"Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" - Jesus Christ (Luke 17:21).
What does that mean to you?
1 comment:
Anonymous
said...
Notice who Jesus was talking to:
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, — Luke 17:20a
These are the same men to whom Jesus said this:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. — Matthew 23:15
So Jesus was clearly not saying "the kingdom of God" is in everyone's hearts. The Expositor's Bible Commentary puts it this way:
The NIV’s “within you” (…) is a questionable translation, though it is the one preferred by the early fathers (…). Jesus would hardly tell Pharisees, most of whom (especially those who interrogated him) were unbelievers, that the kingdom was within them (cf. Marshall, 655, who considers the word “you” to be indefinite, though he also rejects the translation “within”). The NIV’s text note (“among you”) is surely right. The focus is on neither time nor location, however, but on the person of Jesus himself. With the life and ministry of Jesus, one can experience the kingdom of God. — Walter L. Liefeld and David W. Pao, “Luke,” in Luke–Acts (vol. 10 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Revised Edition, ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 272.
The kingdom of God consists of those who repent of their sins and turn to follow Jesus.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” — Mark 1:14–15
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” — John 3:3
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. — John 10:27–28
Note also that fake "sheep" are not part of the kingdom of God.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” — Matthew 7:21–23
1 comment:
Notice who Jesus was talking to:
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them,
— Luke 17:20a
These are the same men to whom Jesus said this:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
— Matthew 23:15
So Jesus was clearly not saying "the kingdom of God" is in everyone's hearts. The Expositor's Bible Commentary puts it this way:
The NIV’s “within you” (…) is a questionable translation, though it is the one preferred by the early fathers (…). Jesus would hardly tell Pharisees, most of whom (especially those who interrogated him) were unbelievers, that the kingdom was within them (cf. Marshall, 655, who considers the word “you” to be indefinite, though he also rejects the translation “within”). The NIV’s text note (“among you”) is surely right. The focus is on neither time nor location, however, but on the person of Jesus himself. With the life and ministry of Jesus, one can experience the kingdom of God.
— Walter L. Liefeld and David W. Pao, “Luke,” in Luke–Acts (vol. 10 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Revised Edition, ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 272.
The kingdom of God consists of those who repent of their sins and turn to follow Jesus.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
— Mark 1:14–15
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
— John 3:3
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
— John 10:27–28
Note also that fake "sheep" are not part of the kingdom of God.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
— Matthew 7:21–23
Post a Comment