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The Kingdom Has Come, and the King Will Return in Judgment
Luke 17:20-37
People want change so their lives are better. For some, it’s political victory. “If we can just get the right people in office and pass the right laws, our nation will be set right. Things will get better!” For others, it’s a military campaign. We dream of a world where the good guys are in charge. When that happens, things are better. Still others wait for personal success. When the final piece of the puzzle clicks into place, I’ll finally be happy at work. We always want some change for the better.
This was also the case with the people in our text. They were living in the shadow of Roman occupation; their nation was oppressed. Their own leaders, both religious and civil, were corrupt. So the people looked for a king to deliver them. They were wanted political and military victory over the Romans. And they wanted Jesus as that king to set things right.
How about us? Christ’s our king. But what does that mean for us? For many, Christ is the means to an end - to wealth, success, health. But in this passage, the Lord taught the people what to expect if he’s our king. Christ gives 3 instructions from the passage. Firstly, we must have the right expectation of Christ’s kingdom. Secondly, we must expect Christ’s coming judgment. Thirdly, we must be prepared for Christ’s coming kingdom.
Firstly, we must have the right expectation of Christ’s kingdom. That it’s not a worldly but spiritual kingdom. In verse 20, when the Pharisees asked him when God’s kingdom will come, he rebuked them - “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” The word “observation” literally means “with outward show.” You see, people wanted a spectacular show of power. In those days, when a conqueror came, there’d be trumpets, armies, and a political coup. That’s what they wanted - a king to kick out the Romans. So the Pharisees questioned Jesus - tell us when the kingdom is coming! After all, he’d been teaching about God’s kingdom. He called himself the Messiah - the coming king! So they asked him - prove it. Show us when you’ll be king or stop your claims. But they also didn’t really think he’d be king. They mocked him. What kind of kingdom would yours be? You’re from Nazareth. Nothing good comes out of Nazareth. And you have no qualifications. Where’s your army? Your disciples are only fishermen, tax-collectors, and weird social outcasts. How can your kingdom ever flourish? What’s your strategy? Who are your commanders? Tell us or stop saying you’re the king. Show us!
Now, even his motley crew of disciples struggled to understand. So Christ’s answer was good for them. They didn’t get what his kingdom was supposed to be. Like everyone else, they thought it’ll come powerfully. That’s why they argued about leadership structure. I should be first commander - I’m more militarily minded. But I have knowledge of strategy. I’m the best with finances! But they were looking for the kingdom in the wrong places. It comes not by outward show!
So what’s the kingdom? Jesus showed them it was a spiritual kingdom. And he told them - it’s already here. “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” It’s in your midst. And how did Christ’s kingdom look like? King Jesus had come, he healed the sick, raised the dead, and forgave sin. People repented and were saved. These people gave up all to follow Christ. Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, blessed are the peacemakers. It was a spiritual kingdom! Sure, on the outside, it didn’t look very spectacular. The apostles were fishermen and tax-collectors - uneducated men. Jesus was an unqualified and unschooled rabbi from Nazareth. They were like pilgrims. His followers were a traveling band of men and women with no where to sleep. Foxes had holes and birds their nests, but the Son of Man had no where to lay his head. And Jesus didn’t seem concerned about army size! He spoke about the smallness of the kingdom - it starts like a mustard seed; like leaven in a lump. Even children - weak and unimportant in those days - were part of the kingdom. But it was a great spiritual kingdom.
So the kingdom was not what the Pharisees thought. They looked for something visible and spectacular - that would bring change. But Christ’s kingdom wasn’t about military conquest. The kingdom had to do with God conquering the heart. So Christ told the Pharisees - “You’re looking in the wrong direction. You’re looking for a throne. You’re looking for a call to arms. But you fail to see that the King is already here - standing right in front of you.” They couldn’t see because they were looking for another kingdom. Beloved, that’s what people of the world do. They want something tangible. But for us believers, we look not for a worldly kingdom, but a spiritual - we look for holiness, godliness, and spirituality. We’re concerned for salvation. That all would come to the Lord. That’s must be our expectation.
