Luke 17:20

He was demanded of the Pharisees. [When and How the Kingdom Comes, Luke 17:20-37. Cf. on Matt. 24:3, 26-41.] Whether the Pharisees met Jesus during the course of this journey (see on v. 11), or after His arrival in Peraea, we do not know. It was now probably about the month of March, A.D. 31, at most a few weeks prior to the Passover. Compare also previous demands made by the Pharisees for information from John the Baptist (see John 1:19-22) and from Jesus (see Matt. 16:1; Mark 2:16; John 2:18).

When the kingdom. It was now nearly four years since John the Baptist had begun proclaiming that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (see Matt. 3:2; see on v. 1). For at least two years the people of Galilee had heard Jesus proclaiming the same message (see on Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:15). Now, the Pharisees come inquiring how much longer they must wait before they can expect to see tangible evidence of the fact that the kingdom is, indeed, coming. In making this demand the Pharisees quite evidently pose a challenge to Jesus’ Messiahship, and imply that He is a false messiah.

Of God. Apparently it was their erroneous concept of the Messianic kingdom that prompted the Pharisees to ask this question (see on ch. 4:19). They conceived of the kingdom of God as a political entity, with Messiah King a temporal ruler who would subdue all nations and subject them to Jewish rule (see Vol. IV, pp. 25-38). Inasmuch as their selfish dreams had not yet materialized, the Pharisees were certain that the “kingdom” had not yet arrived. In their minds it was still future.

Not with observation. Literally, “not with careful watching.” The kingdom of which John and Christ had spoken, the kingdom of grace, was already here, but the blind Pharisees had not detected it because they were observing only the outward appearance of things (see 1 Sam. 16:7). They had witnessed no signs that could be construed as heralding the kind of kingdom they had in mind. It would take spiritual discernment to detect the coming of the kingdom of divine grace to the hearts of men (see on Luke 17:21).