Luke 17:20-37
The Kingdom among You
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20When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.
21Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
22Then He said to the 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.
23People will tell you, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.
24For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.
25But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
27People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
31On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
32Remember Lot’s wife!
33Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
34I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: one will be taken and the other left.
35Two women will be grinding grain together: one will be taken and the other left.”
37“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
The Pharisees ask Jesus when the kingdom of God will come. He answers that the kingdom does not come with signs to be observed or with people saying, “Look, here it is,” or “There it is.” The kingdom of God is in their midst. Jesus is already bringing God's reign among them through his words and works. They can miss what is present by looking only for the arrival they expect.
Jesus tells His disciples that days will come when they long to see one of the days of the Son of Man but will not see it. They must not run after reports that He is here or there. His coming will be like lightning that flashes across the sky.
Before that day, the Son of Man must suffer and be rejected. Jesus compares the coming day to the days of Noah and Lot, when people were eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building until judgment arrived.
He warns them to remember Lot's wife and not to cling to what must be left behind. One will be taken and another left; the disciples ask where, and Jesus answers with the picture of vultures gathering where the corpse is. The warning brings them back to the reality of judgment. His coming will not depend on chasing a secret report, and closeness to another person will not guarantee that both are ready. They need to heed him now.
How We Know
In Genesis 19:15–26, Lot's family is urged to escape the coming destruction without looking back. His wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt. Jesus recalls her immediately after warning his hearers not to return for their possessions. The connection makes the urgency concrete: they must not cling to what they have been told to leave.
Questions
1 What do the Pharisees ask Jesus?
AnswerThey ask when the kingdom of God will come. Jesus answers that it does not arrive as a spectacle people can locate by pointing.
2 What does Jesus say about the kingdom?
AnswerHe says it is in their midst. Jesus is already making God's reign known among them through his presence and work.
3 What must happen to the Son of Man first?
AnswerHe must suffer and be rejected before the day of His revealed coming. The kingdom's future glory does not erase the suffering that comes first.
4 What do the examples of Noah and Lot warn about?
AnswerOrdinary life can continue while people remain unprepared for judgment. The warning is not against eating or working, but against unwatchful indifference.
What This Means for Us
Jesus resists both date-setting and spectacle. The kingdom is already present in Him, while its final revelation remains future and sudden.
Families can live faithfully in ordinary work without assuming ordinary life is all that exists. Stay alert through truth, mercy, and readiness rather than chasing every dramatic religious report.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, keep us awake to Your kingdom in our midst. Protect our household from spectacle and speculation, make us faithful in ordinary responsibilities, and prepare us to meet You with steady hearts. Amen.