Luke 17:20-37 "The Coming of the Kingdom" Have you ever wished that God would send you a sign? that a voice would speak from heaven? or that God would give some sort of visible signal that he is there? Well, he has. God has sent you a sign if you have eyes to see it! Indeed, God has sent you many signs: the three that our passage talks about are the days of Noah, the days of Lot, and the days of the Son of Man the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Why should we care about Noah? Why should we care about Lot? This is ancient history! We live in the present. We are busy in the present! Why should we think about Lot, Noah, or what was going on in first century Palestine? It is because we are a family, and this is part of our story. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that these things happened to them for our sakes, so that we might learn not to do what they did! And we are part of this story. In our day the church has amnesia. We have forgotten who we are. We are so preoccupied with ourselves and our own lives, that we no longer understand how we fit into this story. The reason why I preach regularly through the Old Testament in the evening service is in order to help us regain our memory. And passages like Luke 17 remind us of how central that Old Testament story is to the story of Jesus. Jesus says that if you don't understand the days of Lot or the days of Noah, then you won't understand the days of the Son of Man. If we do not understand the Old Testament, then we will not truly understand Jesus. Introduction: The Coming of the Kingdom (17:20-21) The Pharisees think they understand the OT, and so they ask Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. After all, they see nothing in Jesus that remotely resembles the coming of the kingdom. They are waiting for a Messiah who will lead Israel against its enemies someone like David, who will overthrow the Romans. So, Jesus, when will the kingdom come? Jesus' answer is somewhat surprising, because elsewhere he will point to signs. But here, he says The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. (v20) In other words, the kingdom of God will not be accompanied by the signs you are looking for. Nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' Or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. (v21) The Kingdom of God is in your midst. What does that mean? There are three possible translations: within you (which would mean that the kingdom is an internal thing) this is not very likely given the fact that he is talking to the Pharisees! In your midst (which would mean that the kingdom is an objective reality) this is essentially correct: the kingdom is present before their very eyes in the person of Jesus. Within your grasp this is more of a paraphrase than a translation, but it captures the gist of what Jesus is saying. The kingdom is here, right in front of you but you don't see it. The Pharisees are looking for signs, but they are looking for the wrong sorts of signs, and so they cannot see what is as plain as the nose on their face. The language of "day" helps structure the passage: v22, "the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man" v26, "just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man" v27 (until the day when Noah entered the ark) v28, "just as it was in the days of Lot" v29 (on the day when Lot went out from Sodom) v30 (so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed) v31 (on that day) And then comes the startling contrast in verse 34, I tell you, in that night... The days of the Son of Man are compared to the days of Noah and the days of Lot, before the night falls. Because judgment is coming. 1. The Days of the Son of Man (17:22-25) After telling the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, Jesus turns to the disciples and explains what the coming of the kingdom will look like. The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, "Look, there!" or "Look, here!" Do not go out or follow them. Why does Jesus refer to himself as the Son of Man? Daniel had seen in his night visions in Daniel 7:13-14, "And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and language should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." The coming of the Son of Man in Daniel's vision is not a coming to earth, but a coming to the heavenly throne. The coming of the kingdom, in Daniel's vision, occurs when the Son of Man is given a kingdom by God The "days of the Son of Man" then refers to the days of the kingdom the days when the Son of Man is reigning on the throne. So when Jesus says that the disciples will long for "one of the days of the Son of Man," he is saying that there is a time of trouble coming. There is a time of judgment. And he warns them that many will say in that day, "look here" or "look there" pointing to some mighty figure. But Jesus says, Do not go out or follow them. The coming of the Son of Man will be obvious. You won't need someone to tell you where to find him. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. (v24) Children, when there is a terrific thunderstorm going on, do you need someone to tell you, "Look, there's a thunderstorm!" Of course not! The coming of the Son of Man will not be some secret event that takes special knowledge. But first, before that day, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. (v25) This is the most shocking part of Jesus' message. The idea that the Son of Man would suffer before entering his glory was new. I suppose someone should have figured it out beforehand. After all, Abraham was a homeless wanderer before God gave his children the land. Israel was enslaved in Egypt 400 years before receiving the land. David was pursued by Saul and the Philistines for many years before receiving the kingdom. So if you look at the pattern, no one should be surprised that the Son of Man would suffer first. But no one had figured that out in Jesus' day! The Son of Man was a glorious figure a kingly figure almost a divine figure. But in order to explain what he means by the days of the Son of Man, Jesus gives us two examples. 