THE DAY OF THE SON OF MAN

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 16, 2021 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: June 16, 2021 from Luke 17:20-37

Theme: The nature of Jesus’ kingdom demands that we be keep ourselves ready.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Luke had been telling us about some of the events that occurred while our Lord was making His way to Jerusalem. It will be in Luke 19 that we’ll be told how Jesus made His triumphant entry into the city—offering Himself as the King of the Jews. Upon His entry, they celebrated with palm branches in hand. But shortly thereafter, they rejected Him and cried out “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

So then; as Jesus made His way to Jerusalem to die on the cross for us—in Luke 17:20-37—He revealed the truth to His followers about this kingdom. He revealed what it would be like, how it would be established, and how it would even determine the destiny of every person. It would not be what people were expecting it would be; and His words teach us that the nature of His kingdom is such that it demands that we keep ourselves ready.

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Now; as He went along with His disciples, He was questioned by those who did not believe in Him and who had been rejecting Him. Verse 20 says;

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come (v.20a).

They were thinking of the kingdom in the same way that they understood every other earthly kingdom—that it was something observable on earth—something that could be seen on a map—something that exercised a political rule over political subjects. They had their hopes on a particular view of the Messiah—that He would come as a great military conqueror, and that He would drive out the Romans and all other enemies of the people of Israel, and would then usher in an immediate restoration of the glory and prosperity of the former days of the kingdom reign of King David. They heard Jesus talking about the kingdom; and so, they wanted specifically to know when their expectations of this kingdom—as they understood it—would be fulfilled.

And Jesus answered their question. But in doing so, He revealed that the kingdom wasn’t going to be like what they expected—that is, as a place or as an observable reign or as an immediate conquest. Instead, He revealed that …

1. IT IS CENTERED ON THE PERSON OF JESUS HIMSELF (vv. 20. 21).

Luke tells us in verses 20-21, “

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” (vv. 20b-21).

Bible teachers have struggled over the meaning of the phrase, “the kingdom of God is within you”. Jesus’ meaning seems obscure—and this may be because He was speaking at the time to those who did not believe in Him and who were opposing Him. If Jesus was saying that the kingdom was within the hearts of those to whom He spoke, then of course it would not be an observable kingdom. It would be a subjective spiritual reality within the hearts of those who would receive it. But Jesus wasn’t speaking to those who believed Him or were willing to receive the kingdom on His terms. Therefore, the most likely meaning was objective in nature; that the kingdom was within the limits of their very midst—“in the midst of you”, as it’s translated in the English Standard Version.

When He went on to speak to His disciples, He referred to the kingdom as “the days of the Son of Man”—thus identifying the kingdom with Himself. And that would mean that the kingdom truly was objectively in the midst of those who wouldn’t receive it; because it was embodied in Himself—and there He was, standing in the midst of them as their soon-to-be-rejected King. His kingdom would be established in a way that they didn’t expect—by Him coming in humbleness, dying on the cross, rising from the dead, ascending to the Father, and by His gospel going forth and redeeming people from all around the world. Then, He would come again as King of kings and Lord of lords in power and great glory to take up His reign over the world from Jerusalem.

This glorious kingdom, then, doesn’t come by a temporal, growing ‘observation’ or by it being established with boundaries on a map. It comes in the form of a divine Person—King Jesus. He is its very embodiment; and there is no kingdom without Him.

From then on in this passage, Jesus turned from the Pharisees who were rejecting Him, and spoke instead to His disciples. He even spoke of the coming of the kingdom in a different way to them—calling it, “the days of the Son of Man”. The name “Son of Man” is taken from Daniel 7:13-14; and it refers to Christ as the final, conquering king before whom all other kingdoms would crumble.

What will the coming of those days be like? In verses 22-24, Jesus says that …

2. IT WILL BE KNOWN TO EVERYONE AT ONCE (vv. 22-24).

Luke tells us in verse 22;

Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it” (v. 22).

This would be because He would be departing from them for a time. He told them in the upper room that they would sorrow for a season because of His crucifixion, but that their sorrow would turn to joy at His resurrection. But even after He presented Himself alive to them and ascended back to the Father, they would still long for the day of His return. We long for it too. And that longing might lead them—and us—to be easily swayed by those who were making false declarations that He had returned.

In verses 23-24, He said;

“And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day (vv. 23-24).

Jesus warned elsewhere in the Scriptures that, in the last times, many would come in His name saying that they were Him—and that they would deceive many. But He warns His disciples not to be fooled. When He comes again, there won’t be a need to announce that He is “here” or “there”; and people won’t read about it in the paper or find out about it, or hear about it a day or two later in the news. (It won’t be like I remember hearing when I was a young Christian—that, to my surprise, someone announced that Jesus had returned and was now living in California.) Instead, it will be as obvious as the lightning flashing from one end of the sky to the other. No one will miss it.

