SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Opening Prayer
Father, whatever this day holds for me, thank you that everything will unfold according to your plan and purposes. Help me to sense your presence, to experience your working, and to trust in your faithfulness.
Read LUKE 17:20–37
The Coming of the Kingdom of God
20 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, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”[a]
22 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. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day[b] will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 “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. 31 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. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” [36] [c]
37 “Where, Lord?” they asked.
He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
Footnotes
- Luke 17:21 Or is within you
- Luke 17:24 Some manuscripts do not have in his day.
- Luke 17:36 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Matt. 24:40.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Life often does not turn out according to our plans. When has that been true in your experience? In your experience of God?Luke suddenly changes perspective from the personal to the cosmic. He zooms out to a wide shot. It is not a pretty picture (see v. 37)!
The passage opens with a question about ‘when’ (v. 20) but ends with one about ‘where’ (v. 37). It is important to ask the right question! Jesus completely reframed the Pharisees’ issue from an obsession with signs (which was really about being clever), to the vital concern of response (which was really about obedience). Signs are external. Response is on the inside (v. 21).
Church history is littered with groups confidently predicting Jesus’ return in response to interpreting ‘signs.’ They all look foolish. Jesus could not have made it clearer (see Mark 13:32). That is none of our business. What counts is whether we are ready for the day, every day. How we live is of much greater importance than how cleverly we think we can predict Jesus’ return.
The kingdom of God is within (among) us. That reality should inform every relationship, our life priorities, and our perspective in the midst of challenges.
Apply
Perhaps today is the one Jesus is referring to in verse 24. In that moment everything else becomes redundant. How should that possibility affect how you live for him today?
Closing prayer
King of Kings, as I long for your return, help me to wait expectantly and obediently, invested in the expansion and growth of your kingdom.
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