Luke 17:20-37

Concerning the coming of the Kingdom and the advent of the Son of Man. In this section the words of Jesus are distributed between Pharisees and disciples, possibly according to the evangelist's impression as to the audience they suited. Weiffenbach (Wiederkunftsgedanke Jesu, p. 217) suggests that the words in Luke 17:20-21 were originally addressed to disciples who did not yet fully understand the inward spiritual character of the Kingdom of God. I am inclined to attach some weight to this suggestion. I am sure at any rate that it is not helpful to a true understanding of Christ's sayings to lay much stress on Lk.'s historical introductions to them.