Luke 17:20-25

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At that time, being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them, and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there. For lo, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said to his disciples: The days will come, when you shall desire to see one day of the Son of man, and you shall not see it. And they will say to you: See here, and see there. Go ye not after, nor follow them. For as the lightning that lighteneth from under heaven, shineth unto the parts that are under heaven, so shall the Son of man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.

 

Exposition from New Advent:

  • "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation" (v. 20): Christ is correcting the Pharisees' worldly expectation of a visible, political, and material kingdom announced by great external signs. The first coming of the Kingdom of God is not to be a spectacular display (like a military campaign) that can be observed and plotted on a map.

  • "For lo, the kingdom of God is within you" (v. 21): This is the core truth for the present time. The Kingdom of God is spiritual and moral; it resides in the soul of the righteous man, where Christ reigns through grace and faith. It is not an external place but an internal reality. However, some Fathers also interpret this as "among you," meaning Christ Himself, the King, is present in their midst.

  • The Second Coming (vv. 22-25): The tone shifts to the disciples, looking forward to the future. Christ warns them against false alarms and impostors ("See here, and see there"). The final, visible coming of the Son of Man will be universal, unmistakable, and sudden, like lightning flashing across the sky. There will be no need for messengers to announce it—it will be a self-evident, world-encompassing event.

  • The Necessity of the Passion (v. 25): The suffering and rejection of the Son of Man must precede His glorious, final coming. This grounds the disciples in the reality of the cross before the hope of the crown. The reign of Christ, in both the Church and the soul, is achieved through His suffering and our participation in it.


Proper Catholic Church Father Exegesis:


​Origen explains that the "kingdom within" is the soul that submits to the reign of God. When we pray "Thy kingdom come," we are not only praying for the end of time but also praying that God's will and His grace may rule perfectly within our own hearts, making us a "well-ordered city" where Christ and the Father dwell.

​"The kingdom of God, according to the word of our Lord and Savior, 'does not come with signs to be observed, nor will they say, "Lo, here it is!" or "There!" but the kingdom of God is within us.'

​For 'the word is very near, in our mouth and in our heart.' (cf. Dt 30:14; Rom 10:8). So it is clear, that the one who prays that the kingdom of God may come, prays that the kingdom of God may spring up in him, bear fruit and be rightly perfected.

​This is because every saint is ruled by God, and obeys the spiritual laws of God, and dwells in himself as in a well-ordered city. The Father is present with him and Christ rules with the Father in his perfected soul... Therefore, let us pray constantly, with a character being divinized by the Word, and let us say to our Father in heaven, 'hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.'"


Saint Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376 – 444 AD) offers a powerful exegesis on the nature of the Kingdom:

On the question of "when the kingdom of God should come," St. Cyril states that the Pharisees were thinking of an earthly kingdom, but Christ directs them to the true, spiritual reality.

"For the kingdom of God is not a banquet of meats and drinks, but consists rather in a conversation that is beautiful and true, and in piety towards God, and in all virtue."

On the phrase "the kingdom of God is within you" (v. 21), St. Cyril explains that the Kingdom is established by the presence of the Holy Spirit and the virtues in the soul:

"The Kingdom of God is within us, when Christ dwells in our hearts by faith; when the mind is enlightened by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, and the soul, having put off its worldly and carnal desires, is adorned with virtues."

He emphasizes that the Kingdom's essence is righteousness and spiritual life, not material pomp. The Kingdom of God, which is Christ's reign, is inaugurated in the soul when one lives a life of justice, holiness, and true piety.

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