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.
Luke 17
17
1 And he said to his disciples: "It is impossible for scandals not to occur. But woe to him through whom they come!
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were placed around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than to lead astray one of these little ones.
3 Be attentive to yourselves. If your brother has sinned against you, correct him. And if he has repented, forgive him.
4 And if he has sinned against you seven times a day, and seven times a day has turned back to you, saying, 'I am sorry,' then forgive him."
5 And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
6 But the Lord said: "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you may say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted, and be transplanted into the sea.' And it would obey you.
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, would say to him, as he was returning from the field, 'Come in immediately; sit down to eat,'
8 and would not say to him: 'Prepare my dinner; gird yourself and minister to me, while I eat and drink; and after these things, you shall eat and drink?'
9 Would he be grateful to that servant, for doing what he commanded him to do?
10 I think not. So too, when you have done all these things that have been taught to you, you should say: 'We are useless servants. We have done what we should have done.' "
11 And it happened that, while he was traveling to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he was entering a certain town, ten leprous men met him, and they stood at a distance.
13 And they lifted up their voice, saying, "Jesus, Teacher, take pity on us."
14 And when he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And it happened that, as they were going, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was cleansed, returned, magnifying God with a loud voice.
16 And he fell face down before his feet, giving thanks. And this one was a Samaritan.
17 And in response, Jesus said: "Were not ten made clean? And so where are the nine?
18 Was no one found who would return and give glory to God, except this foreigner?"
19 And he said to him: "Rise up, go forth. For your faith has saved you."
20 Then he was questioned by the Pharisees: "When does the kingdom of God arrive?" And in response, he said to them: "The kingdom of God arrives unobserved.
21 And so, they will not say, 'Behold, it is here,' or 'Behold, it is there.' For behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
22 And he said to his disciples: "The time will come when you will desire to see one day of the Son of man, and you will not see it.
23 And they will say to you, 'Behold, he is here,' and 'Behold, he is there.' Do not choose to go out, and do not follow them.
24 For just as lightning flashes from under heaven and shines to whatever is under heaven, so also 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 also will it be in the days of the Son of man.
27 They were eating and drinking; they were taking wives and being given in marriage, even until the day that Noah entered the ark. And the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 It shall be similar to what happened in the days of Lot. They were eating and drinking; they were buying and selling; they were planting and building.
29 Then, on the day that Lot departed from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and it destroyed them all.
30 According to these things, so shall it be in the day when the Son of man will be revealed.
31 In that hour, whoever will be on the rooftop, with his goods in the house, let him not descend to take them. And whoever will be in the field, similarly, let him not turn back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.
33 Whoever has sought to save his life, will lose it; and whoever has lost it, will bring it back to life.
34 I say to you, in that night, there will be two in one bed. One will be taken up, and the other will be left behind.
35 Two will be at the grindstone together. One will be taken up, and the other will be left behind. Two will be in the field. One will be taken up, and the other will be left behind."
36 Responding, they said to him, "Where, Lord?"
37 And he said to them, "Wherever the body will be, in that place also, the eagles shall be gathered together."
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