Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

The time of the coming of the kingdom was important both to the Pharisees and to the Christians of Luke’s day, though for different reasons (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:1–2; 2 Peter 3:3–4 for concerns that Christians had). Jesus had already made it clear that the kingdom was already present ; he will shortly indicate by a parable that the full expression of the kingdom does not take place in the immediate future (19:11–27). The present passage is therefore important as a further definition of the nature of the kingdom.

In answer to the question “When?” (v.20), Jesus says that the kingdom will not come as an observable process; that is, it will come suddenly. The NIV “within you” is a questionable translation, for Jesus would hardly tell Pharisees, most of whom (especially those who interrogated him) were unbelievers, that the kingdom was within them. The NIV margin (“among you”) is surely right.

Luke’s presentation of the kingdom in Jesus’ teaching is dynamic rather than psychological . The idea behind ‘ “Here it is’ or ‘There it is’ ” is that of the kingdom’s authoritative presence. Jesus is thus saying that people are the subjects, not the timekeepers, of God’s kingdom.