4. The Present and Future Kingdom (Luke 17:20-37)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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Sir Edward Burne-Jones, detail of "Last Judgment" stained glass
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As Jesus teaches about the Kingdom by act and by
parable, he raises questions. The Pharisees wonder "when" the Kingdom
will come (Luke 17:20). His disciples wonder "how" the Kingdom will come
(Luke 17:22-35). Jesus also touches on "where" the Kingdom will come.
Jesus' teaching isn't full and detailed either in Luke's account, nor
elsewhere in the New Testament. How we wish he would have spelled it all
out for us from A to Z! But he didn't. So let's study what he
did
say in this passage.
Jesus begins his teaching with a question from the
Pharisees.
"Once, having been asked by the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God would come...." (Luke 17:20a)
Why would the Pharisees ask this? What did they
believe about the Kingdom? We have no documents from Jesus' day that
tell us what the Pharisees believed about the end times. We know,
however, that a Pharisee named Sadoq was involved in the founding of the
Zealot party, apparently from an older wing of the Pharisees.1 Judas the Galilean, a leader of the Zealots was considered by some the
messianic heir-apparent. The Pharisees seem to be involved in the
ferment of messianic expectancy that made the first century a volatile
place for Roman rulers to keep under control. The Pharisees are quizzing
Jesus, trying to find out his own expectation, perhaps prodding him to
see if he'll claim to be the messiah. They ask "when" the Kingdom of God
will come.
Like many of Jesus' responses to the Pharisees'
trick questions, Jesus doesn't answer them directly. Basically, he says
that they are asking the wrong question because they don't understand
the nature of the Kingdom.
"Jesus replied, 'The kingdom of God does
not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, "Here it
is," or "There it is".....'" (Luke 17:20-21a)
The word translated "careful observation" (NIV),
"things that can be observed" (NRSV), "with observation" (KJV) is
paratēresis, "the act of watching or keeping an eye on something
closely, observation." In other words, "God's Reign is not coming in
such a way that its rise can be observed."2
No doubt the Pharisees are looking for a political
kingdom that will overthrow the Romans and bring back the glory days of
the Davidic kingdom. Jesus says that you won't be able to see it arise
in that way.
This would be a good time to read again the
Introduction to these lessons where I survey the six interpretations of
the nature of the Kingdom of God as well as comments on the
interpretation of Jesus' startling statement to the Pharisees in this
passage:
"... because the kingdom of God is within
you." (Luke 17:21b)
The adverb translated "within" is entos,
"inside, within, within the limits of" or "among you, in your midst."3
This is a difficult verse, since Jesus' primary
audience here is made up of Pharisees, not true disciples. Different
meanings have been suggested.4 Here are the two most common ones:
1. The Kingdom is essentially God's Reign in the individual soul
One popular interpretation is that the Kingdom
comes personally in the individual human heart. This interpretation
appeals to people in this psychological and individualistic age. Though
the adverb entos can fit this meaning, this interpretation
falters at two points:
-
This teaching is not found elsewhere in the Gospels; it is
different from Jesus' other teachings on the nature of the Kingdom.
-
We have no indication that the Pharisees were the sort of people
that Jesus would say this about. Elsewhere in the Gospels, they are
characterized as legalistic and outward in their observance of the Law,
rather than concerned with the inward, subjective holiness that Jesus
stressed.5
2. The Kingdom is "in your midst" in the Person of Jesus
The kingdom is "among you," that is, it is present
in the Person and ministry of Jesus.6 I think the second interpretation is closer to what Jesus meant -- that
the Kingdom was present among them in Jesus himself. That the Kingdom
had already begun as Jesus teaches, gathers disciples, and exercises
God's authority here on earth. Of course, the Kingdom is present within
us by Jesus' Spirit -- that is true, and the Epistles develop the idea of
the indwelling Spirit. But since Jesus doesn't teach this anywhere else
in the Gospels, I think he intended this saying to be understood in the
sense of the Kingdom being "among" or "in the midst" of the Pharisees in
his own Person.
Another saying that teaches the immediacy of the
Kingdom of God in the Person and ministry of Jesus is found in both
Matthew and Luke:7
"If I drive out demons by the Spirit of
God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:28)
"If I drive out demons by the finger of
God, then the kingdom of God has come to you." (Luke 11:20)
The Kingdom of God, Jesus is saying, is not only a
future reality. The Kingdom is present now in his very Person and
will be fully revealed in the future. We see this tension throughout the
Bible -- "now" and "not yet."
