We should never underestimate the severity of Jesus’ warning here. Make no mistake about it, He isn’t just speaking about someone causing someone else to stumble in terms of causing someone to sin. He’s speaking about someone causing someone to stumble to the extent that they cause them to lose their soul, in other words, they cause someone to lose their eternal salvation, Luke 17:1-2 / Matthew 18:6-9.
The result of someone doing so is worse than death. Jesus mentions a ‘large millstone’, Luke 17:2 / Matthew 18:6, this is the large millstone that is turned by a donkey, which contrasts with the smaller millstones which are turned by the human hand. Why is their fate worse than drowning? Matthew 18:6 / Deuteronomy 32:35 / Romans 12:19 / Hebrews 10:30. Simply because eternal death is worse than physical death.
Anyone who persecutes Christians in order to cause them to stumble will be held accountable, Luke 17:2. Anyone who seeks to cause God’s children to stumble will not receive any deliverance but will be punished because they hurt God’s children, Romans 12:19 / Hebrews 10:30.
Because Jesus uses the word, ‘woe’ we can be sure of the seriousness of the crime and the punishment of the crime, Luke 17:1 / Matthew 18:7 / 1 Corinthians 11:19 / 1 Timothy 4:1. Not only does Jesus gives us the warning, but He also gives us the promise that ‘such things are bound to come’, Matthew 18:7. We shouldn’t be surprised when these things happen, and people fall away because of them, so we must be diligent and help each other and watch out for each other’s souls, Luke 17:3.
We could focus on those who cause others to stumble but maybe it’s useful to look at ourselves as Jesus wanted the disciples to do. We must be on our guard against false teachers and those who would encourage us to stumble, mainly those in the world but we must also take a good look in the mirror and ask ourselves, is there is anything in our lives that needs to be cut off? Matthew 18:6-9. Our soul is just too precious to play games with, our eternal salvation is just too important to throw away,
Jesus once again reminds us of the importance of forgiveness. If someone sins against another, the person who sins needs to be rebuked, Luke 17:3 / Matthew 18:15, and if they repent, then they must be forgiven, Luke 17:3. We must be willing to forgive others, as we received forgiveness from God at our baptism, Acts 2:38. Having a forgiving spirit identifies us as possessing the nature of God who forgives.
If we cannot forgive our people, then certainly we aren’t of the nature of God, and thus, not a candidate for heaven, Matthew 18:35 / James 2:13. The example of seven times a day, Luke 17:4, isn’t to be taken literally, Jesus is simply saying, we are to forgive an unlimited number of times, yet we may rebuke in love, Leviticus 19:17 / Matthew 18:15 / Matthew 18:21. He’s saying that a person should always be ready to forgive, it’s not a matter of counting, it’s a matter of conduct, Matthew 6:12 / Matthew 18:21-22 / Matthew 18:35 / James 2:13.
After speaking about the importance of forgiveness, the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, Luke 17:5. Jesus tells them if they had the faith as small as a mustard seed, Matthew 21:21-22 / Mark 11:23-24 / Luke 17:6 / 1 Corinthians 12:9 / 1 Corinthians 13:2, they could achieve much, Luke 17:6 / Matthew 17:14-20.
Nothing would be impossible to them for nothing is impossible for the One who actually does the miraculous work, Luke 17:6 / Matthew 17:20 / Mark 9:23 / John 11:40. However, the qualification for being able to command the power of the supernatural demanded that they believe, Matthew 19:26 / Matthew 21:21-22 / Luke 10:1 / Luke 1:17. Faith takes time to grow, and the disciples were no different, in fact by the time Jesus leaves them to return to the Father, they would indeed do great things for God.
Please note that this kind of faith is supernatural miraculous faith, 1 Corinthians 12:9, we must remember to keep these verses in their proper context. Jesus wasn’t talking to all the disciples, but only to the twelve and so this isn’t a promise for Christians today. He was promising them, the twelve, special authority in reference to their work as His personally chosen and sent apostles.
