One of the great things about the discipline of preaching lectio continua (in sequence through books of the Bible) is that you end up preaching on passages which otherwise you would probably not choose. So I was allocated Luke 17:20-37 as my passage for this Sunday. When I first read over it it seemed to be a group of loosely connected sayings about the future. On reflection, I realised that it is a passage where Jesus articulate inaugurated eschatology or the “now-not yet” (made famous by Geerhardus Vos and G.E. Ladd). This approach to eschatology is commonly described in Paul’s and even in the theology of the evangelists; but here it is quite clear in Jesus own recorded words.

The incident begins with a question from the Pharisees about the timing of the kingdom of God (v20).

Jesus’ answer is that the kingdom is not observed. It can’t read from the evidence, because it has already arrived and they missed it. “The kingdom is in your midst” (v21). Jesus means himself. He is the presence of the kingdom with them, right there and then. Jesus is the king of the kingdom and it is hidden in him.

Jesus is the king of the kingdom and it is hidden in him.

On Sunday I tried to show that to the congregation by looking briefly at Luke’s introduction of John the Baptist. Both in Zechariah’s song (Lk 1:76-79) and Luke’s citation of Isaiah 40 (Lk 3:4-6) John Baptist is the messenger who prepares the way for the coming of the Lord who will save his people — which is the central idea of the Kingdom of God. The implication is that Jesus, for whom John prepares, is the Lord coming to save his people. He comes without the glory cloud, armies or cosmic transformation and isn’t recognised by most people in Israel (including the Pharisees who ask this question).

Jesus then turns to his disciples, who know him and (to some extent at least) recognise the presence of the kingdom. To them he says, there is more to come, a fuller revelation of the kingdom which will look like Old Testament promises. There will be a day of the Son of Man which will be as obvious as a lightning storm (v24). There are views that the coming of the Son of Man is a reference to Jesus’ exaltation or to the fall of Jerusalem. In Luke 17 there is no allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem. The “day of the Son of Man” is most obviously a reference to the day when the Lord God comes to earth to judge the world and give the kingdom to the “Son of Man” (Dan 7:9-14). Jesus point about the public and even cosmic nature of the coming of the Son of Man makes it even clearer that he is referring to his own second coming to fully establish the kingdom.

Jesus says that before that the Son of Man will suffer and be rejected (v25). Obviously, he means his own rejection, trial and execution; I’m sure he is also thinking of the continued suffering of the church after his resurrection. Years later the risen Jesus asks Saul “Why are you persecuting me?”; when Saul is attacking the church. The Son of Man continues to suffer and be rejected through his church.

To the Pharisees Jesus says, don’t look for the kingdom here or there, because it is me and you have missed it so far. To the disciples he says don’t look for me there or here because when I return it will be completely obvious.

Jesus shows one of the implications of inaugurated eschatology when warns his disciples to be ready. The people in the time of Noah and the citizens of Sodom were fully occupied with routines of this life: eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting and building. They were oblivious to the approaching judgement and were destroyed (vv26-28).

Disciples of Jesus know that this age is not the final horizon, the Son of Man will return to reveal the kingdom which he has already established. And we should live for that, losing our lives (from the perspective of this age) to be safe in the judgement (v32).

Disciples of Jesus know that this age is not the final horizon.

Disciples still participate in the routines of life. Jesus says that those who are ‘left’ will be grinding and sleeping, just like people who are ‘taken’ in judgement (vv34-35). (If you think that being left and taken is the reserves — people are taken to salvation; then the point is the same).

While disciples are part of the routines of life, they look to a far bigger horizon — the return of Christ. This is a challenging call away from obsession with the routines of life. That is tough in our culture. Jesus description of people at Noah’s time and in Sodom is so much like our world, busy activity, consumed with relationships and making money and the necessities and pleasures of life. For most people around us, those are the major concerns of existence. Disciples should know and live differently.

This is also theologically challenging for me. I like the fact that Reformed Christianity is world-affirming, it says the life lived now matters. There is a cultural mandate which we should fulfill by building, planting, making, selling, raising families and enjoying God’s good world. New Creation eschatology underwrites a world-affirming ethic. And there is the trap! Concerns for creation and culture can be a cover for a life fully invested in this age. Jesus calls us to live against the big horizon of the coming kingdom and his return.

Inaugurated eschatology should change our investments, our prayers, our preaching and our lives. The passage asks me how I am losing my life when I know this age won’t last.