Now Jesus seems to turn from the Pharisees to
explain the coming of the Kingdom to his own disciples:
"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.'"
(Luke 17:22-23)
The first question is, what does Jesus mean by "one
of the days of the Son of Man"? Does he predict that his disciples will
look back longingly to their days together walking the roads of Galilee?
Or is he speaking of the day of his return in glory? Or something else?8
The answer is clarified in Luke 17:24 where Jesus
says, "For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning...."
Jesus seems to be saying in verse 22a then, that his disciples will long
for his future coming in glory. The Day of the Son of Man is identical
to the Day of the Lord.
Then Jesus says in verse 22b, "... but you will not
see it." The disciples long to see Jesus' return but will not -- not yet.
I don't think Jesus is telling the disciples they won't see his return
at all. He has already told them to be ready because they don't know the
day and hour (Luke 12:39-40). Rather this phrase goes with the next. In
their eagerness to see the coming of the Son of Man they aren't to go
running off to verify one report or another. That's not the way to see
the Son of Man, Jesus tells us.
Matthew's parallel to this passage specifies that
people will be lured by false christs and false prophets doing great
signs and miracles (Matthew 24:24). We aren't to run after this person
or that who is acclaimed as the messiah -- even if he can do miracles. We
had a few of those in the twentieth century -- Father Divine (1876-1965),
Sun Myung Moon (1920- ), David Koresh (1959-1993), and
others. Historically, it seems that every generation has had its
claimants to being the messiah.
Why couldn't one of these people be the messiah?
Because, when Jesus returns, everyone will see him.
"For the Son of Man in his day will be
like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end
to the other." (Luke 17:24)
The word translated lightning is Greek astrapē,
"lightning" and the word translated "flashes" is the verbal form of this
root, astraptō, "to flash, gleam."9 The third word translated "lights up" (NIV, NRSV) or "shineth" (KJV) is
Greek lampō, "to emit rays of light, shine, flash, gleam."10
Lightning can be seen at great distance and lights
up a huge area. Since it often starts thousands of feet above the earth,
the normal horizon caused by the earth's curvature doesn't limit its
view nearly as much as if it took place at ground level. Jesus says it
"lights up the sky from one end to the other" (17:24b). In the Book of
Revelation, we read:
"Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him." (Revelation
1:7)
When Jesus comes he won't appear to just a few or
in secret. He will be visible to all -- believer and unbeliever alike.
Don't go running off when you hear reports of a messiah-sighting, Jesus
instructs us.
"But first he must suffer many things and
be rejected by this generation." (Luke 17:25)
The word translated "suffer" is Greek paschō,
"suffer, endure, undergo."11 The word translated "be rejected" is Greek apodokimazō, "reject
(after scrutiny), declare useless, to regard as unworthy/unfit and
therefore to be rejected."12
My mind immediately recalls a passage from Isaiah
53 that speaks about the Suffering Servant, who turns out to be none
other than the Redeemer, the Messiah.
"He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:3)
Though the Old Testament Septuagint uses
Greek words different from Luke's Gospel, the idea is very similar.
Jesus talks again and again of a particular time,
as "day," "days," and "night."
"... the days of the Son of Man...."
(Luke 17:22)
"The Son of Man in his day will be
like the lightning...." (Luke 17:24)
"... so also will it be in the days of
the Son of Man." (Luke 17:26)
"It will be just like this on the day
the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke 17:30)
"On that day no one who is on the
roof of his house...." (Luke 17:31)
"on that night two people will be
in one bed...." (Luke 17:34)
The day that the Son of Man is revealed seems to be
the same day on which destruction comes, the day when one is taken and
another left. A lot seems to be happening in a very short scope of time.
One obvious key word in our passage is "day" and
"days," hēmera. In Greek the word has the same kind of
flexibility that our English word "day" has. It can mean (1) the period
between sunrise and sunset, (2) civil or legal day, including the night,
(3) a day appointed for very special purposes, and (4) an extended
period of time.13 Here it refers to the special appointed day of God's final judgment and
the coming of the Son of Man.
We see the concept of the Day of Judgment many
times in the Old and New Testaments. It is often called "the day of the
Lord" and is consistently referred to as a day of vengeance, of wrath,
and of punishment.14
Jesus relates two incidents well-known to his
hearers: the great flood in Noah's time (Genesis 6-7) and the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19).
