“THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM”
(adapted from messages by Darrel Land, Bob Russell, and Mark Driscoll)
LUKE 17:20-37
OPEN
The world was supposed to end the day before I came back to Martinsville from vacation. At the time I thought I had scheduled my vacation at the perfect time – a week off and then spend eternity with Jesus. Good thing I didn’t put my hope in the prediction.
According to 89-year-old Harold Camping, Judgment Day was supposed to occur on May 21, 2011. He was wrong. He now claims that in actuality Judgment Day came in a spiritual way and that the whole world is now under Judgment Day. He says it will continue up until October 21, 2011. He admits: “How to know whether to look at it with a spiritual understanding or a factual understanding is hard to know.” Camping had previously made similar Judgment Day predictions for May 21, 1988, and September 7, 1994.
Harold Camping isn’t the only person in history to mistakenly claim to know the date and time for Judgment Day and Christ’s Second Coming. It’s happened fairly frequently since Christ ascended and the promise was made concerning His return.
I want us to look this morning at some things Jesus said about the coming of Kingdom of God. Our passage is from Luke 17 and we’ll start with verse 20. In a side note, Luke had more to say about the Kingdom of God than any other gospel writer.
Lk. 17:20-37 – Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “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.” 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. Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 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. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 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. 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. 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.” “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
In this passage, we see a frequently recurring event in the Gospels. The Pharisees have asked Jesus a question. Usually they did it to try to trip Him up. But this question is a legitimate question.
The Jews had long believed that God would send a special Someone who would come as King of a special kingdom. Based on scriptural prophecy and promise, they understood a lot of correct things about this coming King. They were waiting with expectation and anticipation for the coming of a king, someone who would make it all better, someone who would set aside sin and put down suffering and bring blessing and life where there’s been sadness and sorrow.
However, they also got a lot of things wrong concerning this coming King. For quite some time, the Pharisees had been the professional Bible students among the Jewish people. They basically taught that this coming King (otherwise known as the Messiah) would establish a physical kingdom; a political kingdom. In immediate context to Jesus’ day, they saw the Messiah as someone who would overthrow the Roman occupation and re-establish the glory of the kingdom of Israel as it was in the days of David and Solomon.
So when the Pharisees ask Jesus, “When is this kingdom coming?” Jesus urges them to think about a spiritual kingdom and not a physical kingdom. Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is within you.” When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked Him whether or not He claimed to be a king. Jesus replies in Jn. 18:36 – “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Jesus is basically saying, “the Kingdom of God has already begun.”
When Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you,” that word within can be translated “among you.” And some people think that Jesus was saying, “The king is with you. He’s among you right now. I’m the king and you’re not even recognizing me.” And that’s true.
But many biblical statements have a dual meaning. Additionally, I think Jesus is saying, “The kingdom of God for you as an individual begins in your heart.” It begins with a change within. That’s why we personally pray, “Your Kingdom come.” We are asking God to give us a Kingdom heart. It is as if Jesus saying, “You’re focusing on physical power and you need to give attention to, first, inner transformation.”
In his book, Kingdoms in Conflict, Charles Colson wrote, “Where there is hope it is in the fact that the kingdom of God has come to earth. It’s a kingdom that comes not in a temporary takeover of political structures, but it is a lasting takeover of the human heart by the rule of a holy God.”
Oftentimes, when people speak about the kingdom of God, they’re referencing things in the future and the return of Christ. But the Kingdom is not just about a future hope. The Kingdom has already begun. So one prime principle when we talk about the kingdom of God is that what happens in the kingdom of God within our hearts should receive more attention than what is going to happen in the kingdom of God in the future.
We need this particular reminder because the study of biblical prophecy is of over-arching importance for a lot of people. Studying biblical prophecy is not a bad thing. But we can get so caught up in predictions about the Second Coming that we lose our spiritual balance.
Then there are those who are extremely dogmatic about their particular views concerning Bible prophecy. They’ve got charts and diagrams outlining exactly what is going to transpire. They’re so caught up in the rightness of their own views, they get angry at people who disagree with them and cause divisions among the Body of Christ.
We need to understand that every generation of Christians in history has believed that Christ was coming back in their lifetime. And that’s good because Jesus may come back at any time. And then again, it’s possible that Jesus may delay His coming for another hundred or even a thousand years.
