Verses 20-21 The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. They want dates and times. For them, this means a time when God will raise up the Jewish nation above all others. The Pharisees had been teaching that it was coming. Jesus had been teaching his followers that it was here, pray for it.
The Coming of the Kingdom
Jesus told them that God’s kingdom was not something observable. It is quiet and goes undetected. It’s a spiritual kingdom, not an external kingdom with pomp and noise, as the Pharisees expected.
The kingdom of God would start a revolution in the heart, not in the civil government. The power of God’s kingdom will influence their souls. It will receive its reverence from those who receive it. God’s kingdom will not change men’s outward condition, but their hearts and lives. It was coming to make proud hearts humble and wean those distracted and absorbed in the world.
The Pharisees are blind to this because the kingdom of God was in their midst. It’s Jesus. The king was standing in front of them. Jesus is the one who would usher in this kingdom, yet they didn’t recognize him as a king. The kingdom was already being set up through gospel preaching, miracles, and the multitudes embracing Jesus’ message. But it wasn’t getting through in the Pharisees’ hearts.
The Upside of the Downside
Jesus is already here. We should continually fight against the flesh to see through the eyes of Jesus. Reading scripture daily helps us do that. We desperately need the Word of God to shift our perspective on life. If you haven’t picked up on it now, what looks like loss in our eyes is actually a gain in God’s kingdom. Those who put others first and themselves last here on earth will be first in heaven.
Verse 22 Turning from the antagonistic religious leaders, Jesus taught his disciples about the coming kingdom. They are expecting a worldly kingdom with recognition, honors, and riches for their gospel teaching progress. But Jesus shifts their focus from these expectations. He will not always be with them. While the disciples have peace, comfort, the advantages of his ministry and miracles, and amazing success in his presence, the day is coming when they will face persecution and imprisonment.
Earthly securities can cause a shrinking faith.
When things are calm and there are not a lot of pushbacks, it seems easy to share the gospel. But listeners will grow lukewarm after a while of enjoying God’s kingdom. The Spirit will withdraw and they will no longer have the abundance of miracles and signs. After a while, the disciples will not see as big of harvests coming into the kingdom. The multitudes will not flock to Jesus as they once did.
The disciples must expect disappointment.
The preaching of the gospel will not always have this kind of freedom and success. Preachers and churches will be under restraints. People will scatter. And we will all wish we once had those “sabbath days” to enjoy in the house of God. The time will come when we will wish for the days we could hear from and converse with Jesus. They will wish to see the days when Jesus was there with them. They will not be longing for days of happiness, but for these days when they enjoyed the personal presence of Jesus that they have now. This spiritual communion they have with him. The advantages of his ministry and miracles.
There is so much peace and comfort in the presence of Jesus.
There are seasons in life when Jesus meets with us often, fills us with His Spirit, extends his grace through opportunities, and indulges us with his fellowship. And this makes these days desirable ones. Have you had those seasons of life when your relationship with Jesus was so in sync, the communion deeply satisfying, and the joy of it spilling out on people wherever you went? 🙌🏻
A day is coming when afflictions and persecutions will tear at our threshold of peace and comfort.
We should not expect better times, but worse.
And because of that, we should soak in the sweet moments with Jesus when things are calm.
Daily we see this prophecy coming to the forefront of our lives. The opportunities for public worship, openly praying to the Lord, singing his praise, hearing his word, and walking in his decrees (these are the days of the son of man, or Lord’s days (Revelation 1:10)) are diminishing around the world. In the United States, these once honored practices of Christianity are being revoked and erased from our freedoms and legislation. Continually, the Church is fighting government officials in their attempts to censor what is being taught in the assemblies of its people.
We should make use of and improve the opportunities we have today while we still have them.
Here’s the Hope!
Jesus’ church and his cause are not losing just because it is not visibly prevailing.
The last book of the Bible reminds us that in the end, we win.
Verses 23-25 False teachers will misguide people by saying that Jesus is “here” or “there”, but Jesus urges his disciples to give their deceitful claims no credit. For example, some might look at the brawn of a man and conclude he will be the one to save the Jews from Roman oppression. They might make assumptions that Jesus will return here or there on a mountain in Jerusalem, but no one should follow these suggestions.
The Son of Man will come suddenly and clearly to all. Like lightning flashing in the sky, he will bring His glory to all, his swift judgment will spread out across the whole earth.
But first, it is necessary that Jesus “suffer many things and be rejected.” The disciples still didn’t understand that he came to suffer and die as an atoning sacrifice for sin. And if Jesus was going to face rejection, shame, pain, and death, so also would any followers who shared in his cause.
The only way to the crown is through the cross.
We all must learn to die in our flesh as Jesus did on the cross in order to receive the crown and riches that await us. The last shall be first in God’s kingdom.
Prayer
Jesus, I know you are here with me. There’s nowhere I can go that you are not there with me. Revolutionize my heart, Jesus. Shift my perspective to see your heavenly things, Jesus. Help me, Holy Spirit, to take advantage of the opportunities I have today to share your gospel and live in the fullness of your comfort and peace, your personal presence, and the gift of gathering with your Church on Sundays. These days are short and will not always be here. Help me live with the brevity of time at the front of my mind.
I long for the days when your communion is deeply satisfying and joy is spilling out. Meet me here, Jesus, and fill me with your Spirit. Help me understand Your Word, experience your grace, and indulge in deeper fellowship with you. Help me discern false teachings and not get caught up in the opinions of others. Holy Spirit, help me remain focused on your Truth and use all the freedoms and opportunities I have today to share in the fellowship with other believers and share the gospel with unbelievers. Though I don’t understand many of the things I’ve had to go through in this lifetime, I trust You, Jesus, and the cross, the sacrifice of this life, that leads to my heavenly crown. In Jesus’ name, Amen.