Luke Chapter 17

From The Open Bible Project

17:1 He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!

• (1) The Church is of necessity subject to offences, but the Lord will not suffer them unpunished, if any of the least be offended.

17:2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

17:3 Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

• (2) Our reprehensions must be just and proceed from love and charity.

17:4 If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."

• (3) God will never be utterly lacking to the godly (although he may not be as thorough with them as they wish) even in those difficulties which cannot be overcome by man’s reason.

17:6 The Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, 'Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

• (a) If you had no more faith, but the quantity of the grain of mustard seed.

17:7 But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say, when he comes in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down at the table,'

• (4) Seeing that God may rightfully claim for himself both us and all that is ours, he cannot be indebted to us for anything, although we labour mightily until we die.

17:8 and will not rather tell him, 'Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me, while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink'?

17:9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not.

17:10 Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.'"

• (5) No matter how perfectly we may keep the law, it deserves no reward.

17:11 It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

• (6) Christ does good even to those who will be unthankful, but the benefits of God to salvation only profit those who are thankful.

17:12 As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.

17:13 They lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

17:14 When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." It happened that as they went, they were cleansed.

17:15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.

17:16 He fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

17:17 Jesus answered, "Weren't the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

17:18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?"

17:19 Then he said to him, "Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you."

17:20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The Kingdom of God doesn't come with observation;

• (7) The kingdom of God is not discerned by many although it is most present before their eyes, because they foolishly persuade themselves that it is to come with outward pomp.
• (b) With any outward pomp and show of majesty to be known by: for there were still many plain and evident tokens by which men might have understood that Christ was the Messiah, whose kingdom had been so long looked for: but he speaks in this place of those signs which the Pharisees dreamed of, who looked for an earthly Messianic kingdom.

17:21 neither will they say, 'Look, here!' or, 'Look, there!' for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you."

• (c) You look around for the Messiah as though he were absent, but he is amongst you in the midst of you.

17:22 He said to the disciples, "The days will come, when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

• (8) We often neglect those things when they are present which we afterward desire when they are gone, but in vain.
• (d) The time will come when you will seek for the Son of Man with great sorrow of heart, and will not find him.

17:23 They will tell you, 'Look, here!' or 'Look, there!' Don't go away, nor follow after them,

• (9) Christ forewarns us that false Christs will come, and that his glory will suddenly be spread far and wide through the world after the shame of the cross is put out and extinguished.

17:24 for as the lightning, when it flashes out of the one part under the sky, shines to the other part under the sky; so will the Son of Man be in his day.

17:25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

17:26 As it happened in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.

• (10) The world will be taken by surprise with the sudden judgment of God, and therefore the faithful ought to continually watch.

17:27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

17:28 Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;

17:29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all.

17:30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

17:31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.

• (11) We must pay careful attention that neither distrust nor the enticements of this world, nor any consideration of friendship hinder us in the least way.

17:32 Remember Lot's wife!

17:33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.

• (e) That is, will save it, as Matthew expounds it: for the life that is spoken of here is everlasting salvation.

17:34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. The one will be taken, and the other will be left.

17:35 There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other will be left."

17:36 [42]

17:37 They, answering, asked him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there will the vultures also be gathered together."

• (12) The only way to continue is to cleave to Christ.