Jesus is saying, “Keep things in perspective. The kingdom of God is here now. It’s taking place in your hearts. And you’re much better changing your heart and doing what you can today to honor God rather than focusing all the time on My Second Coming.”
It’s also important for us to understand that the kingdom of God has begun but it has not yet been fully realized. Many theologians, when talking about the kingdom of God, talk about the already but not yet. The kingdom is in process but it’s not in its completed state. To understand that concept a little clearer, imagine that your team is up 36 to 0 in the Super Bowl so victory is yours but there are still downs to be played in the mean time. So the kingdom of God begins in this life and is ultimately fulfilled upon the Second Coming of Jesus.
The important question for us today is: If the kingdom has started but it is not fully come until Jesus returns then what do we know about Jesus’ return? There are three words that will help us understand the completion of the Kingdom and Jesus’ return.
PATIENTLY
Jesus will most definitely return. Immediately following Christ’s ascension into heaven, the disciples are standing around staring at the sky. Two angels appear. In Acts 1:11, one of the angels says, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” And so we cry with the early church, “Maranatha! Even so, Lord Jesus, come!”
We begin to wonder why Christ is delayed in His return. We ask, “Why all the wars? Why all the suffering. Why all the poverty? Why wait so long?” The answer is simply because God is patient. 2 Pet. 3:9 – “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.”
Going back to our main passage this morning, Jesus says in Luke 17:25, “But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” God’s deepest desire is that all would be saved and He was and still is committed to do what it takes make that happen. Jesus is basically saying, “Before we get to the kingdom, we have to go through the cross. Before we can have the resurrection of the dead and the eternal kingdom to come, I need to atone for sin.”
Mark Driscoll says, “This is where I get very frustrated with those who would skip the cross and go to the kingdom. ‘Let’s just help people and do nice things and just live and get along and have a better world.’ We believe in that, through Jesus. Apart from Jesus, there is no unity. Apart from Jesus, there’s not true generosity. Apart from Jesus, there is no real kingdom because sin is the problem and it must be dealt with. And Jesus comes to go to the cross, to deal with our sin so the kingdom of God might begin in our life and in our midst and then we venture together as the people of God toward the kingdom of God. And through our own death, we experience resurrection and new life as totally.”
And because God is patient, we wait patiently. And still we cry, “Maranatha! Even so, Lord Jesus, come!”
UNEXPECTEDLY
In Lk.17:26-30, Jesus says, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 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. 28 It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”
Jesus uses two Old Testament history lessons to demonstrate that He would return suddenly and unexpectedly. Years later, the apostle Paul expressed it this way in 1 Thess. 5:1-3 – Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
The Bible warns us many times to be ready. Christ could come at any time. But don’t think you can figure it all out. In Noah’s day people did not believe that a flood was coming and they just lived however they wanted. Lot tried to warn the people of Sodom and Gomorrah that God’s judgment was coming. They weren’t ready for what happened.
Some people are way too involved in eschatology – the study of last things. They find somebody who reads all kinds of newspapers and other news reports and puts those reports together. Then they pull something out of context in the book of Daniel and then add some scary-sounding passage in Jeremiah. You’re intrigued and you go out and buy their books and now you’re freaking out. Jesus says it’s not going to be like that.
As we said earlier, there have always been people throughout the history of Christianity who have made predictions concerning the Second Coming of Jesus. One notable attempt was made by Charles Taze Russell.
In the early 1900s, he predicted that Jesus was going to return in 1914. People believed him but when it didn’t happen, Russell explained that what actually happened was that Jesus took a new position in heaven. He moved to a new throne and most people didn’t know it. And that was the beginning of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Jesus tells us in Mt. 24:36 – “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Jesus is telling us, “Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. Don’t go running after them. No one knows the exact time so just live for the Kingdom and be ready.”
OBVIOUSLY
Jesus warns us to not be confused. The completion of the kingdom of God will not only happen in the spiritual realm, it will also happen in the physical world. Jesus tells us that although He is returning like a thief at an unexpected time, it will not be something that is silent and secret.
He tells us that it will be obvious when He returns. Everyone will know. In Lk. 17:24, He says, “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.”
