The Coming of the Kingdom | Week 70

So as a church, we’ve been in a sermon series. Most of you know about it, but we’ve been in a sermon series focused on the ministry of Jesus for a bit over a year and a half now. So throughout that sermon series, throughout the ministry of Jesus, as you read through the Gospels, you would see that Jesus teaches a lot about the Kingdom of God. And the frequency at which he spoke about the Kingdom helps us understand that it’s a major concept. He wants us to understand for the people that he taught back then and for the people that look to learn from Him now.

He wants us to understand from His Word what the Kingdom is. The passage we’re going to be taking a look at today is actually going to begin with people asking a question about the Kingdom. So today we’re going to be looking at Luke, chapter 17. So if you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn there if you want to get there on your phones. But if you don’t have any of that, we also have the Scriptures that will be up here on the screen.

Luke 17, verse 20 is where we’re going to begin. So the setting of this story, Luke doesn’t clearly state there isn’t any specific tie to the portion of Scripture that precedes it and why it’s placed here by Luke is just unclear. But the account does consist of two different conversations. So it opens with the Pharisees asking a question of when will the Kingdom come?

Then it shifts to a discussion, a deeper discussion with Jesus’s disciples about the last days. So we’ll go ahead and start verse seven, chapter 17, verse 20. It says this once on being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, the coming of the Kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, here it is, or There it is, because the Kingdom of God is in your midst. Once again, in the ministry of Jesus, we have a conversation begin because the Pharisees have asked a question. The Pharisees are a Jewish religious group that frequently are in opposition of Jesus and his teachings.

This religious group had many questions for Jesus throughout our time, looking at Jesus’life. But the intentions of most of those questions were usually ill. They were trying to make Jesus look bad. They were trying to make Him be trapped in his words. But it seems like this situation, this question has a different feel to it.

This question feels more genuine. It seems like a genuine curiosity. They’ve heard Jesus teach on the Kingdom multiple times. They’ve taught on how he would teach things to help others conceptualize it the way that Jesus would say, hey, the Kingdom is like a treasure in a field. It’s valuable and a man sells everything to be able to get it.

Or the Kingdom is like a mustard seed. Like it starts small, but it will grow and it will be able to support many and it will become an amazing thing. But the Pharisees aren’t asking a question this morning or in this passage to learn more adjectives to describe the kingdom with. They’re asking a question of when? When will it be here? How far is it? What’s its ETA? And I’m confident that each of us have asked that kind of question as well. It may not have been, hey, well, when’s the kingdom coming? But God, when is all this ending? When are you coming back? Can we get at least a time to expect it within?

And so the Pharisees are also people who are very, very familiar with prophecies. They know that the kingdom of God will eventually come, that the kingdom would come and nothing will be able to overcome it. And so with the growing belief in that area that Jesus is the Messiah. They’re wanting him to openly admit that he’s that Messiah. They want him to talk about, okay, well, if that’s you, if you’re the Messiah, then you’re bringing the kingdom. So you should know when that’s happening. If you’re actually the King that these people are saying you are, then tell us when it’s happening, when is it coming? And Jesus responds simply that the Kingdom of God is not something that can be observed. It’s not something that people will say, hey, it’s right here, or hey, it’s just a little further that way.

So with the Pharisees having these expectations of the coming Messiah’s kingdom and how powerful it will be and the expectation that it will overthrow Rome, to hear Jesus say that it’s not something you’re going to be able to see must have confused them. The reason being is that it’s already in your midst. That’s an interesting answer. In your midst can be translated to a few things. It can mean within you, so the kingdom is within you, or it can mean in your hearts, or it also can mean within your reach.

Commentators are divided on which is the best way to translate it. The ones who believe that the kingdom that Jesus is speaking about here is more of an internal thing. See it as the kingdom is within the motives of people, it’s in the heart of humans, while others believe Jesus is alluding to a more physical representation of the kingdom that is already among them. So because the King is there before them, then it would make sense to think that the kingdom is also where the King is. It’s in fact in their midst.

