The coming kingdom

 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”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. Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.  For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

 “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 all.

“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.  On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods 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 his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  Luke 17:20-33

Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know that putting a time and place on the coming kingdom of God was going to be virtually impossible.  He gave two examples, the first being Noah. The people were continuing to lead lives filled with normal activities right up to the time Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and the people were destroyed.

Second is the example of the people in the days of Lot. Once again, normal activities were going on and everyone was involved with their lives but when Lot left Sodom, destruction by fire rained down from heaven and they were destroyed. 

In the case of Noah, God had reached the point where he was sorry he had created man. There was sin everywhere and the people didn't care. Only Noah and his family were saved, because of their faith and loyalty to God.   In the case of Lot, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had become perverted with sexual immorality and God decided to destroy them.  Lot escaped that destruction by leaving, but remember Lot's wife! (That's the warning of Jesus' message.)

Look closely, because Jesus is giving a clue about his return. "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed." When it happens, don't go back for your worldly goods. Jesus makes it so plain there will be no need to hold on to anything from this world. Your money and your possessions will be immediately worthless, and will be of no use in eternity. 

Then the real lesson of Jesus for the Pharisees and for us, "Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."        Have a great weekend. God bless.

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