“Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not with things that can be observed, nor will they say, “look, here it is! Or there it is!” For in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Luke 17: 20-21 NRSV.
This passage has always intrigued me. The main reason for this is the way, “it is among you,” is translated in other versions. The first time I read it, it was in another version that read, “The kingdom of God is within you,” translation from I don’t know where. Upon further research I discovered that the only other place it is recorded is in the apocryphal book of, The Gospel of Thomas. There it is rendered, “The kingdom of God is within you,” with some more comment.
Now the Gospel of Thomas is considered to be a Gnostic writing and should be discounted. I believe that it was contemporary with the other gospels, and possibly purer. At any rate, it should be of note that at some point it was believed that Jesus made the implication that we are more like him than savior / servant. Carrying it one step further, if we are like Jesus and He is one with God, wouldn’t it reason that we are one with God?
You may be thinking that such thoughts are blasphemy, but I believe it opens a whole host of possibilities for our relationship with the Father and His creation. Something to consider.
May God bless you and keep you, Amen.
Pastor Yancy
A very well-written piece! It provided valuable insights. What are your thoughts? Check out my profile for more discussions!