It’s a logical thought, but it doesn’t completely hold up when you start to look at different places in the Scriptures and different things that Jesus has said. So for example, in Matthew 16, Jesus mentions that some people will not die before seeing the Son of man come in his kingdom. It’s alluding to the fact that the kingdom is something a little bit later. But Jesus, in fact, as he’s there, he is the king. But there’s this sentiment of like the kingdom is not completely established.

So a safe way to think about the kingdom is the rule and reign of Christ. Wherever the rule and reign of Christ is dominant, that’s the kingdom. So where Christ rules, sure, that can be within your hearts. You can make the decision to be like, in my life, in my heart, Christ reigns and he rules. That’s awesome, like the kingdom is there. The borders of the kingdom, I believe, are in the hearts of people that choose to submit and become citizens of that kingdom, but also in a physical sense by the miracles that he’s done in the presence of many. Many decided to submit to that rule because they saw a physical representation of the King. So even prior to the kingdom being established, specifically according to how Jesus had planned for it to be, there’s still a result that many have came to believe in Him. But most Pharisees continue to hold a position of opposition to that fact.

And so failure to acknowledge the king puts them in position to miss the kingdom. The same can be said of us. If we fail to recognize that Jesus is King, if we fail to submit all to Him, if we fail to seek the kingdom, we put ourselves in position to miss the kingdom. A recognition of Jesus’ kingship is not only an intellectual thing. It’s not saying like, yeah, I think he’s the one that deserves a crown on his head. But it should also be seen in a transformation within us, a transformation of our thinking, a transformation of our behavior and our motives.

If we believe Jesus is King, then our submission to him should be evident and it should be consistent. If it’s not, then claiming that we recognize him as King or claiming that we recognize him as Lord is just not true. It’s not a true statement because our lives simply don’t prove that. After this answer from Jesus, the conversation pivots to a more detailed discussion between Jesus and his disciples. So starting in verse 22 it says, “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. People will tell you there he is, or Here He is. Do not go running after them. For the Son of man in his day will be like lightning which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.”

The focus shifts from the Pharisees to the disciples. And the way that Luke writes it gives clarity that, yes, it’s addressed to them at that time, but it’s also addressed to those of us today that are wanting to be students of Jesus, disciples of Jesus, servants of jesus. So Christ here mentions a time is coming when he will no longer be around them physically, and they will miss him. They will long for him. They’ll have those feelings.

You know how it goes when you have a friend that moves and you’re like, man, I missed the times that we spent together. I missed the ways that we would do all these different things. They’re going to experience that very same thing when Christ goes back to heaven. In those days, with those emotions running high, people are going to come to them and say, look, the Messiah is back. And so with all those emotions, they’re like, oh, my, that’s what I want.

But Jesus is like, when you hear those things, don’t pay any mind to those claims. Don’t pay any mind to them. Jesus here warns believers not to be misled into thinking the Son of man has come in a secret or mysterious way that wasn’t clear for all to see. He makes it clear that there will be no mistake of when he returns. Zero.

The day he comes back will be as obvious as lightning crossing the sky or coming down from the sky. Being in Florida, we get that. We know that it’s not hidden, it’s obvious. So Jesus coming back will be something for everyone that everybody will be able to see and that everybody will know what’s happening in that moment. And so with the anticipation that the disciples may have about that day where he finally comes back. Jesus helps them to pump the brakes a little bit early, pump the brakes on the excitement for the return, and then he draws their attention to something he does not want them to overlook.

He tells them, but first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Before the sky cracks, before the trumpet sounds, before judgment, before any of those different signs that you may be thinking of, of like when the end is supposed to come, before any of those things, he must suffer much. He must be rejected. He must die. It’s such a short, simple sentence, but there’s so much loaded into that.

He knows their minds are fast forwarding to the future, and they’re excited, but he does not want them to miss the monumental moment that must happen prior to that one. The day of the Son of man, the day that Jesus comes back will be a terrible thing. If it wasn’t for what happened on the cross, if it weren’t for Christ humbling himself to death and being willing to take on the cross, there would be nothing positive for us or for them about the return of Jesus. All it would mean is, wrath is now here for everybody. The wrath Jesus took on the cross was reserved for each of us.