Jesus now shares a parable with His disciples concerning a master and his servant. When the servant is finished ploughing or looking after the sheep, does the master tell the servant to sit at the table for dinner? Luke 17:7. Of course not, the master tells the servant to make the dinner and serve the master while he eats, Luke 17:8. After the master has had his meal, only then does the servant eat and drink, Luke 17:8.
The point is that the servant waits on the master, the master doesn’t wait on the servant. The master doesn’t thank the servant for his work, the servant is supposed to do what he was commanded, Luke 17:9. The master doesn’t have to thank him for doing so. The point of this parable is clear, Jesus says that when we have done everything that God has commanded us to do, here is what we’re supposed to say, ‘we are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty,’ Luke 17:10.
It is not the master’s responsibility to make life easy for the servant, God doesn’t exist to make our lives easier. It is the servant’s responsibility to work hard for the master, after we have worked hard for the master, we have only done our duty. We don’t deserve any kind of special recognition. If we hadn’t done what we did, we would be a failure, we would be a rebellious servants. By doing all that God has commanded, we are simply being a servant.
Can you imagine the servant in the story going around thinking how awesome he was because he ploughed the field and made the master dinner? What a fool! Those are your duties. That is what you were supposed to do. God owes us nothing! There is nothing we can do to put God in a position of owing us something. There is nothing we can do to place God in our debt.
1. None of us can earn our salvation.
Yes, it’s true we must follow God’s commands and obey them, but they don’t merit our salvation, Ephesians 2:4-9 / Titus 3:4-5. Regardless of how much we do or don’t do, we are still ‘unprofitable servants’, Isaiah 64:6.
2. We still need to be obedient.
Yes, we don’t earn our salvation but obedience is still required, Luke 17:10 / 1 Corinthians 7:19 / 1 John 2:4. It’s a sad fact that when many people here the word obedience, they instantly think of legalism. If we truly believe that obedience earns our salvation, then we are truly legalists, however, if we obey God out of love and duty, we are simply being faithful servants.
Jesus is getting closer to His destination, that is the cross, which has been Jesus’ goal since He came in the flesh, Genesis 3:15. In context between Luke 17:10-11, we see that Jesus went to Bethany, Ephraim, Samaria and Galilee, John 11. He’s on His way to Jerusalem, Luke 9:51 / Luke 13:22. Whilst Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, and as he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him, Luke 17:12.
The term ‘leprosy’ which includes the words leper, lepers, leprosy, and leprous occurs sixty-eight times in the Bible, fifty-five times in the Old Testament, ‘tsara’ath’ and thirteen times in the New Testament, ‘lepros’, ‘lepra’. In the Old Testament, the instances of leprosy most likely meant a variety of infectious skin diseases, and even mould and mildew on clothing and walls.
In the New Testament, it seems to mean an infectious skin disease. The disease itself was considered by some as some kind of sin but not necessarily a specific sin relating to the leper themselves.
We can’t begin to imagine what life would have been like for a leper as they lived in their own colonies, separated from society. Their food and clothing needs would have been provided by their families and close friends. Living in isolation can never be easy, not being able to shake someone’s hand or hug your husband or wife or even your children. This explains why they stood at a distance.
Imagine never being able to go to the temple to worship God, imagine not being able to work, imagine the itchiness and daily struggles they would have had! This was through no fault of their own, but because they were lepers they couldn’t associate with society because they were classed as unclean by the law, Leviticus 13:45-46 / Numbers 5:2. No wonder they stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ Luke 17:12-13.
When Jesus saw them He tells them to go, show themselves to the priests, Luke 17:14. After any leper was cleansed of his disease, the law said they were to present themselves to a priest in order to receive confirmation that he was clean, Leviticus 13:1-6 / Leviticus 13:45- 49 / Leviticus 14:1-32 / Luke 5:14. Unlike other miracles of Jesus, they seemed to be healed along the way to the priests, Luke 17:14.
