Luke 17
17
Causing Others to Lose Faith
(Matthew 18:6–10; Mark 9:42–50)
1Jesus told his disciples, “Situations that cause people to lose their faith are certain to arise. But how horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith! 2It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith. 3So watch yourselves!
“If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him. 4Even if he wrongs you seven times in one day and comes back to you seven times and says that he is sorry, forgive him.”
The Apostles Ask for More Faith
5Then the apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.”
6The Lord said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.
7“Suppose someone has a servant who is plowing fields or watching sheep. Does he tell his servant when he comes from the field, ‘Have something to eat’? 8No. Instead, he tells his servant, ‘Get dinner ready for me! After you serve me my dinner, you can eat yours.’ 9He doesn’t thank the servant for following orders. 10That’s the way it is with you. When you’ve done everything you’re ordered to do, say, ‘We’re worthless servants. We’ve only done our duty.’ ”
Ten Men with a Skin Disease Are Healed
11Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee on his way to Jerusalem. 12As he went into a village, ten men with a skin disease met him. They stood at a distance 13and shouted, “Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us!”
14When he saw them, he told them, “Show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were made clean.#17:14 “Clean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is presentable to God. 15When one of them saw that he was healed, he turned back and praised God in a loud voice. 16He quickly bowed at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (The man was a Samaritan.)
17Jesus asked, “Weren’t ten men made clean? Where are the other nine? 18Only this foreigner came back to praise God.”
19Jesus told the man, “Get up, and go home! Your faith has made you well.”
The Pharisees Ask about God’s Kingdom
20The Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come.
He answered them, “People can’t observe the coming of God’s kingdom. 21They can’t say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ You see, God’s kingdom is within #17:21 Or “among,” or “in your midst.” you.”
Jesus Teaches about the Time When He Will Come Again
22Jesus said to his disciples, “The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23People will say, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Don’t run after those people. 24The day of the Son of Man #17:24 Some manuscripts and translations omit “The day of.” will be like lightning that flashes from one end of the sky to the other. 25But first he must suffer a lot and be rejected by the people of his day.
26“When the Son of Man comes again, the situation will be like the time of Noah. 27People were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. Then the flood destroyed all of them.
28“The situation will also be like the time of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from the sky and destroyed all of them. 30The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that.
31“On that day those who are on the roof shouldn’t come down to get their belongings out of their houses. Those who are in the field shouldn’t turn back. 32Remember Lot’s wife! 33Those who try to save their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives will save them.
34“I can guarantee that on that night if two people are in one bed, one will be taken and the other one will be left. 35Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other one will be left.” #17:35 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 36: “Two will be in a field. One will be taken, and the other will be left.” See Matthew 24:40.
37They asked him, “Where, Lord?”
Jesus told them, “Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Luke 17
17
A Kernel of Faith
1-2He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a concrete vest and take a swim with the fishes than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!
3-4“Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”
5The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
6But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
7-10“Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”
11-13It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14-16Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17-19Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”
When the Son of Man Arrives
20-21Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.”
22-24a He went on to say to his disciples, “The days are coming when you are going to be desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man, and you won’t see a thing. And they’ll say to you, ‘Look over there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.
24b-25 “You know how the whole sky lights up from a single flash of lightning? That’s how it will be on the Day of the Son of Man. But first it’s necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.
26-27“The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah—everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.
28-30“It was the same in the time of Lot—the people carrying on, having a good time, business as usual right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. That’s how it will be—sudden, total—when the Son of Man is revealed.
31-33“When the Day arrives and you’re out working in the yard, don’t run into the house to get anything. And if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.
34-35“On that Day, two men will be in the same boat fishing—one taken, the other left. Two women will be working in the same kitchen—one taken, the other left.”
37Trying to take all this in, the disciples said, “Master, where?”
He told them, “Watch for the circling of the vultures. They’ll spot the corpse first. The action will begin around my dead body.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.