Without the cross, we would have no choice but to be on the receiving end of all of that. So even with the events of the cross, the day of the Son of man can still be a terrible time for those who decide to live outside of a life committed to the king, committed and submitted to the kingship of Jesus. So terrible that Jesus goes on to compare it to two of the most dreadful moments in Israel’s history. Verse 26 it says 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. It will be just like this on the day the Son of man is revealed. A quick aside before we continue to break down the rest of this passage.

Throughout this sermon series, I think this is actually the first time that we’ve been able to read about Jesus speaking about the end. And so preparing for this sermon, for me to be the one to do this, there was a lot of discomfort for me to be the one that teaches a group like this. And mainly because there’s so many different opinions and places that people have landed on this topic. Time devoted to understanding signs to devote like their time, to understanding what time and these things will happen, the meanings of these different things. And there’s plenty of smart people that have read and studied this subject much longer than I have, and many still find it difficult to land on a position confidently.

But even with all these areas that people remain unsure of exactly what Christ is meaning by all of this in this topic, we can’t use what we aren’t sure of as blindfolds to what we do know. I’ll say that again, but slightly different. We can’t use the mysteries we are unsure about in the scriptures as excuses to not live out what we know is clear throughout the word of God. We can’t how things will end. Yeah, you have a guess. I have a guess, but we won’t know until it happens. But we get everything we need from God and in the scriptures to live a Godly life, everything we need. With that said, let’s go ahead and try to break down this passage.

I want to give a quick recap. You probably know about these moments within the Bible, but just as a recap the days of Noah, it was a time where God described humans as they had continued to increase in wickedness, going as far to say that every inclination of the human heart was only evil all the time. Due to that, God set out to wipe out humans from the face of the earth. But a man named Noah found favor in his eyes because he walked while the rest of the world was walking in wickedness. He remained blameless and walked faithfully with God. So he and some others were spared. You can read about that in Genesis 6.

The days of Lot were similar to the days of Noah. Sin in the area of Sodom and Gomorrah had grown to the point where God had to address it. As you read through the Scriptures, you see that the wages of sin is death. And that’s the situation that happens here. Lot found favor in God’s eyes and he was spared, along with some of his family members while the rest of the area was destroyed.

And you can read more about that story in Genesis 18. So to give the disciples an idea of how the day of the Son of man will be, Jesus gives these two examples. In both situations, the people were unsuspecting and unprepared for the judgment that took place. Their unbelief, their indifference to the future, their unpreparedness is what’s addressed in this warning. The warning is clear that the day Jesus returns will be just like this.

It’ll be similar as to when. Again, we don’t know. But rather than asking a question of when similar to the Pharisees, I would like to have us ask a question of how. How prepared are you for that day? How prepared are we? Are you locked in and focused on the next way you can enjoy something here today and focused on your pleasures? Or have you been able to catch the vision of living not just for this life, but for the next one, 2 Corinthians 5, starting at verse 10, says “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body. Whether good or bad, we all will stand before God.” Are we ready for that conversation?

Are we preparing for that conversation? There is an end. We will be judged and we will be repaid for how we lived. We need to seek protection in a relationship with Jesus or face the wrath of God. Both of these examples are extreme examples of God’s wrath.

Jesus makes it clear that the day he returns, it will be just like that. The point of the comparison Jesus is making is that the Son of man will in fact bring horrendous times, judgment, and it will be a day that catches many off guard. There’s no getting around that. And there’s no softening that us hearing that it will be like these two moments in history should really get us to pause. Pause, self reflect on the lives we live.

