The Kingdom in Us? Luke 17:20-21

I was with a very good friend recently who is well read and spiritually astute. As we were talking, the subject of the kingdom of God came up and he referenced Luke 17:20-21 which says,

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." Luke 17:20-21

Based on this passage, he asked me in what sense is the kingdom of God 'within us'. He was incredibly shocked when I told him that Jesus is not saying the kingdom of God is in us in any real or even spiritual sense.

This is just one of a number of mistranslated and misunderstood passages concerning the kingdom of God (see this post or this post for others).  A lot of people mistakenly believe that the kingdom of God is not material, but purely spiritual, or that it is inside true believers. But if one examines the passage carefully, it is clear that this cannot be what Jesus is saying.

Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees about the kingdom. He has already gone on record stating that their righteousness was not sufficient to enter the kingdom of God (see Matthew 5:20). Therefore, Christ cannot be saying that the kingdom was "within" them. What is He saying?

Jesus is explaining that the kingdom of God is not coming with a particular sign or event that people can point to and say "here it is" or "there it is". The kingdom will be ushered in by the King. It begins with the person of Christ, the Messiah. The Pharisees and others should not be looking for a happening, but a person, and that is why Jesus tells them that the "kingdom of God is in your midst" (as translated by the NASV among others).

The point is that Jesus will be bringing in the kingdom of God and He is standing before them, right in their 'midst'. But unfortunately they are completely oblivious to this truth and don't recognize who He is. Therefore they rejected Him as the messiah and lost the opportunity for the kingdom to come in their generation (see v. 25). But the kingdom will come when the Son of Man is revealed "in His day" (v. 24) and like lightning illuminates the entire sky, everyone will see Him and recognize Him when He comes at that time.