Luke17
New American Standard
1 Now He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come!
2 It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin.
3 Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 But the Lord said, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.
7 “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’?
8 On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’?
9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
10 So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
11 While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who stood at a distance met Him;
13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.
15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying 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 But Jesus responded and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?
18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
20 Now He was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs that can be observed;
21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
22 And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
23 And they will say to you, ‘Look there,’ or, ‘Look here!’ Do not leave, and do not run after them.
24 For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
25 But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man:
27 people were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, and they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, and they were building;
29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone 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, the one who will be on the housetop, with his goods in the house, must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one in the field must not turn back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife.
33 Whoever strives to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will keep it.
34 I tell you, on 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.
36 [Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”]
37 And responding, they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”
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Luke 17Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Luke 17. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught. (11–19). Ten lepers cleansed. (1–10). Christ's kingdom. (20–37).
vv1-10
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.
vv11-19
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.
vv20-37
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.
Key Words
δέ (dé): but, and, etc.
ἔπω (épō): to speak or say (by word or writing)
πρός (prós): a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e. pertaining to; with the dative case, by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is predicated)
μαθητής (mathētḗs): a learner, i.e. pupil
σκάνδαλον (skándalon): a trap-stick (bent sapling), i.e. snare (figuratively, cause of displeasure or sin)
ἐστί (estí): he (she or it) is; also (with neuter plural) they are
ἔρχομαι (érchomai): to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)
οὐαί (ouaí): "woe"
διά (diá): through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)
ὅς (hós): the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, that
Cross References
Luke 17Direct parallel teaching of Jesus regarding the certainty of offences and the woe due to them.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Direct parallel where Peter asks about forgiving a brother who sins up to seven times.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Kindred prayer to Christ for spiritual help, where a father cries out, "help thou mine unbelief."
Supported by JFB
Confirms that man cannot benefit or be profitable to God, underscoring our unprofitable servant status.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Old Testament law requiring lepers to cover their lip, cry unclean, and stand afar off.
Supported by JFB
Shows other outcasts with leprosy drawn together at the gate in their shared misery.
Supported by JFB
Parallel discourse on the unexpected judgment coming in the days of the Son of man, like Noah's.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The historical account of Lot's wife looking back and becoming a pillar of salt.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel proverb of judgment where carcasses and eagles/vultures gather.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Asks who has first given to God that it should be recompensed to him again.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Parallel command of Jesus instructing a cleansed leper to show himself to the priest.
Supported by JFB
Parallel of Christ marveling at a Gentile stranger's faith exceeding that of Israel.
Supported by JFB
Confirms the kingdom of God is spiritual (within/among you), consisting of righteousness, peace, and joy.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The historical event of fire and brimstone raining down from heaven upon Sodom.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identical proverbial teaching on losing one's life to preserve it, and vice versa.
Supported by Matthew Henry