2. The Days of Noah (17:26-27) Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (v26-27) So the coming of the Kingdom of God, the days of the Son of Man, will be like the days of Noah. What were the days of Noah like? They were pretty ordinary. Folks were living life comfortably. There were no unusual events going on. Just the ordinary, everyday stuff. Oh, except for that oddball over there building this gigantic box. (If you look at the dimensions, the ark was not really a boat, it was a box!) In the days of Noah the kingdom of God was also right there, in front of them, for those who had eyes to see or ears to hear. But then came catastrophe, as the floodgates of heaven were opened and the fountains of the deep burst forth, and all humanity was consumed in the flood all but Noah and his family. So the days of the Son of Man are like the days of Noah. What else? 3. The Days of Lot (17:28-33) Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot they went eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (v 28-30) What were the days of Lot like? Again, pretty ordinary. All the ordinary stuff was going on. There were no shocking, unusual events Oh, except for that oddball foreigner over there who had strange religious ideas and then last night he had these weird guests... In the days of Noah, water destroyed humanity. In the days of Lot, fire from heaven destroyed humanity to the extent that Lot's daughters thought that they were the last women on earth. Jesus says, so shall it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. What day is Jesus talking about? Remember where we are in Luke's gospel. We are on the road to Jerusalem the road to the cross. In Luke 9:51-13:21, Jesus refused to allow the disciples to call down fire from heaven against the Samaritans, but said that the fire of God's wrath would come instead to rebellious Israel and indeed, that it would fall first on himself. Then in Luke 13:22-17:10, Jesus answers the question "will those who are saved be few?" by pointing to the proper response of faith, repentance and new obedience. Now in Luke 17:11-18:34 Jesus is summarizing his message. We are coming to the end of the road to Jerusalem. All of Israel's history is centered around Jerusalem. From Abraham offering Isaac on Mt Moriah, to the city of David and the temple of Solomon the place where God's name dwelt among his people this is the center of God's dealings with his people. And as we go further into Luke's gospel, Jerusalem becomes more and more important. Luke starts in the temple in Jerusalem, with Zechariah offering sacrifices. Luke ends in the temple in Jerusalem, with the disciples praising God. And Luke spends chapters 9-19 on the road to Jerusalem. And as we get closer and closer to Jerusalem, Jerusalem is becoming more and more important to Luke's narrative. So, what is the day of the Son of Man? Listen to verses 31-32, On that day (on the day when the Son of Man is revealed) Let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Why? Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. Indeed, when the Son of Man is revealed, do not be like Lot's wife. Do not look back. Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she loved Sodom, and could not bear to leave it behind. Judgment is coming; judgment like the judgment that fell upon Sodom. And on the day when the Son of Man is revealed, you will not want to be in Jerusalem. Luke 21:20-24 says this explicitly: But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Jesus is speaking to the Jews. He is saying in rather plain language that Israel has become like Sodom. That is exactly what he said in 10:12. God's judgment is coming against Israel. And when his judgment comes, it will fall swiftly. Just as in the days of Noah and the days of Lot. And when it comes, don't look back. When it comes, run! 4. The Night of the Son of Man (17:34-37) Because when it comes, the day will be over. Night will fall on Israel. Jesus has been using the language of "day" but now he says, I tell you, in that night there will be two in bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. Would you want the one taken? Or the one left? Please understand that Jesus is not talking about the "rapture"! He is talking about the Roman army invading Judea. He is talking about the invasion of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. Do you want to be the one taken by the Roman army? Or the one left behind? The "Left Behind" series and its dispensational view of the end times would have us think that we want to be taken! But Jesus' point here in Luke is that you do not want to be taken! You want to be left behind! Verse 37 confirms this: And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." (v37) The disciples want to know where this will be. And Jesus says, the vultures will gather where the corpses are. So look for the dead bodies, and you will know where this will happen. What is Jesus talking about? Jesus is talking about a cataclysmic judgment coming against Israel. This judgment will be like the judgment against Sodom it will be like the flood. It will completely destroy the world as his hearers know it. What is he talking about? He is talking about the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. We've just finished building the tabernacle in Sunday school. In the tabernacle we see a model of the new creation. As we've seen Sunday night in the book of Kings Solomon's temple is the place where God dwells "forever" among his people. Why doesn't Jesus use the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar as an example? He uses the Flood and the destruction of Sodom. What is the difference between these and the destruction of Jerusalem in Jeremiah's day? The destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar was only temporary. It does not even begin to compare with the days of Noah or the days of Lot. What God does in the days of Noah is destroy the world and start from scratch. What God does in the days of Lot is the complete destruction of Sodom. And what God will do in the days of the Son of Man is nothing less than the final destruction of the temple. It is the end of the Mosaic (or Davidic) age. You see, if you were living in the Old Testament, then the Mosaic covenant was a glorious thing bringing salvation to the people of God. But in the light of the glory of Jesus Christ, the Mosaic covenant is a ministry of death. Jesus has come to bring cataclysmic judgment against Israel and against the temple. It will start in his death (v25) and be concluded with the destruction of the temple in AD 70. But why should we care that judgment is coming against Jerusalem? Why does the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70 matter to us? Well, why did the days of Noah matter to Jesus' hearers? Why did the days of Lot matter? You need to understand the pattern. You need to see what God is doing in history. Just as God destroyed the world of Noah's day with the flood, and just as God destroyed the world of Sodom with fire from heaven, and just as God destroyed the world of Jerusalem with the Roman army, so also will be the end of the age. Because AD 70 was not the final judgment. It was the judgment of Israel. It was the judgment of the temple, and of Jerusalem. But the end of the Mosaic Age or perhaps better, the end of the Davidic Age the age of the earthly Jerusalem is itself a picture of the final judgment. Because while Jesus is speaking to the Jews, Luke is speaking to Theophilus the lover of God and saying, you, too, need to remember this warning. Because God's judgment against Jerusalem is only the beginning. God will judge all the nations. And he will judge rightly. That is why Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the Persistent Widow in 18:1-8. God will bring justice! And then he tells the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in 18:9-14. Don't get cocky! And then he says of little children, to such belongs the kingdom of God! We'll look more at that next week, but Jesus' point is that the coming of the kingdom is not what you expect. The coming of the kingdom is the coming of cataclysmic judgment. And the only way to stand in the judgment is to believe in Jesus the one who endured that judgment first!