Luke 17:23

23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them.

Luke 17:23 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 17:23

And they shall say unto you, see here, or see there
That is, there is Christ; and in two of Beza's exemplars, the word Christ is added as in ( Matthew 24:23 ) from whence it seems to be transcribed: and the sense is, it shall be said by one or another; Christ is in such a place, or he is in such a place, and he will quickly appear, and deliver the people of the Jews out of all their distresses and calamities by the Romans,

Go not after them nor follow [them]:
the last clause, "nor follow them", is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions; the meaning is, give no credit to them; as if Christ was come again in person, and was in such a place, do not go along with them, where they direct, as into the desert, or into the secret chambers; for to follow them will be very dangerous, of bad consequence, as well as vain and fruitless; see ( Acts 5:36 Acts 5:37 ) .

Luke 17:23 In-Context

21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you. ”

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it.

23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them.

24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.

25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.