Scripture to Read: Luke 17:20–21
Jesus miraculously healed the ten lepers, and as we know, only one returned to thank Him. But then we read, in Luke 17:20–21, “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; 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.’” The Pharisees were still looking for more “signs” from Jesus as to whether He was from the kingdom of God or not. At this point, the blindness of the Pharisees seems almost ridiculous, for they had seen Jesus perform numerous miracles. But we must remember that the spiritual forces of darkness are incredibly powerful over those who refuse to have their eyes opened to Christ and His handiwork. For we see this in 2 Corinthians 4:3–4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” The Pharisees were still blind, and they chose to remain blind rather than repent and come to their senses to escape the snare of the devil (2 Timothy 2:26). Jesus even reminded the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was already among them because He was with them. Until humble repentance occurs, people remain blinded to Christ.
Challenge & Application
Why were the Pharisees missing the fact that Jesus is God and that He came to save them from their sins?
Why do so many today remain blind to Christ being King and Lord and their need to humbly turn to Him as their Lord?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!