The Coming of God’s Kingdom: An ESL Bible Study on Luke 17:20-37

This Bible study series is for people who are learning English. It is designed for advanced beginner and intermediate learners, but children or adults who prefer simple English may also enjoy it.

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Luke 17:20-37 Printable Discussion Questions

Luke 17:20-37 Printable ERV Passage

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever waited a long time for something important to happen? How did you feel while you waited?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn about the Kingdom of God and what Jesus said about the future. We will hear how people should be ready for the day Jesus comes again. We will talk about how to trust God with our lives.

Vocabulary List for the ERV Bible Translation

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

destroy: (verb) To break something completely.
flood: (noun) A great amount of water that covers the land.
God’s kingdom: (phrase) The place or way where God rules as king.
lightning: (noun) A flash of bright light in the sky during a storm.
Pharisee: (noun) A religious leader who was very strict about rules.
refuse: (verb) To say no to something.
save: (verb) To keep someone from danger or death.
Son of Man: (phrase) A special name Jesus used for himself to show he is the savior sent by God.
suffer: (verb) To feel great physical or mental pain.
sulfur: (noun) A yellow rock that smells bad and burns easily.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

accept: (verb) To believe that something is true.
dead body: (phrase) The physical part of a person that is no longer living.
destroy: (verb) To break something completely.
flood: (noun) A great amount of water that covers the land.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
gather: (verb) To bring people or things together.
God’s kingdom: (phrase) The place or way where God rules as king.
lightning: (noun) A flash of bright light in the sky during a storm.
lose: (verb) To have something taken away or to no longer have it.
married: (adjective) Having a husband or a wife.
Pharisee: (noun) A religious leader who was very strict about rules.
rain down: (verb) To fall from the sky in large amounts like rain.
refuse: (verb) To say no to something.
remember: (verb) To keep something in your mind.
save: (verb) To keep someone from danger or death.
search: (verb) To look carefully for something.
Son of Man: (phrase) A special name Jesus used for himself to show he is the savior sent by God.
suffer: (verb) To feel great physical or mental pain.
sulfur: (noun) A yellow rock that smells bad and burns easily.
vulture: (noun) A large bird that eats dead animals.

Complete Lesson Word Bank

able: (adjective) Having the power or skill to do something.
above: (preposition) In a place that is higher than something else.
accept: (verb) To believe that something is true.
across: (preposition) From one side to the other side of something.
add: (verb) To put something with another thing to make it more.
again: (adverb) One more time.
away: (adverb) At a distance from a place.
behind: (preposition) At the back of someone or something.
boat: (noun) A small vessel used for traveling on water.
building: (noun) A place with walls and a roof where people live or work.
buy: (verb) To get something by paying money for it.
copy: (noun) Something that is made to look exactly like another thing.
dead body: (phrase) The physical part of a person that is no longer living.
destroy: (verb) To break something completely.
drink: (verb) To swallow a liquid.
during: (preposition) While something is happening.
enter: (verb) To go inside a place.
even: (adverb) Used to show that something is surprising.
exactly: (adverb) Perfectly correct.
few: (adjective) A small number of people or things.
field: (noun) An open area of land.
find: (verb) To see or get something you were looking for.
fire: (noun) The heat and light from something burning.
first: (adjective) Coming before all others in time or order.
flash: (noun) Quick burst of bright light.
flood: (noun) A great amount of water that covers the land.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
gather: (verb) To bring people or things together.
give up: (phrase) To hand something over to another person.
go back: (phrase) To return to a place where you were before.
God: (noun) The creator and ruler of everything.
God’s kingdom: (phrase) The place or way where God rules as king.
Greek: (noun) The language used to write the New Testament part of the Bible.
happen: (verb) To take place.
Jesus: (noun) The Son of God and the Savior of the world!
keep: (verb) To hold onto something or to continue to have it.
kill: (verb) To end the life of a person or an animal.
left: 1. (verb) To go away from a place. 2. (verb) To be remaining or to stay behind when others are gone.
lightning: (noun) A flash of bright light in the sky during a storm.
Lord: (noun) A name that shows someone has power or authority.
lose: (verb) To have something taken away or to no longer have it.
Lot: (noun) A man in the Bible who was the nephew of Abraham.
married: (adjective) Having a husband or a wife.
may: (verb) Used to show that something is possible.
much: (adjective) A large amount of something.
must: (verb) To need to do something.
night: (noun) The time when it is dark outside.
Noah: (noun) A man who built a big boat to save his family from a flood.
other: (adjective) Different from the one already mentioned.
Pharisee: (noun) A religious leader who was very strict about rules.
plant: (verb) To put a seed in the ground so it will grow.
rain down: (phrase) To fall from the sky in large amounts, like rain.
refuse: (verb) To say no to something.
remember: (verb) To keep something in your mind.
roof: (noun) The top covering of a building.
room: (noun) A space inside a building with walls.
save: (verb) To keep someone from danger or death.
search: (verb) To look carefully for something.
sell: (verb) To give something to someone for money.
shine: (verb) To give off light.
sky: (noun) The space above the earth where the sun and stars are.
sleep: (verb) To rest with your eyes closed in a deep way.
Sodom: (noun) A city that was destroyed because of its sin.
Son of Man: (phrase) A special name Jesus used for himself to show he is the savior sent by God.
stay: (verb) To not leave a place.
suffer: (verb) To feel great physical or mental pain.
sulfur: (noun) A yellow rock that smells bad and burns easily.
taken: (verb) To have been carried away.
together: (adverb) With each other.
town: (noun) A place where many people live that is smaller than a city.
try: (verb) To make an effort to do something.
verse: (noun) A small part of a chapter in the Bible.
vulture: (noun) A large bird that eats dead animals.
way: (noun) A path or a method of doing something.
whoever: (pronoun) Any person who does something.
wife: (noun) The woman that a man is married to.
work: (verb) To do a job or use effort to finish a task.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells us about a time when some Pharisees asked Jesus about God’s kingdom. A Pharisee was a religious leader who followed very strict rules. They wanted to know when God would come to rule the earth. Jesus told them that God’s kingdom is not a place you can see with your eyes. He said it was already here! It was starting inside people’s hearts when they follow him.