Have you ever seen a severe lightning storm? It’s quite obvious what’s happening. It attracts everyone’s attention. Even when lightning is at a distance, you can see it for miles.
When Jesus returns, He’s going to come in power and glory and everyone will know that it’s happening. 1 Thess. 4:16 tells us “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God…” A loud (shouted) command and the trumpet call of God – those are not very quiet things. Rev. 1:7 says, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.”
There are four primary views concerning Christ’s Second Coming. The most popular of the four views is the one that says that Jesus will return a first time and rapture or take up all the Christians out of the world. Then after a period of time, He will return again to judge the world and destroy it.
The concept of the rapture is fairly new in the history of Christianity. It began about 200 years ago. It’s been really popularized in the best-selling Left Behind book series. The concept of the “rapture” as taught by this particular view of the end times is not truly biblical – in the sense of a two-part Second Coming.
Jesus uses language in Luke 17 passage about people being taken but if you notice the people being taken are not on the winning side in this text. Those who are left behind in the text are the fortunate ones. The ones taken are like those who are swept away by the flood and the fire.
The verb taken in Luke 17:34–36 does not mean “taken to heaven” but “taken away in judgment”. Jesus uses the same image in Mt. 24:36-41 – “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 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; 39 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. [italics mine] 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” The person “left” is a believer who enters into the kingdom
My intent this morning is not to bash someone else’s point of view. There are some other viable points which could point to a different conclusion on this issue than mine. My intent this morning is to stress that Jesus’ point here is that it’s not so important to know when He is returning. It’s more important to understand that He is returning and that we need to be ready.
In both examples Jesus gave, the people of the world were caught unprepared as they engaged in their everyday activities of eating and drinking, marrying, buying, and selling. So don’t you be unprepared and let’s do everything we can to get others to Jesus Christ so they are prepared.
The Lord is patient in His return but His patience won’t last forever. He will return unexpectedly and obviously so be ready for His return. 1 Pet. 1:13 says, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Since we don’t know when that is going to happen, you be vigilant. You be prepared at any moment. Be ready. Just hold onto the victory and the hope in Jesus Christ and look forward to His return.
Toward the end of World War II a Scottish chaplain and Professor McDonald from Glasgow were both shot down behind enemy lines and were taken as prisoners of war in Germany. For some reason the Germans had divided the prisoner of war camp into two sections. The British were in one section and the Americans were in another section, and it was divided by a wire fence.
McDonald got put with the Americans and the Scottish chaplain with the British. The two would meet at the wire fence everyday to exchange greetings. The Germans did not know that some of the Americans had a makeshift, little radio that enabled them to get news from the outside and that was more precious than food to the prisoners of war. So McDonald would share the latest headlines with the chaplain.
But one day they learned that the German high command had surrendered and the war was over. McDonald couldn’t wait to take the news to his friend, the Scottish chaplain. Then he stood and watched him disappear into the British barracks. A moment later a roar of celebration came from the barracks.
Life in that camp was transformed, they said. Men who were prisoners were walking around singing and shouting, waving at the guards, even laughing at the dogs. When the Germans finally heard the news three days later, they fled into the darkness leaving the gates unlocked. The next morning the British and the American POWs walked out as free men, yet they had truly been set free three days earlier by the news that the world was over.
Christ’s kingdom is not fully achieved now, but we know the outcome of the war. Jesus Christ won the victory at the cross. He won the victory over the grave with the empty tomb, and we have been set free. Our lives are transformed by that hope. We have this joy and confidence that in Christ we are more than conquerors. The Bible says in Heb. 10:23, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” So hold on.
CLOSE
Back in the days of the old West in our country, a horse bolted and ran away pulling a wagon that was carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, one of the young men in the town risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon.
The little boy grew up and became a very bad man – an outlaw. Eventually he was arrested and stood before a judge to be sentenced for his serious crimes. The prisoner recognized the judge as being the young man who years before had saved his life. So he pled for mercy based on the prior experience.
The next words of the judge silenced his plea. He said, “Young man, then I was your savior. Today, I am your judge and I must sentence you to be hanged.
Christ first came as Savior to all. When He returns, He will be judge of all. He has given us a long day of grace. Let’s make sure we take advantage of His offer of grace before it’s too late.