The text implies that we have ten lepers, nine seem to be Jewish and one a Samaritan, Luke 17:16, but when they call on Jesus, they are in the same place, physically, emotionally, spiritually, there’s no hatred of the different races here, they are all helpless and in a hopeless situation, they all called out for pity and they all received it, Luke 17:13-14.
It’s interesting that only one of them praised God and even more interesting that he happened to be a Samaritan man, Luke 17:15-16 / Luke 5:25 / Luke 18:43. Not only did he praise God, but he also praised God ‘loudly’, Luke 17:15, we can only imagine the joy in his voice as he shouts ‘thank you, God’.
It’s interesting because he was the one that the Jewish society as a whole would have rejected, whether he was clean or not but because Jesus showed him mercy, he was filled with thanksgiving, which is something we all must do, Acts 13:46-48 / 1 Corinthians 15:10 / 2 Corinthians 4:15. I wonder if they would have associated with one another after their healing? Or would it be life back to normal?
Imagine how their lives would have been changed after their healing, imagine them hugging their wife or husband and children for the first time in whatever amount of time they’ve had this disease. Imagine being able to go to the priests to show themselves and to be able to socialise again and worship God in the temple again, get a mainstream job and walks through the market places in Jerusalem. This healing was life-changing on all kinds of levels, physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually.
I believe there may have been a tone of sadness in Jesus’ voice when He asked were not all ten cleansed, where are the other nine, Luke 17:17. It’s important to remember that Jesus didn’t ask this question because He didn’t know the answer, He asked the question to get everyone to think about their thanksgiving to God when they are shown mercy. This one grateful foreign leper shows the contrast between him and the other nine lepers, Luke 17:18.
Why didn’t the other nine come back to give thanks? We don’t really know why the other nine didn’t return to Jesus, but I like what Coffman says concerning this question.
One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, Oh well, Jesus didn’t really DO anything.
One said, just any rabbi could have done it.
One said I was already much improved.
We will never know why the nine didn’t return but what we do see is that people can be healed physically but remain sick spiritually. The Samaritan was healed both physically and spiritually, hence Jesus tells him his faith has healed him, Luke 17:19, remembering that his faith alone didn’t heal him, he had to trust in the Great Physician, Jesus to do the healing.
We have so much to be grateful for but there are times we simply forget to thank Him for what He has done and continues to do in our lives because of the business of our lives these days. But the busyness of life is really just an excuse. We must take time to thank Him and show we appreciate everything He does in our lives, 2 Corinthians 9:11 / Philippians 4:6.
The Pharisees come to Jesus asked Him when God’s kingdom would come, Matthew 3:2. The Pharisees were looking for an earthly king who would lead the Jews in a rebellion against Rome and re-establish Israel as a major power on the world scene.
However, they severely misunderstood what the kingdom of God was all about. It was not a physical kingdom, but a spiritual one. Jesus said the kingdom would come relatively quietly. It would not arrive as an occupying army, but it would arise within the hearts of individuals.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This was a matter of much importance to them, and they had taught that it would come with parade and pomp. It is not unlikely that they asked this merely in ‘contempt’, and for the purpose of drawing out something that would expose him to ridicule.’
Note that some translations have the words the kingdom of God is within you, Luke 17:21.
Barnes, in his commnetray, says the following.
This is capable of two interpretations.
1. The reign of God is ‘in the heart.’ It does not come with pomp and splendour, like the reign of temporal kings, merely to control the external ‘actions’ and strike the senses of people with awe, but it reigns in the heart by the law of God, it sets up its dominion over the passions, and brings every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
2. It may mean the new dispensation is ‘even now among you.’ The Messiah has come. John has ushered in the kingdom of God, and you are not to expect the appearance of the Messiah with great pomp and splendour, for he is now among you. Most critics at present incline to this latter interpretation. The ancient versions chiefly follow the former.
There appears to be come confusion concerning Luke 17:22-37, because the wording is very similar to what we find in later in Luke 21:5-36, and in Matthew 24:1-51, and Mark 13:1-37. Some believe it’s strictly speaking about the return of Christ, others believe it’s speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem and others believe it’s speaking about both.