Are we living for ourselves, for our comforts, for our pleasures? Are we living in service to our emotions? Or are we trying truly to present our lives as a living sacrifice pleasing to God. Living like Jesus is the King is not something for us to live or think indifferently about, nor to procrastinate or to put on hold until we see specific signs that we’ve read about or seen on YouTube videos to be our two minute warning before having to get really serious about our faith. That’s not what this is. It’s a warning to take our faith seriously. It’s for us to take a sober look at ourselves and think, if the King returns today and life as I know it is finished, am. I really ready for that conversation? I started a good race. And when Jesus came back, did he find me still running? Or did he find me distracted, focusing on living only for myself? Again, we don’t know the day. We don’t know the hour, the month, the year, but we know Jesus has expectations of those that follow. We may not make it to the day that Jesus returns. Maybe we face death prior to that. But what matters is how you live now and how you continue to live. Whether, let’s say, something happens to me in two years and I suddenly pass, or I get to live until the time that Jesus ends up coming. The life that I live, I want to live like I expected Him every moment. I want to live like I was waiting on the day, like I know that He’s King and like I’m grateful for his love and to learn how to be prepared, we must be devoted to the Scriptures and obeying them, devoted to putting his will above our own.

How we conduct our lives right now and every second after is of most importance. But let’s continue to look at this next verse, starting in verse 31. It says, “On that day, no one who is on the housetop with possessions 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 their life will lose it, and whoever loses their 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, the other left.”

On that day, if we’re alive for it, each of us will be doing something. You’ll either be continuing in habits that you’re already doing, or maybe you’d be beginning some new ones. The warning for that day is don’t go run after treasures or pleasures. Once things are done, leave them.

Remember Lot’s wife. She looked back because the life that she was leaving behind was more important to her than the life that God was ushering her into. She looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus makes that example, uses that example, so we don’t repeat that same mistake. The call to remember is to show us that our hearts should not belong to the abundance of items we own or the opportunities to indulge in different passions that we have. It’s an effort and for us to understand that an effort to keep only this life can result in and will result in us losing the next one, the life to come.

This is the case on the last day and this is a case for us daily if we decide, look, this life of living in the world and enjoying the different pleasures here rather than honoring Christ, if we submit to those things for ourself, then we also lose out on that opportunity. We can choose to live a life focused on the kingship of Jesus or we can live a life where we sit on a throne of our own making. Verse 33 makes clear that each of us who selfishly seeks things of this life will consequently live estranged from God. The consequence will be we no longer live a life close to God, no longer affectionate to God, but alienated from Him.

Verse 34 is debated as to what it really means and how things will happen on the Last Day, but some interpret the thought of being taken as a positive, like being taken away from the place of judgment. And then those who are left are those that are left to face judgment. This taken theory, this thought, is understood as a positive thing because of what Jesus mentions earlier in the conversation. So both Noah and Lot were taken so Noah taken into the ark and then Lot taken out of the city, and both of them not left for judgment. Again, a debated topic.

But the leadership in the Broward Church doesn’t embrace the raptured thought process. But we leave room for members or for guests to study their own Bible and come to their own conclusion in this regard. With these two words, with these words to the disciples, we know two things though the end will come and we can’t predict it perfectly, and that it will be a shocking moment that is accompanied by the wrath of God. So I’m not sure if wrath is a motivation for you to surrender all to Jesus, but Jesus is being clear. Look, there’s love, and if you respond to that, amen.

And look, if that’s not doing it for you, there’s also this to be clear, and if this helps you get started, then amen. And so I remember I was 16 when it was 2012. You guys remember the world ending 2012 stuff? All right, so I’m 16. This movie comes out the name’s called 2012, and it’s a movie about the end. I watch the movie and I freak out. I’m like, I’m not ready for any of that. And I know none of that is like, exactly. Yeah, you get the point. So I’m watching that movie, and in my mind, it’s about to be Christmas. And I’m like, wow, are we going to make it. And I’m in a church on that day, December 21, 2012, and the time passes and the world doesn’t end. And I’m like, all right, cool. But I still felt like a desire to keep trying. Like, okay, God, look, it didn’t happen today, but I don’t know when it’s going to happen.

People have different ideas, but what’s going to happen? So I ask my dad. I’m like, dad, buy me a Bible for Christmas. It’s four days later. So he buys me a Bible, and it’s maybe the first thing that I open, and I don’t care about any of the other gifts.

I go straight to Revelation. So I read Revelation, and I’m just confused. I was like, I don’t know why people would recommend going there, but I’m young. I had no clue.

