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Luke 17:20-37

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

20. And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 22. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see [it]. 23. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after [them], nor follow [them]. 24. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one [part] under heaven, shineth unto the other [part] under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. 30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32. Remember Lot’s wife. 33. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34. I tell you, in that night there shall be two [men] in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35. Two [women] shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36. Two [men] shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body [is], thither will the eagles be gathered together.

Luke 17:20-37 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Luke 17:20

Theological / Devotional

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).

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