Notice that Jesus now takes the opportunity to discuss other future events with His disciples, Luke 17:22. Jesus was preparing the disciples for the final pronounced judgment upon Israel, Jerusalem and the temple, Matthew 13:3-9 / Matthew 13:36-43 / Matthew 21:33-46 / Matthew 22:1-14 / Matthew 23:29-39. The destruction would be great and final, Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The days will come He here takes occasion to direct the minds of his disciples to the days of vengeance which were about to fall on the Jewish nation. Heavy calamities will befall the Jewish people, and you will desire a deliverer.’
There would be false messiahs and false prophets, Luke 17:23 / Luke 21:8-11 / Matthew 24:23-26 / Mark 13:21-23, they are again warned to ignore false Messiahs and false prophets, Luke 17:23 / Matthew 24:4-5 / Mark 13:5-6.
Boles, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Many persons, impostors, and self-deceived aspire to fill the places of persons of honour. Many did come claiming to be the Christ. There is still a constant stream of men claiming to be God’s chosen servants, leading multitudes into sin and infidelity with pretended claims.’
These would be only the beginning of the many troubles that would all happen before the destruction of the temple, Matthew 24:8 / Mark 13:8. They were to ignore the false messiahs and the Lord gives a reason why they must ignore the false messiahs. This is the same warning Jesus gave his disciples when discussing the fall of Jerusalem, Matthew 24:4-5 / Matthew 24:11. They are to ignore them because when the Lord does come, it will not be in the desert or some obscure place.
He will appear instantaneously and will be seen by everyone who has ever lived, Luke 17:24 / Matthew 24:27-28 / Revelation 1:7. The Essenes in the desert at Qumran were expecting a Messiah who would throw off the Roman yolk. Their seclusion did not save them from being massacred by the Roman army. The coming of the Son of Man will be obvious to all. Therefore, we shouldn’t listen to people who claim that the Son of Man is here or there.
Josephus, in his writings, says the folowing.
‘Many false Christs, appeared about that time, attempting to lead away the people.’
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Many false Christs, according to Josephus, appeared about that time, attempting to lead away the people, Matthew 24:23-27.’
Before any of these things happen, Jesus will suffer and be rejected by that generation to whom Jesus was speaking to, Luke 17:25. The Lord Jesus would suffer scorn, abuse and death, being rejected by people of that generation.
This ‘generation’ implies it would happen in Jesus’ time, Luke 17:25 / Matthew 23:36. Please note that the phrase ‘this generation’ occurs fifteen times in the New Testament and every one is where the Lord is referring to the generation of people to whom He is talking. The phrase ‘that generation’ is used to refer to folk of a different time, Hebrews 3:10.
The death of Jesus was a significant event prior to the fall of Jerusalem or the fall of Rome, Mark 8:31. While still a significant event, it is less important as a time marker for events in our lifetime or to mark the second coming of Christ.
Jesus now goes on to speak to His disciples about His return. Jesus says that is going to be a time coming when they will desire the days of the Son of Man, Daniel 7:13-14, but mustn’t be fooled by going out and looking for it, Luke 17:26. When the days of the Son of Man arrive, the coming will be quite visible. Jesus illustrates the fact that people wouldn’t pay attention to the warnings before the judgment with two past events, the flood in the days of Noah, Luke 17:26-27, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot, Luke 17:28-29.
Jesus didn’t say, the days before I come, there’s going to be turmoil all over the world, there will be famine and distress. He said, do you know what is going to characterise the world before I come back? Normal things, people are going to be planting their fields, people are going to be planning weddings, they will never notice, Luke 17:27-28 / Matthew 24:37-39. The only sign before the flood was the preaching of Noah, Genesis 6:5 / Genesis 7:6-23 / Matthew 24:37-39.