And He also let His disciples know that—contrary to the expectations of the Pharisees—it wouldn’t come about by the Messiah immediately conquering the Romans and setting up His kingdom as a mighty victor. He went on to say that …

3. IT WOULD COME SOMETIME AFTER THE CROSS (v. 25).

In speaking of His coming ‘day’, He made this clear in verse 25 when He said;

“But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation” (v. 25).

This was contrary to the expectations of the Pharisees who were ready to welcome and receive a conquering hero. But the truth of the matter was there in the Scriptures all along. Isaiah 53 made it clear that before He would be the Conquering Messiah, He would first be the Suffering Servant who died on the cross. It was His crucifixion that established the victory of His kingdom—and that all who would be His subjects must come by faith in His cross.

Now; another thing He let His disciples know was that, when the day of the Son of Man comes …

4. IT WILL COME AS A SHOCK TO THE WORLD (vv. 26-30).

It would not be as though the world would progressively realize that the kingdom was about to be established; and that there would be a great preparation of all the nations to receive their King. It wouldn’t be by the earthly kingdom of God spreading on the world progressively over the centuries until He came finally to reign over it. Everyone will be going about their business as if it will never happen at all—and then, suddenly, they are caught off-guard by its sudden arrival.

Jesus gave two examples—both illustrating times when the judgment of God came upon people suddenly and unexpectedly. He said;

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed (vv. 26-30).

In speaking later on of this day, Jesus told His disciples in Luke 21:34-35;

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth (Luke 21:34-35).

He went on in verse 31 to say that …

5. IT WILL BE A DAY OF DECISION (v. 31-33).

The sudden, abrupt, unexpected appearance of that day will make it necessary for people to make haste. There won’t be any time to get their affairs in order. There won’t be any time to replenish their supplies or reschedule their appointments or rearrange their priorities. In verse 31, He warned,

“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back” (v. 31).

Those are sobering words. They speak of the profound danger of the times. In another passage, Jesus explained that this would be at a time when the “abomination of desolation” described in the Book of Daniel comes to pass—something that is associated with the Antichrist seating himself in the place of God and demanding to be worshiped. It will not be a time of happy celebration. It will be a time of great tribulation. It will be a time of standing at the fork of the road—of either aligning one’s self with the unbelieving world or with Christ. A choice will need to be made. In verse 32, Jesus said;

“Remember Lot’s wife” (v. 32).

When Lot and his family fled from the destruction of Sodom, they were warned not to look back. But Lot’s wife—longing for the earthly things that Sodom offered—turned to look back with a longing eye as the city was destroyed. She became a pillar of salt. Jesus explained the significance of this when He went on in verse 33 to say;

“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (v. 33).

And because it will be a day of decision, Jesus went on also to show that …

6. IT WILL BE A DAY OF SEPARATION (vv. 34-36).

In verses 34-35, He said;

“I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left” (vv. 34-35).

Some ancient copies of Luke’s Gospel—but not all—include the words of verse 36, “Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” It’s interesting that this sudden separation happens when some are in bed and others are at work. Could this speak then of a global event? This may be speaking of what is often referred to as “the rapture” spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18—when, just before the time of judgment comes upon the earth, those who are the Lord’s redeemed people are snatched away. But it’s also possible that it is speaking of the fact that, when sudden judgment comes in the midst of everyday life, some are taken in judgment and others are left. It could, in some way, be speaking of both. In either case, it’s clear that God discriminates between those who are His and those who are not. That discrimination—that separation—is made plain on the day of the Son of Man.

And finally, Jesus goes on to emphasize that …

7. IT WILL BE A DAY OF JUDGMENT (v. 37).

When He said that some will be taken and others left, His disciples said, “Where, Lord?” Where would it be that they would be taken? Or to what would they be left? In verse 37, we read;

So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together” (v. 37).

The word “eagles” here is not a reference to what we think of here in the United States as an eagle. Rather, it’s speaking of vultures. And this is a reference to horrible death and carnage in the judgment of God on the day of the Son of Man. It’s what Revelation 19:17-18 speaks of at the time of Jesus’ mighty return;

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great” (Revelation 19:17-18).

The Bible tells us all the kings and mighty ones of the earth would turn in an attempt to do battle against King Jesus; but they would all be killed by the sword of His mouth—and the birds of the air would be filled with their flesh.

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The coming of this “kingdom”, then, was not going to be what the Pharisees expected it would be. Jesus made the true nature of it clear to His disciples. And what should we do about these sober descriptions? Let’s remember His words of warning in Mark 13:32-37;

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:32-37).

May God grant that that’s how we respond to the promise of ‘the days of the Son of Man.’

EA