But we must also expect that it will be a glorious kingdom one day. That’s the second instruction. We must expect Christ’s coming judgment. One day Christ will come gloriously. All things will be righted. All things changed for the better. It won’t just be spiritual anymore. But this passage tells us it won’t be a day that we expect. In fact, many will not be prepared for it.
Now, the Bible does speak about that day - how believers are to long for it. Titus 2:13 encourages us to wait for our blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ says in Revelation 22:20 - “Surely I’m coming” to which we respond - “Amen, come, Lord Jesus!” Hebrews 9:28 says Christ will come a second time to save those who are waiting for him. 2 Peter 3:12 speaks about how we eagerly wait for the coming day of God. We’re also told how to wait patiently - James 5:7-8 says to stablish our hearts; Christ’s coming is at hand.
But in this passage, Christ tells his disciples his coming won’t be at an expected time. In verse 22, he warned his disciples -“The time is coming,” he said, “when you’ll long to see the judgment day of the Son of Man.” He was referring to a difficult time they’d go through after he went back to heaven. It would be so difficult they’d long for Christ’s return. Now, this could refer to 70 AD when General Titus destroyed Jerusalem. It was a terrible time - the Jews resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Women ate their babies. And so in such tough times, we cry - how long O Lord! Come quickly. That’s a natural expectation in tough times. In tough times, we want deliverance. We yearn for Christ to set everything right. But the Lord said, in verse 22 - just because you yearn for it, doesn’t mean you’ll see it. People will yearn for it, but they won’t see it. Just because we want relief and expect it, doesn’t mean it’ll come now.
And that longing can be a real danger. We want relief so bad we may look to false saviors. Verse 23 says there will be many false saviors; and they’ll say “See here - I am the one; or, see there - he’s the savior.” But the Lord told his disciples - don’t go after them, nor follow them. They’re not going to deliver you. And during the time of General Titus, there were many such people - like Bar Kochba, a zealot who told people to follow him - he’ll deliver them. In fact, those who trusted him got a far worse death. Like in the desert, when people are lost - sometimes their desperation causes them to look at the desert heat shimmering over the sand and mistake it for water. They’re so desperate for salvation, they double time it to this mirage losing more energy and sweat in the process. There’s no salvation. This is the same with scams - in times of desperation, we give money, and can’t help but give more, because we think we’ll be saved out of our troubles. But in fact, we kill ourselves more. So Christ warned - I’m coming to right all wrongs. But it may not be at a time you expect.
So to summarize - Christ rule doesn’t mean all things will be perfect now. Life may not be great. But we’re saved. And when we’re going through suffering, we know Christ will make all things right on day. But not now. But when we take these two truths, we can flourish. We can grow in the fruit of the Spirit. We can be content. And while we won’t escape our sufferings now, Christ is coming - he’ll make it right one day. As verse 24 says, when he does come - it’ll be like lightning. His judgment is swift and decisive.
Unfortunately, not all look to Christ’s coming. Most of the people of the world are distracted. Christ used 2 examples from the Old Testament to describe the attitude of the world towards judgment day. It’ll be like the days of Noah and Lot. In Noah’s day, people were “eating, drinking, and marrying.” In Lot’s day, they were “buying, selling, planting, building.” Now, these aren’t sinful activities. They’re the ordinary, mundane routines of life. The problem wasn’t that they were eating and drinking; the problem was that weren’t alert. Noah had preached for 120 years warning people that judgment was coming. Lot’s family was also warned to leave the city - but they mocked him. They thought he was mad. The people of the world are so consumed with life, they ignore God. And in the end, when judgment comes, they’d be surprised. The judgment would be entire. Verse 27 - “the flood came, and destroyed them all.” Verse 29 - “it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” Verse 30 - “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”
What’s the Lord teaching his disciples? Christians will suffer now. Sometimes the suffering is bad. But Christ is our king. He will come. And when he comes, he’ll right all wrongs. This is a great corrective to us believers in difficult times. The 2026 Iran war has affected petrol and food prices, threatening the economy; we worry for our jobs, our kids’ future, etc. But Christ is king - he’s still king. So we can lift our eyes from the troubles to focus on God’s kingdom. And shift our focus. But he’s also coming. How prepared are we? In such times, how have we used our resources on God’s kingdom? Are we and our children pursuing after Christ? We want to be ready for that judgment. Folks, the world is currently in the “days of Noah.” People are building careers, raising families, doom-scrolling through social media, and planning for retirement. None of these things are evil. But might they show we’re not prepared for Christ’s coming?