"Just as it was in the days of Noah,
so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating,
drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah
entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking,
buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom,
fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will
be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke
17:26-30)
These two events have two elements in common:
- People are going about their normal lives as if nothing is going
to happen.
- On a particular day destruction from God occurs suddenly and
without further warning.
Now Jesus warns his disciples that when this Day
suddenly appears they aren't to rush off or turn away to get something.
"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. Remember Lot's wife!
Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life
will preserve it." (Luke 17:31-33)
Those who are concerned about material things will
be destroyed. Only those who look forward to the Lord's coming will be
saved. Though told to run for her life without looking back, Lot's wife
paused and looked back longingly at Sodom -- and became a pillar of salt
(Genesis 19:17, 23-26).
It was probably something like what happened in
Pompeii in AD 79. First, a volcanic gas settled over the city,
asphyxiating many while they slept. Then the city was covered with heavy
deposits of volcanic ash and the chemical action of the ash hardened the
bodies of the dead, causing the surrounding ash to retain a perfect cast
of the bodies.15 Perhaps Lot's wife's body became caked with the chemical salts raining
down from the cataclysm. We're not sure.
How tragic! She was so close to deliverance and
salvation, but her longing for her home was too much. Jesus warns us not
to worry about our "things" on that Day, else they become a snare to us
and cause us to miss out on the deliverance he offers.
Now comes an awesome and cryptic passage:
"I tell you, on that night two people will
be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be
grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left." (Luke
17:34-35)
Now the Day shifts to night. There is a division,
even between individuals who are in close physical proximity -- two
people in a bed, two women grinding grain together with hand mill,
no doubt chatting as women do while doing their routine chores. Without
warning, one is taken and the other left.
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James Tissot, "The Two Women at the
Mill" (1886-96), watercolor, Brooklyn Museum, New York.
Larger image. |
The word "taken" is Greek paralambanō, which
means, "to take into close association, take (to oneself), take
with/along," usually in a positive sense.16 The word "left," Greek aphiēmi, on the other hand, means, "to
move away, with implication of causing a separation, leave, depart
from."17
Taken where? Left to what purpose? The context in
Luke is pretty vague. When we look at the parallel in Matthew 24 we get
a hint of what Jesus might have meant.
"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will
be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood,
people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to
the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what
would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it
will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field;
one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a
hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." (Matthew 24:37-41)
In Matthew, Jesus has just talked about Noah
entering the ark. We know that he took his family and a pair of every
animal with him. Those who are taken along with him are saved from the
catastrophe, but those who are left are destroyed by the impending
judgment.
"I tell you, on that night two people will
be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be
grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left." (Luke
17:34-35)18
Neither in Matthew nor in Luke are we told that
this "taking" is the Rapture, that is, the gathering of all God's people
to him at Christ's coming,19 both the living and the dead.20 In fact, Luke doesn't refer explicitly to the Rapture at all, except
perhaps in this verse. But it seems to fit with what we're told
elsewhere about the Rapture or great gathering of God's people:
"And he will send his angels with a loud
trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24:31)
"And he will send his angels and gather
his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the
ends of the heavens." (Mark 13:27)
"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not
all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,
the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1
Corinthians 15:51-52)
"After that, we who are still alive and
are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
(1 Thessalonians 4:17)
"Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers...."
(2 Thessalonians 2:1)
Though we can't be sure that Jesus is speaking of
the Rapture in Luke 17:34-35, it seems that one group is taken away to
be saved, and others are left to experience terrible destruction and
punishment. There won't be time to get right with God. This separation
will take place instantly, without warning. We must be ready now for the
coming of the Son of Man.
|
Note: This is not the place to
argue for or against a so-called "secret rapture" of the saints
that is not mentioned in this passage. Please be gentle
and loving with each other.
Q4. (Luke 17:33-36)
What does our passage teach about the separation and judgment
that will occur when the Kingdom comes? How should this affect
our lives? Our testimony? Our love for our neighbors?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1008
|
The final passage is framed by another question
from Jesus' disciples:
"Where, Lord?" they asked.
He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will
gather." (Luke 17:37)
This passage is difficult for us to understand -- particularly for the city-folks among us. Jesus doesn't answer the
disciples directly with a location, but tells a mini-parable of the
vultures. The KJV rendering seems somehow grander than the NIV:
"Wheresoever the body is, thither will the
eagles be gathered together" (Luke 17:37).
