Luke 17

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service

1 And he said to his disciples, "It is impossible for causes for stumbling not to come, but woe [to him] through whom they come!

2 It would be better for him if {a millstone} is placed around his neck and he is thrown into the sea than that he causes one of these little ones to sin.

3 "Be concerned about yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times he returns to you saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"

6 So the Lord said, "If you have faith like a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

7 "And which of you who has a slave plowing or shepherding [sheep] who comes in from the field will say to him, 'Come here at once [and] recline at the table'?

8 Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something that I may eat, and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink, and after these [things] you will eat and drink.'

9 He will not {be grateful} to the slave because he did what was ordered, [will he]?

10 Thus you also, when you have done all the {things you were ordered to do}, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done what we were obligated to do.'"

Ten Lepers Cleansed

11 And it happened that while traveling toward Jerusalem, he was passing through {the region between} Samaria and Galilee.

12 And [as] he was entering into a certain village, ten men met [him]--lepers, who stood at a distance.

13 And they raised [their] voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

14 And [when he] saw [them] he said to them, "Go [and] show yourselves to the priests." And it happened that as they were going, they were cleansed.

15 But one of them, [when he] saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.

16 And he fell on [his] face at his feet, giving thanks to him. And he was a Samaritan.

17 So Jesus answered [and] said, "Were not ten cleansed? And where [are] the nine?

18 Was no one found to turn back [and] give praise to God except this foreigner?"

19 And he said to him, "Get up [and] go your way. Your faith has saved you."

The Coming of the Kingdom of God

20 Now [when he] was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with {things that can be observed},

21 nor will they say, 'Behold, here [it is]!' or 'There!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."

The Coming of the Son of Man

22 And he said to the disciples, "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 And they will say to you, 'Behold, there!' 'Behold, here!' Do not go out or run after [them]!

24 For just as the lightning shines forth, flashing from [one place] under heaven to [another place] under heaven, so the Son of Man will be in his day.

25 But first it is necessary [for] him to suffer many [things], and to be rejected by this generation.

26 And just as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man--

27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed [them] all.

28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot--they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building.

29 But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed [them] all.

30 It will be {just the same} on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

31 On that day, whoever is on the housetop and his goods [are] in the house must not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who [is] in the field must not turn back

32 Remember Lot's wife!

33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses [it] will keep it.

34 I tell you that in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.

35 There will be two [women] grinding at the same [place]; one will be taken and the other will be left."

37 And they answered [and] said to him, "Where, Lord?" So he said to them, "Where the dead body [is], there also the vultures will be gathered."

Luke 17 Commentary

Chapter 17

To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.11-19. Ten lepers cleansed. (1-10) Christ's kingdom. (20-37)

Verses 1-10 It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in the way of forgiving our brethren. As with God nothing is impossible, so all things are possible to him that can believe. Our Lord showed his disciples their need of deep humility. The Lord has such a property in every creature, as no man can have in another; he cannot be in debt to them for their services, nor do they deserve any return from him.

Verses 11-19 A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings, as well as in prayers. Christ noticed the one who thus distinguished himself, he was a Samaritan. The others only got the outward cure, he alone got the spiritual blessing.

Verses 20-37 The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. When Christ came to destroy the Jewish nation by the Roman armies, that nation was found in such a state of false security as is here spoken of. In like manner, when Jesus Christ shall come to judge the world, sinners will be found altogether regardless; for in like manner the sinners of every age go on securely in their evil ways, and remember not their latter end. But wherever the wicked are, who are marked for eternal ruin, they shall be found by the judgments of God.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "a stone belonging to a mill"
• [b]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [c]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("come here") has been translated as a finite verb
• [d]. Literally "have gratitude"
• [e]. *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated by "[will he]"
• [f]. Literally "things that were ordered to you"
• [g]. Literally "through the midst"
• [h]. *Here "[as]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("was entering")
• [i]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [j]. Some manuscripts explicitly state "him"
• [k]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("saw") which is understood as temporal
• [l]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [m]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("go") has been translated as a finite verb
• [n]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("saw") which is understood as temporal
• [o]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb
• [p]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("turn back") has been translated as an infinitive
• [q]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("get up") has been translated as a finite verb
• [r]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("was asked") which is understood as temporal
• [s]. Literally "observation"
• [t]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [u]. Some manuscripts have " 'Behold, there!' or 'Behold, here!'"
• [v]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [w]. Literally "according to the same"
• [x]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [y]. *Here "[women]" is supplied because the form ("two") is feminine gender in Greek
• [z]. A few manuscripts add v. 36 (with some variations): "There will be two in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left."
• [aa]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb