Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, 21 and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” 22 Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ [or] ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. 24 For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be [in his day]. 25 But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation. 26 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; 27 they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 29 on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. 30 So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind. 32 Remember the wife of Lot. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” 37 They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come to which Jesus answered that the Kingdom of God cannot be seen but it was already there (Lk. 11:20). Jesus said that the Kingdom of God would not be announced and cannot be observed because it is experienced internally. Do not chase around looking for it because it has already arrived in the presence and words of Jesus. The Jews expected a physical manifestation of the Kingdom on earth where Roman rule would be overthrown, and the Kingdom of Israel would be restored (Acts 1:6; vv. 20-21).
Jesus told his disciples that the days would come when they long to see him, but they should not be deceived by false claims about his return. The second coming of the Son of Man (the risen Christ) will be delayed so the disciples should be patient and wait on the Lord. His return will be like lightning across the sky and it will be observed by everyone. But before that day comes, he must suffer greatly and be rejected by many (vv. 22-25). People will be preoccupied with their everyday lives and fail to observe his imminent return just like in the days of Noah and Lot when destruction came suddenly and only those who were prepared were saved (vv. 26-30).
The Son of Man will come suddenly so they should be prepared like vigilant and faithful servants (Lk. 12:35-48). The Disciples should not let the concerns of this world distract them but discard all attachments to worldly possessions or interests. Even if they should lose their life, they should faithfully serve Jesus no matter the cost. There will be no outward sign to indicate why one person will be saved and another perish. If they are patient and faithful the disciples will be protected from sudden destruction like what happened to Lot’s wife (Gen. 19:26). The return of the Son of Man is as certain as vultures around a dead body (vv. 31-37).
Almighty God, help us to see the presence of your Kingdom and to use the talents you gave us to serve You like good and faithful servants. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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