devotional post #2019

Luke 17:20-25

Luk 17:20 Having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed,
Luk 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ Because really, the kingdom of God is already in your midst.”
Luk 17:22 Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will want to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
Luk 17:23 At that time, people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.
Luk 17:24 Because just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, the Son of Man will be like that in his day.
Luk 17:25 But first he will have to suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

already, but not yet

JThe Pharisees had heard Jesus speak of a kingdom, but when they looked at him, they saw no throne, no army, no political authority—nothing that resembled the kind of reign they expected. So they asked the natural question: When is this kingdom going to appear? Jesus’ answer was both corrective and revealing. The kingdom was not delayed. It was not hidden behind the scenes. It was already standing in front of them in the person of Jesus himself. Wherever the King is present, the kingdom is present. They simply lacked the eyes to see it.

But Jesus did not stop with the Pharisees. He turned to his disciples and prepared them for a very different reality. There would come a long stretch of time when he would not be physically among them. They would long for the days when they could see him, hear him, and walk beside him. In that absence, he warned them not to be misled by rumors or claims that he had returned secretly. His return would not be tucked away in a corner or whispered in private. It would be as unmistakable as lightning that splits the sky—sudden, brilliant, and visible to all.

Yet before that glorious return, Jesus had a mission to fulfill. His path did not lead first to a crown but to a cross. His appointment in Jerusalem was not to ascend a throne but to offer himself as the sacrifice that would redeem his people. The kingdom would come in power one day, but first it would come in suffering. The King would reign, but first he would die. And in that death, the very foundation of the kingdom would be laid.

This is why we trust his kingdom even now. We are not waiting to see whether he will be worthy to rule. He has already shown his worth in the giving of his life. We submit to his authority because he has already borne our sins, already conquered death, already inaugurated the kingdom in his own person. The King has come, the King will come again, and in the meantime, we live under his rule with confidence.

LORD, we trust in your kingdom, because we have already submitted to the authority of its king.