The Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20–21

fishing at the sea

Photo by Johannes Plenio / Unsplash

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”  

Luke 17:20–21, ESV

We like to have certainty of when things will happen, and this is no different when it comes to the return of the Lord. People want to know, they asked Jesus, and He advised that we are not meant to know but are to be prepared. There are a multitude of books and shows on television with people predicting all sorts of things. People say that God has given them a vision only to find that it does not happen as they have said. We are warned of this and should truly take heed of what it means to be prepared. Following this interaction with the Pharisees, Jesus warns the disciples that a lot of negative things will occur, and ultimately, people will turn away and even persecute the faithful. Yet, we are called to hold fast and be prepared because the time will come when no one is expecting our Lord to return, and this is when the judgment will fall. We know that all of those early believers faced great persecution. The Apostles all suffered at the hands of the Romans and died horrible deaths, with the exception of John, who died in exile. We see today how the Church’s voice is stilled because it does not fit the narrative of the world. We are called to stand firm in the Word and continue carrying the message regardless of what we face in the world, be prepared for our Lord at all times, and not listen to the voices that try to point us to things that are not necessarily of our Lord. Beware of false prophets and those who speak as though they are Christ, but be firm in the Christian hope given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ and promised to us in the waters of our Baptism. Look no farther than the Word and trust in what our Lord Jesus Christ has said of Himself to us, knowing that we can find our salvation in Him and Him alone.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.