Prayer Never Fails

Luke 17:20-25 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is in your midst." Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Keywords: Pharisees

The Pharisees are one of three groups of the Sanhedrin in place to uphold the law.[1] They were part of the oral traditions maintaining a belief in predestination, angels, and spirits.[2]

In this passage, Jesus is the kingdom. He is in the midst of the Pharisees and his disciples. To the twelve he gives three ways of knowing the kingdom has come; first they will long to see Jesus, second all will know the kingdom because it will not be a surprise, and third Jesus must suffer.

In the same way, the Pharisees did not see that Jesus was the kingdom talked about in the Old Testament, it is possible that we too will miss it. The Bible explains the true nature of God. As long as we read the Bible and remain in prayer, we will learn to see God.

What about you? Are you praying daily? Are you reading the Bible daily? Are you meditating on the many ways that God showed himself to Adam, Eve, Moses, and Abraham?

Bibliography

“Pharisees,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1259. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Scott, Jr., J. Julius. Jewish Background of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1995.

[1] “Pharisees”, in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1259.

[2] J. Julius Scott, Jr. Jewish Background of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1995), 205.