That’s why thirdly, we must be prepared for Christ’s coming kingdom. What does Christ call us to do? There’s a call to renounce the world and remember the penalty loving it. In verse 31, Christ calls us to renounce the world. Many people in the world are hoping for some change - so they’ll make it in life. Others are hoping for some kind of change. They’re too attached to this life. So Christ told them not to be attached. So even if you’re on the roof on judgment day, and your things are in the house - don’t go down to get it. And if you’re in the field, don’t return home. This is a picture of radical detachment. These things aren’t important. In the end, your wealth, your home, your grades, your work - in the end, they’re not important. Your soul is way more important. We must know what’s important. Verse 33 - “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Our natural worldly instinct is to grasp on to our lives. But grasping leads to loss. And how we live today shows just how ready we are for Christ to come. Remember Lot’s wife! She looked back at the burning city - she longed for it. Even though it was burning, she still loved it. This isn’t just about the final day; it’s about how we live now.
There’s a call to be ready. The Lord used 3 examples of 2 kinds of people in verses 34-36 to talk about judgment and salvation. They’re all involved in every day things - verse 34, sleep; verse 35 - cooking; verse 36 - working. But one was ready and the other was not. The word “taken” speaks about judgment. Just as the flood took them away, three out of six were taken away. But the other three were left - they were safe. When Christ comes in judgment, there will be radical and final separation. Those who are going about their lives in mundane activities will face radically different fates based on their relationship with the king. And how do we know it’s judgment? In verse 37, when the disciples asked where will they be taken? Christ said - to wherever the vultures will gather. This was an idiom - they’ll be taken to the place of judgment. Just as vultures are drawn to death, God’s judgment will find the spiritual dead and unprepared.
What then is the application for us? Understand what Jesus was saying. The Pharisees asked about the when and where of the kingdom. Jesus pointed to the who and the how. He is king. And as king, he will leave the righteous alone in judgment, but take the unrighteous away.
So let us according to the context, stop looking for deliverance in earthly politics. We live for Christ’s kingdom. And when we engage the world in culture and politics, we do so as faithful citizens of heaven - knowing that our ultimate hope is not in the policies of man but in the return of the king. But wrong ideas do affect believers - especially when it comes to how we view the church. There are those who love a big church, with many programs, great music that will attract the people, a vision statement, preachers in snazzy suits, a corporate structure - the church is Christ’s kingdom - not man’s. Christ has his music, his programs, his vision, and his weak men to minister to the church.
Furthermore, live with a holy detachment to things. The people in Noah and Lot’s days were guilty of being consumed by normal things. But how many of us are consumed by normal things that we have no time for prayer, or the gospel, or longing for Christ’s return? Holy detachment doesn’t mean going off into some monastery; neither does it mean not enjoying the things of the world. Christ ate and drank that he was a called a glutton and a drunkard. But it does mean that we don’t love the things of the world - like the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. I spoke about scams earlier - why do people fall for them? Because often, there’s a love of money.
And lastly, be ready for his return. Christ said we won’t know when - it’ll be unexpected. Many believers today are trying to watch for the times of his return - and by watching, they resort to internet theology and AI generated prophetic talks with impressive charts. Remember, it won’t be at a time we expect. What we must do is to endure suffering. Live patiently. Live pursuing his kingdom. Have your feet pointed towards the mountain of God, not to the city of man. If you want to keep your life, you’ll lose it. The comfort of this passage is not that we can calculate Christ’s return. We don’t know when it is. But we know that he will return. And until then, Christ reigns. We’re safe in the ark of Christ! We don’t fear judgment because he’s our king.
1. We Must Have the Right Expectation of Christ’s Kingdom
A. Their longing for spectacular signs
B. Our confidence in Christ’s present kingdom
2. We Must Expect Christ’s Coming Judgment
A. Our natural expectation
B. Their natural distraction
3. We Must Be Prepared for Christ’s Coming Kingdom
A. We remember and renounce the world
B. We ready ourselves for the world to come
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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