Eagles are more glorious than vultures. After
all the Bald Eagle is the national symbol of the United States of
America. But when you research it, you find that the "eagle" here
probably refers to the vulture.
Eight species of eagles and four species of
vultures appear in Palestine, most probably described by the same Hebrew
word neser or Greek word aetos. In the Near East, both
eagles and vultures ate carrion and hunted prey and were considered
unclean (Leviticus 11:13; Deuteronomy 14:12).21 In this parable Jesus is referring to the common pattern of vultures
circling high above a carcass.
Where I live in the dry foothills of California's
Sierra Nevada, the sight of circling vultures or buzzards is exceedingly
common, as it must have been above the hills and deserts of Palestine.
These birds are huge, with a six-foot wingspan, and are majestic in
their effortless soaring flight. First, one vulture will spot a dead or
dying animal. Soon, from far off, others will see the lone vulture
circling and join it in its vigil. When the animal is dead, the vultures
descend for a meal.
In Jesus' parable, he is referring to the gathering
and circling of vultures where a carcass is found, marking its location
and making it obvious from miles around. The carcass doesn't somehow
represent Jesus' body -- that is pushing the parable beyond its intent.
The point is that high circling of the vultures makes the location
obvious from afar. In Matthew's parallel, this verse is immediately
preceded by a verse on the visibility of lightning from the west to the
east at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27-28). I believe that
in his parable of the vultures, Jesus is saying that there is no need to
pinpoint a location now; when Jesus comes it will be obvious to all. As
Green puts it, "Just as the presence of carrion is indicated by circling
vultures, so will his presence at the end be clearly evident."22
This passage teaches us several important things
about the whens and wheres of the Kingdom.
- Present. The Kingdom is both present and future. Where
Jesus is present, there is his Kingdom. "Where two or three are gathered
in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).
-
Future. The Kingdom is not yet. While it is present in the
person of the King, its coming is also future, when the King will come
with judgment and complete rule. We pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." As Son of
Man, Jesus is "coming with the clouds of heaven," and when he comes "his
dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his
kingdom is one that will never be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14).
-
Sudden. Jesus' Second Coming and the coming of the Kingdom
will not be progressive and gradual, but instant, quick, apocalyptic. It
will be like lightning in its instantaneous and pervasive light. And in
its unexpectedness, it will be like the Flood or the judgment on Sodom.
There won't be time to gather your possessions or come in from the
field.
- Judgment. Judgment will suddenly separate people from one
another, husband and wife in bed together, as well as two women grinding
grain. The judgment is both positive and negative. For those who trust
in Christ, they will be gathered to Christ. For those who do not, they
will remain to experience the terrible judgment that is coming.
In other gospels we get the same picture,
suddenness, unexpectedness: like a thief in the night he will come and
it will be too late then to make any preparations.
"So you also must be ready, because the
Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matthew
24:44).
Are you ready for his swift coming?
Are you ready for final judgment? Near the end of his life, the
Apostle Peter wrote,
"First of all, you must understand that in
the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil
desires. They will say, 'Where is this "coming" he promised? Ever since
our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of
creation....'
But do not forget this one thing, dear
friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand
years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as
some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a
thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this
way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and
godly lives as you look forward to the Day of God and speed its coming.
That Day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and
the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we
are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of
righteousness." (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-13)
The Kingdom is now in the Person and
presence of the Messiah in our midst. But it is also coming in
completeness and fullness and quickness in the future, when Christ's
reign will be complete. Then, finally,
"At the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:10-11)
Come soon in your Kingdom, Lord Jesus!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, when we ponder your teaching about the
awesome and sudden coming of your Kingdom, it frightens us. We are not
worthy of your glory or of your Kingdom. We are pitiful in our own
righteousness. But we know that you have loved us, forgiven us, cleansed
us, and declared us righteous. Help us to stand in you if the Day of the
Kingdom comes suddenly in our lifetimes. If not, O Lord, have
mercy on our children. In your holy name and in your grace, we pray.
Amen.
Key Verses
"The kingdom of God does not come with
your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,'
or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke
17:20b-21, NIV)
"For the Son of Man in his day will be
like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to
the other." (Luke 17:24, NIV)
"I tell you, on that night two people will
be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be
grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left." (Luke
17:34-35, NIV)
Discipleship Lessons
on Jesus and the Kingdom Bible Study
Copyright © 1985-2012, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor
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