The Perean Ministry ~ Part 11
In our last post, we followed Yeshua as He left Yerushalayim to go to Perea. In this post, we continue to examine His Perean Ministry as He Continues to Teach in Parables.
The Coming of the Kingdom
20 The P’rushim asked Yeshua when the Kingdom of God would come. “The Kingdom of God,” he answered, “does not come with visible signs; 21 nor will people be able to say, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or, ‘Over there!’ Because, you see, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
The P’rushim of v. 20 expects a physical kingdom whose beginning can be dated with some precision. Yeshua replies by noting that He brings a spiritual kingdom, a spiritual rulership consisting of new relationships among Believers. But to His talmidim, He expands on the subject of the Kingdom and points to a day when He will indeed rule (v. 24; compare Mattityahu 24:30–31). The Kingdom of God is among you, or “within you,” referring to the inner change when people trust in God.
22 Then he said to his talmidim, “The time is coming when you will long to see even one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
The Son of Man is a title used frequently by Yeshua about Himself, and it comes from Daniel 7:13–14, where it describes an enigmatic figure associated with an everlasting kingdom. Yeshua indicates that the talmidim will not see His return at the time when they desire it. This does not necessarily refer to a postponement of Yeshua’s return but is likely related to His statement about God’s Kingdom arriving in ways that cannot be observed (Luke 17:20).
23 People will say to you, ‘Look! Right here!’ or, ‘See! Over there!’ Don’t run off, don’t follow them, 24 because the Son of Man in his day will be like lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one horizon to the other.
Yeshua’s coming will be sudden and apparent to everyone.
25 But first, he must endure horrible suffering and be rejected by this generation. 26 “Also, at the time of the Son of Man, it will be just as it was at the time of Noach. 27 People ate and drank, and men and women married, right up until the day Noach entered the ark; then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, as it was in the time of Lot—people ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built; 29 but the day Lot left S’dom, fire, and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
Throughout the passage, Yeshua compares His future return in glory to the divine judgment carried out in the days of Noach and Lot (vv. 26, 28). The Son of Man’s revealing will be characterized by the destruction of evil and the salvation of Believers – factors that associate Yeshua’s return with the Day of the Lord envisioned by the Tanakh prophets.
31 On that day, if someone is on the roof with his belongings in his house, he must not go down to take them away. Similarly, if someone is in the field, he must not turn back—32 remember Lot’s wife!
Recall Lot’s wife looked back toward Sodom and became a pillar of salt in Genesis 19:26.
33 Whoever aims at preserving his own life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will stay alive. 34 I tell you, on that night, there will be two people in one bed—one will be taken, and the other left behind. 35 There will be two women grinding grain together—one will be taken, and the other left behind.” 36 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. [1] 37 They asked him, “Where, Lord?” He answered, “Wherever there’s a dead body, that’s where the vultures gather.” [2]
In our next post, Yeshua Continues to Speak in Parables in Perea.
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[1] Not all manuscripts including the CJB do not have this verse.
[2] Luke 17:20–37.
My Heart is for Israel 