Luke 17:20-21

The Coming of the Kingdom

17:20 Now at one point ¹  the Pharisees ²  asked Jesus ³  when the kingdom of God ⁴  was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs ⁵  to be observed, 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is ⁶  in your midst.” ⁷ 

Luke 19:11

The Parable of the Ten Minas

19:11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus ⁸  proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, ⁹  and because they thought ¹⁰  that the kingdom of God ¹¹  was going to ¹²  appear immediately.

Acts 1:6

1:6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, ¹³  “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

[17:20]  ¹ tn The words “at one point” are supplied to indicate that the following incident is not necessarily in chronological sequence with the preceding event.

[17:20]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[17:20]  ³ tn Grk “having been asked by the Pharisees.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the direct object, Jesus, has been supplied from the context.

[17:20]  ⁴ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[17:20]  ⁵ tn Or “is not coming in a way that it can be closely watched” (L&N 24.48). Although there are differing interpretations of what this means, it probably refers to the cosmic signs often associated with the kingdom’s coming in the Jewish view (1 En. 91, 93; 2 Bar. 53—74). See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1412-14, also H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:150.

[17:21]  ⁶ tn This is a present tense in the Greek text. In contrast to waiting and looking for the kingdom, it is now available.

[17:21]  ⁷ tn This is a far better translation than “in you.” Jesus would never tell the hostile Pharisees that the kingdom was inside them. The reference is to Jesus present in their midst. He brings the kingdom. Another possible translation would be “in your grasp.” For further discussion and options, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1414-19.

[19:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:11]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:11]  ¹⁰ tn The present active infinitive δοκεῖν (dokein) has been translated as causal.

[19:11]  ¹¹ sn Luke means here the appearance of the full kingdom of God in power with the Son of Man as judge as Luke 17:22-37 describes.

[19:11]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “the kingdom of God must appear immediately (see L&N 71.36).

[1:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “they began to ask him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. The imperfect tense of the Greek verb ἠρώτων (hrwtwn) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.