Luk 17:20-37 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 20. Cometh not with observation ] With scrupulous observation . That this is the proper meaning of the original, μετα παρατηρησεως, KYPKE and others have amply proved from the best Greek writers. As if he had said: "The kingdom of God, the glorious religion of the Messiah, does not come in such a way as to be discerned only by sagacious critics, or is only to be seen by those who are scrupulously watching for it; it is not of such a nature as to be confined to one place, so that men might say of it, Behold it is only here , or only there : for this kingdom of God is publicly revealed; and behold it is among you ; I proclaim it publicly , and work those miracles which prove the kingdom of God is come; and none of these things are done in a corner ." Dr. Lightfoot has well observed that there are two senses especially in which the phrase "kingdom of heaven," is to be understood. 1. The promulgation and establishment of the Christian religion. 2. The total overthrow of the Jewish polity. The Jews imagined that when the Messiah should come he would destroy the Gentiles, and reign gloriously over the Jews: the very reverse of this, our Lord intimates, should be the case. He was about to destroy the whole Jewish polity, and reign gloriously among the Gentiles. Hence he mentions the case of the general deluge, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. As if he had said: "The coming of this kingdom shall be as fatal to you as the deluge was to the old world, and as the fire and brimstone from heaven were to Sodom and Gomorrah." Our Lord states that this kingdom of heaven was within them, i.e. that they themselves should be the scene of these desolations, as, through their disobedience and rebellion, they possessed the seeds of these judgments. .

‏ Luke 17:20-37

Verse 20. Cometh not with observation] With scrupulous observation. That this is the proper meaning of the original, μετα παρατηρησεως, KYPKE and others have amply proved from the best Greek writers. As if he had said: "The kingdom of God, the glorious religion of the Messiah, does not come in such a way as to be discerned only by sagacious critics, or is only to be seen by those who are scrupulously watching for it; it is not of such a nature as to be confined to one place, so that men might say of it, Behold it is only here, or only there: for this kingdom of God is publicly revealed; and behold it is among you; I proclaim it publicly, and work those miracles which prove the kingdom of God is come; and none of these things are done in a corner."

Dr. Lightfoot has well observed that there are two senses especially in which the phrase "kingdom of heaven," is to be understood. 1. The promulgation and establishment of the Christian religion. 2. The total overthrow of the Jewish polity. The Jews imagined that when the Messiah should come he would destroy the Gentiles, and reign gloriously over the Jews: the very reverse of this, our Lord intimates, should be the case. He was about to destroy the whole Jewish polity, and reign gloriously among the Gentiles. Hence he mentions the case of the general deluge, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. As if he had said: "The coming of this kingdom shall be as fatal to you as the deluge was to the old world, and as the fire and brimstone from heaven were to Sodom and Gomorrah." Our Lord states that this kingdom of heaven was within them, i.e. that they themselves should be the scene of these desolations, as, through their disobedience and rebellion, they possessed the seeds of these judgments. See Clarke on Mt 3:2.

Verse 21. Lo here! or, lo there!] Perhaps those Pharisees thought that the Messiah was kept secret, in some private place, known only to some of their rulers; and that by and by he should be proclaimed in a similar way to that in which Joash was by Jehoiada the priest. See the account, 2Ch 23:1-11.

Verse 22. When ye shall desire to see one of the days] As it was our Lord's constant custom to support and comfort the minds of his disciples, we cannot suppose that he intimates here that they shall be left destitute of those blessings necessary for their support in a day of trial. When he says, Ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, he either means, ye of this nation, ye Jews, and addresses his disciples as if they should bear witness to the truth of the declaration; intimating that heavy calamities were about to fall upon them, and that they should desire in vain to have those opportunities of returning to God which now they rejected; or, he means that such should the distressed state of this people be, that the disciples would through pity and tenderness desire the removal of those punishments from them, which could not be removed because the cup of their iniquity was full. But the former is more likely to be the sense of the place.

Verse 23. And they shall say] Or, And IF they shall say. Two MSS., the Syriac and Armenian, have εαν, IF.

See here] KM, sixteen others, and the later Syriac, have ο χριστος, Behold the Christ is here. This is undoubtedly the meaning of the place. See Clarke on Mt 24:23.

Verse 24. As the lightning, that lighteneth] See this particularly explained, Mt 24:27, 28.

Verse 25. But first must he suffer many things] As the cup of the iniquity of this people shall not be full till they have finally rejected and crucified the Lord of life and glory, so this desolation cannot take place till after my death.

Verse 26. As it was in the days of Noe] See Clarke on Mt 24:38.

Verse 27. They did eat, they drank, &c.] They spent their whole lives in reference to this world; and made no sort of provision for their immortal souls. So it was when the Romans came to destroy Judea; there was a universal carelessness, and no one seemed to regard the warnings given by the Son of God.

Verse 29. It rained fire and brimstone] Instead of it rained, Ge 19:24 justifies the insertion of the pronoun he, as implied in the verb εβρεξε; for it is there said that Jehovah rained fire and brimstone from Jehovah out of heaven.

Verse 31. He which shall be upon the housetop] See this explained on Mt 24:17.

Verse 32. Remember Lot's wife.] Relinquish every thing, rather than lose your souls. She looked back, Ge 19:26; probably she turned back also to carry some of her goods away-for so much the preceding verse seems to intimate, and became a monument of the Divine displeasure, and of her own folly and sin. It is a proof that we have loved with a criminal affection that which we leave with grief and anxiety, though commanded by the Lord to abandon it.

Verse 33. Whosoever shall seek to save his life] These or similar words were spoken on another occasion. See on Mt 10:39; 16:25, 26.

Verse 34. - 36. On the subject of these verses see Mt 24:40, 41. The 36th verse Lu 17:36 is, without doubt, an interpolation; see the margin. It was probably borrowed from Mt 24:40. The whole verse is wanting in-ABEGHKLQS, more than fifty others, the Coptic, AEthiopic, Gothic, Slavonic, and many of the fathers: Griesbach has left it out of the text. Well might our translators say in the margin, This 36th verse is wanting in most of the Greek copies. Griesbach thinks it might have been omitted on account of the similar ending, (see the preceding verse,) or that it was borrowed from Mt 24:40.

Verse 37. Where, Lord?] In what place shall all these dreadful evils fall? The answer our Lord gives in a figure, the application of which they are to make themselves. Where the dead carcass is, there will be the birds of prey-where the sin is, there will the punishment be. See Clarke on Mt 24:28.

Thither will the eagles (or vultures) be gathered together. The jackal or chakal is a devourer of dead bodies; and the vulture is not less so: it is very remarkable how suddenly these birds appear after the death of an animal in the open field, though a single one may not have been seen on the spot for a long period before. The following chapter seems to be a continuation of this discourse: at least it is likely they were spoken on the same occasion. Both contain truths which the reader should carefully ponder, and receive in the spirit of prayer and faith, that he may not come into the same condemnation into which these have fallen.