Luke 17:20-21 - The Kingdom of God

Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God. From other passages of the Bible, we know that it was John the Baptist who came to prepare the people for this Kingdom. It was John who had pointed out Jesus as the Messiah. And as the Messiah and King, Jesus was offering this Kingdom to the people. The Pharisees knew this well. What Jesus was offering was nothing new. The Old Testament prophets had prophesied about it. Jesus only came as a fulfilment of their proclamation.

In Luke 17:20, the Pharisees asked Him when this Kingdom would come. They didn't ask because they wanted to know. Their intention was plain. They asked to challenge Him. The Pharisees wanted Him to prove the existence of the Kingdom if He was truly the Messiah. They wanted to put Him on the spot, because they couldn't see a literal physical Kingdom. And they wanted to know when this Kingdom would come.

In response to their question, Jesus said that unlike any earthly ones, the Kingdom of God would not be physically visible. It would not be something that they could observe with their physical eye. This statement had confused many. For the whole nation understood that when Christ comes He would establish the Kingdom. In fact this was also how the early disciples saw it too.  That was why in Acts 1:6 their question to Him was, "When will you restore the Kingdom to Israel?" But in these two verses, the Lord reveals that the Kingdom is already in our midst. What did He mean by that?

There is the notion that a Kingdom always implies a territory or the domain that a king rules. What Jesus is saying is this: the Kingdom of God is not so much about territory as it is about the King that rules. Since He, the King is here, the Kingdom in reality is already in our midst. Just like the early disciples, we also need to know that the Kingdom of God is not so much about the domain. It is about King Jesus, ruling and reigning in the hearts of men and women. He is already in our midst and reigning in our hearts and reigning through His new community, the Church.

The pertinent questions then are: Is He reigning in our hearts and lives, individually? If He is, then what would be the implication? A Kingdom rule is quite different from a Democratic Republic. In Kingdom rule, the King owns everything and His word is final. In a Democratic Republic, the people have the final say. We can understand now why Jesus asked, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you?"

We are called to obey the King. How can we obey unless we know His Word? We must seek to discover what He is saying to us. So we must study the Word of God, get to know His instructions, then act upon it obediently. And we will surely please our King, for He is already here among us!