NOTES for Luk 17:20-25
The brief words of today's Gospel reading reveal what may be one of the deepest conflicts between the Pharisees and Christ. Inspired by a literal and superficial understanding of Scripture, they await the manifestation of God's power in their own time. When they ask Christ, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” they have in mind liberation from Rome's political rule and the creation of a strong theocratic state. They expect all countries and peoples to acknowledge their “role in the modern world” and turn to their authority and leadership. The word of God speaks of a time when ten Gentiles will grasp the hem of a Jew's garment because God is with them, and this prophecy of Zechariah will be fulfilled in Jews who have become Jesus' disciples. But the Pharisees cannot imagine the Kingdom of Heaven outside the political sphere. In essence, they reproduce a common ancient model of society divided among the king's governors and see themselves as such governors. And why not, since they have labored so hard to bring people under this theocratic state? The Pharisees are by no means original here: Christ's disciples ask Him very similar questions. The mingling of state power and faith has always been the dream of lazy people with little faith.
That is why Christ's answer is so difficult to take in: “…behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.” The Lord says that, unlike earthly states, the Kingdom of God has no definite location or identifying signs, and He repeats this to His disciples. History has seen many attempts to point to one country or another as the historical triumph of theocracy. The Pharisees' messianic kingdom and Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire and Holy Rus' have laid, and continue to lay, claim to this status. “Do not go and do not chase after it,” the Lord says in response, in the Russian Synodal translation. These words can also be translated as “do not go away and do not set off in pursuit” of this phantom. But what matters most in these words of Christ is that His Kingdom within us, given by God, depends on no historical circumstances whatsoever. For the Pharisees, God's Kingdom is a question of power over people. For Christians, according to the apostle Paul, it is a question of people's own citizenship, as they choose between earthly kings and the heavenly King. His Kingdom is present here and now, in any circumstances of life, provided that the person consents to it.