Luke 17:20-25
Chapter 17
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The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would arrive. He replied:
“The kingdom of God is not like something you can see,
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and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
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And Jesus told his disciples:
“The time is near when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not get to see it.
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Then people will tell you, ‘Look over there! Look here!’ ‘Do not go with them, do not follow them.’
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As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man;
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but first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Commentaries
The Coming of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus challenges the Pharisees’ expectations by proclaiming that the kingdom of God is already here and that the Son of Man has begun it. However, he warns that its fullness will not be reached until after his suffering and rejection by God’s enemies. He also warns about false messiahs who can deceive people with fake alarms. Instead, he urges his followers to experience and help others experience the work of the kingdom that is already in progress, just as yeast causes dough to rise.