Then, Jesus spoke to his followers. He told them about the future. One day, the Son of Man will come again. Son of Man is a special name Jesus used for himself. He said that before he comes back, he must suffer many things and be refused by people.

Jesus said his return will be very sudden. It will be like lightning that flashes across the sky. He told them stories from long ago, like the days of Noah and Lot. In those days, people were doing normal things like eating, drinking, and getting married. They were not ready for God to judge the world. In Noah’s time, a flood came. In Lot’s time, fire and sulfur rained down to destroy the city of Sodom.

Jesus said that when he comes again, people must be ready. They should not try to save their old life or their things. If a man is on his roof, he should not go inside to get his bags! We must trust God and be prepared. Jesus ended by saying that wherever there is a dead body, vultures will gather. A vulture is a very large bird that eats dead animals. Because these birds fly high in the sky and gather in big groups, everyone can see them. This means that when he comes, it will be easy to see, just like it is easy to see birds flying over a field.

This passage teaches us that God’s kingdom starts in our hearts. It also shows us that we should live every day ready for Jesus to return.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

The Coming of God’s Kingdom
20 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus,
“When will God’s kingdom come?”
Jesus answered,
“God’s kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you can see it.
21 People will not say,
‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or
‘There it is!’
No, God’s kingdom is here with you.”
22 Then Jesus said to his followers,
“The time will come when you will want very much to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not be able to.
23 People will say to you,
‘Look, there it is!’ or
‘Look, here it is!’
Stay where you are; don’t go away and search.
24 “When the Son of Man comes again, you will know it.
On that day he will shine like lightning flashes across the sky.
25 But first, the Son of Man must suffer many things.
The people of today will refuse to accept him.
26 “When the Son of Man comes again, it will be the same as it was when Noah lived.
27 People were eating, drinking, and getting married even on the day when Noah entered the boat.
Then the flood came and killed them all.
28 “It will be the same as during the time of Lot, when God destroyed Sodom.
Those people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building houses for themselves.
29 They were doing these things even on the day when Lot left town.
Then fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and killed them all.
30 This is exactly how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.
31 “On that day if a man is on his roof, he will not have time to go inside and get his things.
If a man is in the field, he cannot go back home.
32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!
33 “Whoever tries to keep the life they have will lose it.
But whoever gives up their life will save it.
34 That night there may be two people sleeping in one room.
One will be taken and the other will be left.
35 There may be two women working together.
One will be taken and the other will be left.”
36
37 The followers asked Jesus, “Where will this be, Lord?”
Jesus answered,
“It’s like looking for a dead body—you will find it where the vultures are gathering above.”
Luke 17:20-37 (ERV)
Note: A few Greek copies add verse 36: “Two men will be in the same field. One man will be taken, but the other man will be left behind.”

Very Easy: Easy-to-Read Version: Luke 17:20-37 (ERV)
Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 17:20-37 (NIRV)
Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 17:20-37 (GNT)
Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 17:20-37 (NLT)
Hard: New International Version: Luke 17:20-37 (NIV)
Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 17:20-37 (ESV)

Luke 17:20-37 Printable ERV Passage

Comprehension Questions

Who asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come?
What did Jesus say about where the Kingdom of God is?
What did Jesus say people should not do when others claim to see the Kingdom?
What did Jesus say the coming of the Son of Man would be like?
Who did Jesus talk about from the Old Testament?
What happened to the people in Noah’s time?
What happened in the time of Lot?
What did Jesus say people should not go back to get on that day?
What happens to people who try to save their own life?
What did Jesus say about two people sleeping or working together?

Application Questions

Why do you think it is hard for people to wait for something they cannot see?
How can we live ready for Jesus every day?
What are some things we sometimes hold on to too tightly?
Why is it good to trust God more than our own plans?

Theological Insights

Right now, God’s Kingdom is not a place we see, but something he starts in our hearts.
Jesus will come again, and no one knows when.
We should not be fooled by people who say they know the time of Jesus’ return.
Like in Noah and Lot’s days, many people will be unprepared.
God asks us to be ready, to trust him, and not to hold too tightly to our things or plans.