedforward with the greaterconfidence to the future. That
was the mind of the Israel to whom the Lord came. It believed in a present
kingdom, and it believed in a future kingdom, and in both as in the closest
connexion the one with the other.
2. Now, whatis the conceptionof the Kingdom in the New Testamentand the
history of the Church of Christ? Has the thought of the Kingdom of God been
there substantially different from the thought of Israel? On the contrary, it
has been substantially the same. Since the coming of the Spirit, the Church
has felt itself to be far more truly the Kingdom of God than ever Israelwas of
old.

(1) Before our Lord’s attack the powers of evil have already fallen. He “has
made us a kingdom,” as St. John says. God has “delivered us out of the power
of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love.” In our
personallives, if we will but respond to the grace of God, the Kingdom of God
is already “within us.” “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
us free from the law of sin and death.” We are led by the Spirit of God—
God’s sons because we are so led. If that is not to enjoy the Kingdom of God
here and now, what is? Yes, and not only in our individual lives do we enjoy it,
but in our corporate life as well. In the Catholic Church, into which the little
company of our Lord has grown, the world has already the Kingdom of God
“in the midst of” it. Imperfect as the Church may be, it is in God’s intention
the sphere of the Divine rule, as the world outside is not. The Church is the
Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Ghost, in God’s intention a true
theocracylike Israelof old.
(2) But of course we can no more restin such thoughts as these than the best
minds of Israeldid. We, too, feelhow, within ourselves and within the
Church, human sin mars the Divine purpose, and we long for that sin to be
purged away“by the Spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.” We,
too, feel ourselves only too often under the dominion of alien powers, and long
for their dominion to be broken. Yet again, we, too, chafe at the present
limitations of the Divine rule. We desire it for the whole world of men and for
the whole world of nature. And so we too, like Israel of old, cannot rest in the
Kingdom as we at present experience it. We look forward, as Israeldid, to the
day of the Lord, or rather to that which is our Christian translation of it, the
day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He, our Lord, must come—againand againit
may be—to judge all that need His judgment, and to be gracious to all that
need His grace. So, remembering how He saidthat “henceforth” we should
“see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the
clouds of heaven,” we recognize His coming just as Israelrecognizedthe
coming of God, in every overthrow of the powers of the world, in every signal
mercy vouchsafedto the Church, while we look forward, beyond all present

judgments and present grace, to a final judgment, and a perfected “salvation
ready to be revealedin the lasttime.”
(3) How the final judgment and perfected salvationwill come we know not at
all; that the figures in which we speak ofthem are figures only, we know full
well. But that they will come in God’s good time we know full well also. So far
from the belief in the presentDivine Kingdom excluding the belief in the
eschatologicalkingdom, the one belief leads on to and implies the other. It is
our experience of the present kingdom, which we know, that gives all its best
content to the hope of the eschatologicalkingdom, which we do not know,
while it is the very imperfection of the present kingdom that leads us to look
beyond it. Of a contrast, an opposition, betweenthe two, the Church knows
nothing, nor has ever knownanything. Like Israel of old, she believes in them
both, and maintains them both.1 [Note: H. L. Goudge.]
Jesus’Kingdom commends itself to the imagination because it is to come
when God’s will is done on earth as it is done in heaven—it is the Kingdom of
the Beatitudes. It commends itself to the reasonbecauseit has come wherever
any one is attempting God’s will—it is the Kingdom of the Parables. An ideal
state, it ever allures and inspires its subjects; a realstate, it sustains,
commands them. Had Jesus conceivedHis Kingdom as in the future only, He
had made His disciples dreamers;had He centredit in the present only, He
had made them theorists. As it is, one labours on its building with a splendid
model before his eyes;one possessesit in his heart, and yet is everentering
into its fulness.2 [Note:John Watson, The Mind of the Master.]
The City paved with gold,
Bright with eachdazzling gem!

When shall our eyes behold
The new Jerusalem?
Yet lo! e’en now in viewless might
Uprise the walls of living light!
The kingdom of the Lord!
It cometh not with show:
Nor throne, nor crown, nor sword,
Proclaimits might below.
Though dimly scannedthrough mists of sin,
The Lord’s true kingdom is within!
"
The gates ofpearl are there

In penitential tears:
Bright as a jewelrare
Eachsaintly grace appears:
We track the path saints trod of old,
And lo! the pavement is of gold!
The living waters flow
That fainting souls may drink;
The mystic fruit-trees grow
Along the river’s brink:
We taste e’ennow the watersweet,
And of the Tree of Life we eat.

Not homeless wanderers here
Our exile songs we sing;
Thou art our home most dear,
Thou city of our King!
Thy future bliss we cannottell,
Content in Thee on earth we dwell.
Build, Lord, the mystic walls!
Throw wide the unseen gates!
Fill all the goldenhalls,
While yet Thy triumph waits!
Make gladThy Church with light and love,
Till glorified it shines above!1 [Note: W. WalshamHow.]

II
The Coming of the Kingdom
We have seenthat the coming of the Kingdom of God is both present and
future; it is come, and it is coming. Before touching eachmanifestation
separately, let us considerthe attitude of our Lord. It is a most important
matter for us to understand our Lord’s position. The eschatologicalquestion,
as it is called, is the burning question of our day, and much depends upon its
proper solution.
With the mind of Israelwhat it was, and the mind of the Church what it has
ever been, is it in the leastprobable that the mind of our Lord was out of
harmony both with the one and with the other, and exhibited a narrowness
and one-sidedness fromwhich both the one and the other have been free? Is it
in the leastprobable that, while Israeland the Church have believed in a
present Kingdom of God as wellas in a future one, our Lord believed only in
the latter and ignoredthe former? Why should we think so? Is it because of
the witness of the Synoptic Gospels?
If we take them as they stand, they witness to no such narrowness. They
representour Lord, no doubt, as an enthusiastic believer in the grand hope of
the coming reign of God. So were the best minds of Israel, and so are the best
minds of the Church to-day. They represent Him as thinking far more of the
future kingdom than He thought of the present one. So did the bestminds of
Israel, and so do the best minds of the Church to-day. But they do not
representHim as confining to the future the thought of the Kingdom of God.
Israelwas to Him all, and more than all, that it had been to prophet and
psalmist before Him. Jerusalemwas “the city of the greatKing.” His own

Jesus was saying god's kingdom is within

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