But I was like, I don’t get what’s happening here, but I’m trying, God, to figure something out. Like, I’m afraid of the wrath. And I don’t know if that’s a great motivation, but I’m trying to do something different. Like, tell me what’s the one thing I need to stop doing so I don’t experience wrath, hell, and all that other stuff that I don’t understand. Really. I’m like, look, if it’s leave the girls, I can do that. If it’s stop lying, if it stopped, what’s the one thing you need of me? Please just explain that to me. And so that was the beginning of me wanting to seek and now, again, maybe not the best motive, but I was moving from where I was. And so after that, I end up my friend who we would collaborate to do a bunch of different types of sin.

I’m like, hey, let’s go outside. Let’s play some baseball. He’s like, I can’t because I’m going to study the Bible. Like, study the Bible? Okay, well, set me up because I don’t care what time, I don’t care what day, I don’t care who the people are, set it up.

And the first couple of studies, I’m like, okay, they didn’t explain anything of how to avoid hell. I’m disappointed. But the second time we got together, we looked at the cross, and it was very interesting because I’ve seen The Passion of Christ. I’ve spent time, I’m like, wow, that seems like a tough moment. But I’ve heard people preach about the cross.

It didn’t do it for me at that point, but me reading the story for myself after the initiation caused by the fear, it tore me apart. It broke me. And the timing of God, the mercy of God, the grace of God, for all of it to line up in that kind of way, I’m grateful for. And I don’t know if that’s maybe what’s happening for some of you. Now, I don’t know if talking about wrath is like, oh, actually, the cross stuff doesn’t do it for me, but I guess I got to try something maybe I don’t know.

I pray that maybe that could be the case for somebody. But my hope is that today we continue to move forward, thinking about how we live now and prepare for the coming, to prepare for that. Maybe this thought of Jesus not being clear about when gets you to feel certain things. But if you’re living right now, you don’t have to worry about how and when it’ll happen. It’ll be a beautiful day for you, but if you’re not living for it now, it’s the complete opposite.

I’m not exactly sure how to end this thought, so I’m just going to read some words that Peter said and we’re going to end after that. All right? Second Peter I’m not going to have it on the screen. I want you to just be able to listen to it. So 2 Peter chapter three, verse three to twelve is what I’m reading. It says, “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come scoffing, and following their own evil desires, they will say, where is this coming he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But they deliberately forget that long ago, by God’s Word, the heavens came into being, and the earth was formed out of water, by water, by these waters also. The world of that time was deluged and destroyed by the same word. The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends, with the Lord. A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and Godly lives. As you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”

Church I pray that we can do this last portion. I pray that we can do all of what’s in the Scriptures. But you ought to live holy and Godly lives. If you want help with that. If you’re visiting and you’re trying to piece those things together, there’s a QR code on the seat back in front of you.

If you scan that, we can help you out. And there’s also a Discover class. I’ll talk a little bit more about it later, but for now church thank you. I’m going to go ahead and pray. And thank you so much, Father.

Thank you. Thank you. For clarity, I thank. You for explaining that you are coming back, God, and you hold Your promise. And I thank you that before you came back, Lord, that you decided to humble yourself and show love in such a magnificent way, to die on the cross, to give us a chance to actually be with you and for Your return to be a positive and amazing and a glorious thing for us.

God, thank you for your grace, for Your mercy, for Your love. But I also thank you that you understand our minds sometimes aren’t motivated by those things depending on what we’re going through, God. And I pray that if wrath is the thing that motivates in the beginning, I pray that the journey caused by it can be beautiful and we can see the value of Your love, God, that we can see through perfect love, that it drives out fear. God, as we get to know more and more about that love, regardless of what that motivation was for us to really connect to you, please god, I pray for us as a church that we can continue to help each other. This thought of living holy and Godly lives pleasing to you, it’s really, really difficult to do alone, but to do it in groups, to do it as a community, God, that’s what you want us to do, and you know that it’s effective.

God, I thank you for another morning like this, to come together, to sing, to be able to dive into Your word. And I pray that we continue to move forward in a way that is preparing for Your coming. God, we love you. We thank you to your son’s name. We pray. Amen.