Within us

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WITHIN US

Luke 17:20-21

20 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, 21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." 

NIV

From the historical accounts that we know so far about the Pharisees it is correct to think because of their knowledge of the scriptures they had, they were expecting the Messiah to show up some time. But they had the idea, perhaps from their own minds, or filters with which they interpreted the Prophets that the Messiah would come with much pomp and ceremony.  They most likely were looking for an entrance much like an earthly king would make as he conquers his enemies city. The life lesson for them and us is within this response of Jesus. There are two ways in which we could see his response to their question about when the kingdom of God would come. First we could see it in the sense that Jesus was telling them he was the kingdom of God, which he was among them, which is how some translations depict that word within. But the Greek word does not imply among, it seems to only mean within or inside. This can only lead us to the truth that the kingdom of God is within our hearts. Jesus comes to rule and reign in our hearts. He does not come with pomp and splendor as an earthy ruler would, such as the President of the United States would. An earthly ruler, a king rules to control the external actions of people, or in some sense strike them with awe, such as the time when one democratic candidate for president moved his acceptance speech from the convention hall to an 80,000 seated football stadium and appeared before a Stage of Greek columns, appearing more like a god who descended from the heavens to speak to the mere mortals. Jesus does not show up that way at all. He comes to us in the most personal way. The Spirit introduces him to us even without any knowledge of the Scriptures. He sets up residence, not in a palace built by men, but in the temple he created, us, our hearts. He influences not merely our external actions or behaviors, but he influence our heart, our minds, how we think, how we believe which then because of the content of our hearts we develop our actions and behaviors to agree with our heart, in which Jesus resides. Yes, the kingdom of God is still coming in the sense that someday we will be in paradise, in the new city of Jerusalem with our Lord for all eternity, but that does not mean the kingdom of God is not here now. It is here, and it is within us.