Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 17:20

"And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:" — Luke 17:20 (ASV)

When He was demanded of the Pharisees.—The question may have been asked in a different tone by different groups of those who bore the common name of Pharisee. Some were genuinely looking for the coming of the Messianic kingdom, while others altogether rejected the claim of Jesus of Nazareth to be the Christ. From one group, the question implied a taunt; from the other, something like impatience. The terms of the answer contained what addressed both situations.

Cometh not with observation.—The English noun “observation” precisely matches the meaning of the Greek, signifying careful and anxious watching. There was, perhaps, a special significance in the word, referring to the two forms of “watching” to which our Lord had been subjected. Some of the Pharisees had “observed” Him repeatedly with a purpose that was more or less hostile (Luke 14:1; Mark 3:2; where the Greek verb is the one from which the noun used here is derived).

Others were looking for some sign from heaven to show that He was the promised Head of the Kingdom. They are told that when it comes, it will not be in conjunction with any such “observation” of outward things; it will burst upon them suddenly.

In the meantime, they must look for the signs of its presence in an entirely different realm. The marginal reading, “outward show”—that which is subject to observation—though providing an adequate meaning, is more of a paraphrase than a direct translation.