The kingdom of God is in the midst of you ...

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Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

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The Pharisees certainly embraced a different image of the Messiah than the one that Jesus offered. And they definitely saw the coming of the Christ and his kingdom very differently. I love how Jesus speaks of the kingdom as an invisible one that cannot be observed. Such is the way that the kingdom of God comes today. Yet many still desire one similar to that Pharisaical image. Embracing an unseen kingdom can be so hard if one does not engage inner eyes.

Jesus identifies himself as the Christ or the Messiah. He speaks of how he must suffer and be rejected before he comes again. Have you ever thought about the idea that Jesus came a second time to earth when he was resurrected? Or how he comes to the faithful in death? Even so there is another image that is painted in the scriptures about a Messiah who will once again come to earth as the king of all kings. In that day we all will see the kingdom of God.

I long to see your coming Lord Jesus. Open my inner eyes that I might see your kingdom today.

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