Already/Not Yet
Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst. (Luke 17:20-21, NIV)
Now when he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21, NKJV)
Double meanings are not uncommon in the gospels. We saw this in a recent post when we looked at the opening words of John’s gospel. If you read that post, you may recall what we said about John 1:5 -
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (NIV)
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (NKJV)
The Greek word, katalambano is an example of a word with dual meanings, depending on the context. It can be translated as overcome or comprehend. John clearly meant for both meanings to apply in this verse. You can read the details from this recent post here.
The same thing is true of the words of Jesus here in Luke. Depending on the translation, Jesus is saying the kingdom of God is in your midst, or the kingdom of God is within you.
Which translation is correct? The answer is both. Once again, as in John’s gospel, this dual meaning sheds light on the message and ministry of Jesus, which is best summed up in the words of Jesus himself, who announced his ministry, saying, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
Jesus is the King. His kingdom is at hand. In fact, it is already within those of us who have acknowledged him as Lord and Savior. And it is among us as his Spirit works in his people individually and in community.
Already/Not Yet is the most common phrase to describe the reality that God’s kingdom is among us, and at the same time, is yet to come in its fulness. This is what Jesus meant when he taught us to pray; Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
As we read the rest of this passage in Luke 17:20-37, the words of Jesus transport us to the future, as he describes his impending crucifixion and the devastating destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. But there is also strong overtones of what theologians call the consummation, that is, the end of the age and the Second Coming of Christ.
You and I are called to live in this Already/Not Yet tension. God’s kingdom is in us. By faith, we trusted Jesus, and His Spirit now lives within us. And both individually and in our communities of faith, we are praying and working to bring God’s kingdom into our world.
Until Christ returns. our work will be incomplete. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be fruitful! So, let’s look to our King, who is both in us, and at work among us.
In Christ,
Dan
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