Novum Testamentum on εντος υμων

Over at Novum Testamentum, Brandon Wason posted an excellent examination of the translation and interpretation of εντος υμων (entos humon) in Luke xvii.21. Read it over carefully, though it is not long at all. While I agree with Brandon's conclusion, an exploration of the debate would be beneficial.

The entry in Robertson's Word Pictures disagrees with Brandon on this.

Within you (entos humōn). This is the obvious, and, as I think, the necessary meaning of entos. The examples cited of the use of entos in Xenophon and Plato where entos means “among” do not bear that out when investigated. Field (Ot. Norv.) “contends that there is no clear instance of entos in the sense of among” (Bruce), and rightly so. What Jesus says to the Pharisees is that they, as others, are to look for the kingdom of God within themselves, not in outward displays and supernatural manifestations. It is not a localized display “Here” or “There.” It is in this sense that in Luk_11:20 Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God as “come upon you” (ephthasen eph' humās), speaking to Pharisees. The only other instance of entos in the N.T. (Mat_23:26) necessarily means “within” (“the inside of the cup”). There is, beside, the use of entos meaning “within” in the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus saying of Jesus of the Third Century (Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, p. 426) which is interesting: “The kingdom of heaven is within you” (entos humōn as here in Luk_17:21).

However I do not believe this can adequately account for the immediate context showing us that Christ is talking to the Pharisees. To say Jesus told the Pharisees "to look for the kingdom of God within themselves, not in outward displays and supernatural manifestations" is either to miss or disregard the presentation of who the Pharisees were (why would the kingdom of God be within them in any sense?) and that the kingdom of God was not presented as an inward, purely individualistic spiritual idea. While the phrase εφθασεν εφ υμας (ephthasen eph humas) is metaphorical--the kingdom of God does not literally "come upon" a person in a physical way--that empowers the idea that the kingdom is outward, among the people, not inward, within the individual. Christ was saying that He casts out demons by the power of God and therefore the kingdom of God is here.

Now, the argument could take a turn at this point. If you still believe the intended meaning is "within," υμων could possibly be in question. You would need to argue that υμων is not a direct address to the Pharisees, but a general, plural "you" intended to include everyone. Though that may be a possibility, that would also be diificult to pin down. There is still the problem of the kingdom being within everybody when you take into account everyone individually.

As with John iii.16, the dominant or popular interpretations are based on the KJV reading. Luke xvii.21 in the KJV reads "the kingdom of God is within you." Unfortunately, so many of the commentaries we have base their interpretations on the KJV. According to John Wesley's Explanatory Notes, "Look not for it in distant times or remote places: it is now in the midst of you: it is come: it is present in the soul of every true believer: it is a spiritual kingdom, an internal principle. Wherever it exists, it exists in the heart." The JFB has "is of an internal and spiritual character (as contrasted with their outside views of it)." Both of those miss the mark. What about one of my favorites: John Gill? Here's his interpretation:

for behold the kingdom of God is within you: in the elect of God among the Jews, in their hearts; it being of a spiritual nature, and lying in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.. . . it does not lie in external works and duties, but it is an inward principle of holiness in the soul, or spirit of man, produced there by the Spirit of God, and is therefore called by his name.

I would struggle to wholly agree with that. The kingdom of God is an outward concept. While the expression of the kingdom, or what we see, begins with the people of God, the kingdom would be limited if it was not predominately outward in nature, present among the people. The kingdom is something you see. In John iii.3 Christ told Nicodemus, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." If you have the kingdom within you, why would you need to be born again in order to see it? Why not just look inside?

I appreciate what Vincent's Word Studies has in it's entry:

Better, in the midst of. Meyer acutely remarks that “you refers to the Pharisees, in whose hearts nothing certainly found a place less than did the ethical kingdom of God.” Moreover, Jesus is not speaking of the inwardness of the kingdom, but of its presence. “The whole language of the kingdom of heaven being within men, rather than men being within the kingdom, is modern” (Trench, after Meyer).

The kingdom was there with Christ, in the presence of the Pharisees. The kingdom of God is among you.