Single lesson
The Coming of God's Kingdom
Luke 17:20–35; Luke 17:37
Jesus answers a question about God’s Kingdom and then warns his disciples about the day of the Son of Man. This lesson helps students trace his words carefully and respond with sober attention to what he says.
Before you teach
In Luke 17:20-21, the Pharisees ask when God’s Kingdom will come. Then in Luke 17:22-37, Jesus speaks to the disciples about false reports, the revealed day of the Son of Man, examples from Noah and Lot, and the need not to turn back.
Students will identify that Jesus says God’s Kingdom is not found by chasing reports, and explain that his disciples should be ready for the revealed day of the Son of Man.
Welcome: What kind of arrival needs no chasing?
6 minAsk students to think about the difference between rumours and something so clear that everyone can recognise it. Read Luke 17:20-21, then explain that Jesus first answers a question about when God’s Kingdom comes. Students should listen for what Jesus says people cannot do with it and where he says it is.
Luke 17:20, Luke 17:21
Read and explain: Do not follow claims of ‘here’ or ‘there’
9 minRead Luke 17:22-25 aloud. Point out that Jesus tells the disciples there will be days when they long to see the Son of Man’s day, yet they must not follow reports saying, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ His day will be like lightning across the sky, and he also says suffering and rejection come first.
Luke 17:22, Luke 17:23, Luke 17:24, Luke 17:25
Discuss: Noah, Lot and ordinary life before sudden judgement
8 minRead Luke 17:26-30 slowly. Ask students to list the ordinary activities named by Jesus: eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting and building. Then discuss the contrast. Life looked normal until destruction came. Jesus says it will be the same in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Luke 17:26, Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28, Luke 17:29, Luke 17:30
Respond: Remember Lot’s wife
10 minRead Luke 17:31-35. Explain that Jesus warns against turning back for goods and says, ‘Remember Lot’s wife!’ Students write one key line from these verses on a card and add a short note about what it teaches. Keep the wording tied to the passage: Jesus describes urgent readiness and differing outcomes for people side by side.
Luke 17:31, Luke 17:32, Luke 17:33, Luke 17:34, Luke 17:35
Closing: A serious ending picture
7 minRead Luke 17:37 and note that Jesus answers with a strong image of a visible and grave outcome. Invite students to summarise the passage in two parts: what Jesus says about God’s Kingdom in verses 20-21, and what he says about the revealed day of the Son of Man in the verses that follow.
Luke 17:37
Questions to explore
Why does Jesus tell the disciples not to follow people who say, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’?
Base your answer on Jesus’ comparison in Luke 17:24. He says the day of the Son of Man will be like lightning, so it will not depend on rumours or secret reports.
Luke 17:23, Luke 17:24
What do the examples from Noah’s days and Lot’s days add to Jesus’ warning?
Notice both the ordinary activities and the sudden destruction. Jesus uses these examples to show that his revealed day comes with serious judgement while ordinary life is still going on.
Luke 17:26, Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28, Luke 17:29, Luke 17:30
How do verses 31-33 explain the meaning of ‘Remember Lot’s wife’?
Read the warning not to go back for goods and the saying about seeking to save life. Keep your explanation close to those verses.
Luke 17:31, Luke 17:32, Luke 17:33
Make, think or respond
Key Verse Reflection Card
What you’ll need
- plain card or paper
- pens or markers
- Bibles
- sticky tape or a notebook
Try it together
- Read Luke 17:23-24 and Luke 17:31-33 again as a group.
- Ask each student to choose one exact phrase from the passage, such as ‘Don’t go away or follow after them’ or ‘Remember Lot’s wife’.
- Students write the phrase on one side of a card and, on the other side, write one sentence explaining what that phrase teaches in this passage.
- Invite students to share their card with a partner and check that their explanation matches the wording of the verses.
- Students keep the card in a notebook or place it somewhere visible for the week.
This activity keeps the response anchored to Jesus’ own words about false reports, readiness and not turning back.
Adapt for your group
- For younger or less confident readers in this age range, offer three verse phrases to choose from and complete the explanation sentence together as a group.
- For older or more confident students, ask them to connect their chosen phrase with one earlier part of the passage, such as the lightning image or the examples of Noah and Lot.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: ‘Lord Jesus, help us listen carefully to your words, refuse false claims, and take seriously your warning about the day of the Son of Man.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Luke 17
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation;
21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”
22 He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
23 They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away or follow after them,
24 for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky, shines to another part under the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 As it was in the days of Noah, even so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man.
27 They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky and destroyed them all.
30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife!
33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.
34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left.
35 There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left.”
37 They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.