READING TIME: 3-6 MINUTES
Feb 25, 2020
In Luke 17:21, is the kingdom “within you” or “in your midst”?
Luke 17:20-21: 20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst” (NASB).
Thanks to my friend Dr. Andy Woods for providing a helpful answer to this question.
The KJV wrongly translated v. 21 that the kingdom is “within you.” This rendering could not be correct since in context Christ was addressing the Pharisees (Luke 17:20). How could the kingdom be within the satanically empowered Pharisees (John 8:44)? These unbelieving Pharisees were the very individuals plotting to murder Christ at the very time that these words were uttered. Thus, Craven observes, “The supposition that He indicated an existing Basileia . . . implies that it was set up in (or among) the Pharisees.” Furthermore, Christ’s kingdom could not be within them since the Scripture always portrays people entering the kingdom (Matthew 5:20; 23:13; John 3:5) rather than the kingdom entering people. Besides, regarding this notion of the kingdom being inside God’s people, we might ask, does Christ perfectly reign in the hearts of the believer today?
Also, this frequent rendering of “the kingdom of God is within you” converts the kingdom into a spiritual reality only. However, a terrestrial, geopolitical element is always included in the Old Testament’s presentation of the kingdom. Such an abrupt change from understanding the kingdom as encompassing this physical reality to solely a spiritual reality is tantamount to hermeneutically changing horses in midstream.
Also, if Luke 17:20-21 evidences the fact that Jesus set up a present, spiritual form of the kingdom during His First Advent, then why is His earthly ministry after these verses characterized by perpetual promises of a future, earthly kingdom? See Matthew 19:28; 20:20-21; 26:29; and Acts 1:6. Because the request in Matthew 20 and the inquiry of Acts 1 both transpired late in Christ’s ministry, it is unlikely that the disciples had a mistaken understanding of the kingdom at this point.
Also, the penitent thief on the cross saw the kingdom as a future reality when he exclaimed, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” (Luke 23:42). Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy disciple of Christ in whose tomb Christ was eventually buried, also understood Christ as teaching a future kingdom. Mark 15:43 says, “Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus” (italics added).
To the Jewish mind, king and kingdom went together like horse and carriage. It was unfathomable for them to have a king without the presence of the kingdom. Note the following passages from the Old Testament that link king and kingdom. See Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 7:13-14; and Luke 1:26-27, 32.
Because the kingdom through the presence of the king stood in their very midst, the kingdom, in this sense, was indeed already a present reality and was not preceded by various signs.
Jesus’s statement in Luke 17:21 could mean, ‘the kingdom is within reach.’ In other words, with the king present in the person of Jesus the kingdom for the nation of Israel, and consequently the world, was in an imminent, or any moment, state of expectancy.
If the kingdom had already come, why did Jesus prophesy the future Tribulation in Luke 21:31 and say in connection with that series of events, “When you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near”? The implication is clear: This kingdom is not near now. It was near (in the sense that Jesus personally offered it to Israel), but then it ceased being near.
To derive its true meaning, Luke 17:20-21 must also be studied alongside Luke 19:11-27 and Luke 21:31.
When we look at the larger context of Luke 17:20-21 found in Luke 17:20-37, it becomes apparent that Christ was speaking primarily of a future, rather than a present, manifestation of the kingdom. By the time Christ uttered the words found in Luke 17:20–21, it is apparent that first-century Israel was not going to accept the offer of the kingdom since the nation was in the process of rejecting her king.
The instantaneous, futuristic arrival of the kingdom is corroborated by the surrounding context, which analogizes Christ’s Second Coming to sudden flashing of lightning (Luke 17:23-24), and to the floodwaters that rapidly came upon the world in Noah’s day (Luke 17:20-28), as well as to the fire and brimstone that came suddenly upon Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot (Luke 17:29-33).
At least two reasons can be offered to explain Christ’s use of the present tense here. First, because the Pharisees asked the initial question in the present tense, it stands to reason that Christ would also answer their question in the present tense.
Second, biblical language often describes future events with the present tense to indicate their ultimate certainty. His infinitude allows Him to express future events as though they were present realities because He sees them as such. Notice that our future glorification in Romans 8:29-30 is depicted in the same past tense as our past predestination, calling, and justification.
In the same way, in Luke 17:21, Christ uses the present tense to describe the kingdom, not to depict its present, spiritual arrival but rather to articulate its futuristic certainty.
In sum, to the kingdom now use of Luke 17:20-21, three responses can be given. First, these verses do not teach that “the kingdom is within you” as Jesus now reigns within the hearts of His people. Second, the offer of the kingdom framework is sufficient for interpreting these verses as the kingdom through the king was present at that moment, unique and unprecedented opportunity to receive both. Third, the larger context of these verses speaks primarily of a future kingdom rather than a present one.
Source Used
Woods, Andrew M. The Coming Kingdom: What Is the Kingdom and How Is Kingdom Now Theology Changing the Focus of the Church? Grace Gospel Press, chapter 16.