And you know it’s not wrong to have a wedding or to plan a party, that’s not what He’s saying. What He’s saying is, ‘the tragedy is going to be that when God comes back, what’s going to characterise the world is an exceeding casual world.’ And the only warning the world is going to get is the witness of the church. I guess there would have been some people around in Noah’s time thinking to themselves, ‘I believe in God, I believe what Noah said is going to happen, but I’ll wait just before he finished building that ark before I step onboard.’
We can’t do that with God and the reason we can’t do that with God is because like Noah we have already been warned about what’s going to happen. And just like the people in Noah’s time, if you chose to ignore that warning you’re going to drown in the flood. Peter said that people will scoff at the idea of the world ending, 2 Peter 3:4-6.
Jesus now turns His attention to the destruction of Jerusalem again. The parallel to Luke 17:30-31, are found in Matthew 24:17-18, and Mark 13:15-16, and they refer to the destruction of the city of Jerusalem.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Destruction came upon the old world, and upon Sodom, ‘suddenly’ when they were engaged in other things, and little expecting this. ‘So’ suddenly and unexpectedly, says he, shall destruction come upon the Jewish people.’
‘On that day’, Luke 17:30, refers to the time of yearning and bogus messiahs. When Jerusalem is under siege they must get away. In Luke 17:31, the word ‘that’ refers back to the beginning of the Lord’s remarks where He warns them of there would be false Messiahs, Luke 21:22-23.
When they heard about bogus messiahs rallying patriotic Hebrews to fight off the Roman soldiers, they were to flee without looking back because their lives would be in such danger that they would not even have time to collect their belongings, they were to abandon everything.
So, what is the warning of Jesus? It’s very clear. They were to flee, Matthew 24:16-20 / Mark 13:15-17 / Luke 21:21-24. Jesus basically says, ‘you get out of that city before it becomes encircled by that Roman ring of steel, Luke 21:20. Run across the rooftops, don’t go back down to get your cloak, help the pregnant women, pray it’s not in winter, and hope it’s not a Sabbath day, Luke 21:21-24 / Matthew 24:16-20 / Mark 13:15-17. ‘You get yourself out of that town, the moment you see that army and don’t waste time doing it.’
If these verses are referring to Christ’s second coming, then why would He tell them to flee? Why tell them to pray that they would not have to flee on the Sabbath. These verses, along with Matthew 24:16-20 / Mark 13:15-17 / Luke 21:21-24, confirm that these predictions are to do with the Jews living then.
It means when they saw the Roman armies, Luke 21:20, they should flee immediately and not go into the house to rescue any belongings. In this context, it means when Jesus comes, one’s hope must be on Christ. If one has his trust in material things, they will not do him any good.
The story of Lot’s wife is told in Genesis 19:17-26. The basic problem of Lot’s wife that caused her disobedience was her trust in material things instead of God, Luke 17:32. During the siege of AD 70, there was a short break in hostilities, that day Christians, following this advice, took that opportunity to flee Jerusalem. They weren’t to be like Lot’s wife, reluctant to leave their belongings behind.
One should remember Lot’s wife and trust in God, not in earthly material possessions. The person who trusts in material possessions will lose his life, Luke 17:33 / Matthew 10:39 / Matthew 16:25-26. The person who denies himself takes up his cross and follows Jesus will have eternal life. The real values of life are spiritual. When one believes in Jesus Christ and obeys him, he is putting his trust in God and spiritual things. This person will have eternal life, Matthew 7:24-27.
Two people will be sleeping, one will be left and the other taken, two women will be griding grain, one will be left and the other taken, Luke 17:34-35. Jesus gives the same warning concerning His final coming, Matthew 24:40-41.
Note that Luke 17:36, isn’t in the most reliable manuscripts although it is in Matthew 24:40, ‘two men will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left.’ They ask where will the Messiah be found? Luke 17:37, and Jesus tells them, ‘where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.’ The Greek word here may mean either eagle or vulture, Luke 17:37 / Matthew 24:28. The imagery of this context is of the vulture. Where there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.