The Gospel Of Luke
Chapter 17
(V1-2) Jesus, through the account of Lazarus and the rich man and the other parables, has made it clear that eternity is for real, and no one from beyond will come back to warn us. It is all the more important how we live and show Jesus to others on this side of eternity, because right now counts forever.
It is inevitable that people be tempted, but what misery awaits the person whom those temptations come. It is important to understand what Jesus meant when He spoke of temptations.
The ancient Greek word used here for temptation is skandalon, and it comes from the word for a bent-stick – the stick that springs the trap. It also was used for a stumbling block, something that people trip over.
NOTE – In the Bible sometimes a skandalon is good – such as the way that people “trip” over Jesus, and are offended at the gospel Romans 9:33, 1 Corinthians 1:23, Galatians 5:11. But among Christians, skandalon is always bad. It can be false counsel Matthew 16:23, and it can be leading a brother into sin by your “liberty”Romans 14:13. Division and false teaching brings a skandalon among God’s people Romans 16:17.
Essentially, Jesus said: “People are going to take the bait – but woe to you if you offer the hook. People are going to trip up – but woe to you if you set the stumbling block in their way.” If someone seems ripe for the judgment or discipline of God, let God do it. Get out of the way. God doesn’t need you as an instrument of His judgment, only as an instrument of His love.
1 John 2:10 – Explains the solution to being a trap to others and its simply love –
Anyone who loves a fellow believeris living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
If we love our brother or sister, we will not bring an offense into their life.
(V3) When someone sins against you, you should not pretend that it never happened. You need to rebuke that brother in love.
Love is the rule here; we obviously can’t walk around keeping a record of every little offense committed against us. One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is patience, and we need to be patient with the petty offences that come our way in daily living.
Ephesians 4:2 says that we should – Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
But in love, when we are sinned against in a significant way, we must follow Ephesians 4:15 as the pattern: we need to speak the truth in love. Love isn’t going to other people about it; love isn’t bottling it up inside of you. Love is getting it straight with the person who sinned against you.
If he repents, forgive him – This is the challenge from Jesus. There is no other option given. When the person who offended you repents, you must forgive them.
(V4) What do we do with the person who has never repented? Do we still have to forgive them?
Yes. Even if relationship cannot be restored because no common mind is arrived at, we can still choose to forgive them on our side, and wait for God to work in their life to repair the relationship.
If someone had sinned against me seven times in a day, and kept asking me to forgive them, I might think that they were not really sincere. Yet Jesus commands me to still forgive them. This shows that we are not permitted to judge another’s repentance.
(V5-6) This work of pardoning every offence from everyone, and then to do this continually, seemed so difficult, even to the disciples themselves, that they saw, without an extraordinary level of faith, they would never be able to keep this command.
If you have faith as a mustard seed: We usually think of faith as being exercised with dramatic, miraculous works. That may be true, but the greatest miracles of faith have to do with the restoration of relationships.
NOTE – The roots of the mulberry tree were thought to be extraordinarily strong; it was said that this tree could stay rooted for six hundred years.
You may have unforgiveness and bitterness that is deeply rooted within you; it may be like one of those trees that send down deep, strong roots. But through faith, Jesus can rip those roots clean out; it can be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea.
As a mustard seed: The faith that we must have is a faith that has more to do with what kind of faith we have rather than where we have that faith. We could by example have a huge amount of faith in a false god which is useless where as a small amount of faith as much as a mustard seed which is a tiny seed can accomplish great things, if that small amount of faith is placed in a great and mighty God.
(V7-10) Jesus had just spoken to His disciples about great works possible by great faith. Here Jesus added some words meant to work against the pride that often rises when someone is used by God.
NOTE – It is helpful to remember that these words were not given to the multitude as the chapter begins with – One day Jesus said to the disciples. So Jesus here was not showing the way to salvation, but showing the path of service for those who were already saved.
Jesus speaks of those who really serve. Ploughing in biblical times was really hard work and it can be hard work in spiritual ministry. Tending sheep can also be hard work, requiring a lot of patience, attention to detail, and a caring heart.
Jesus pictured a servant coming in from a hard day of work, either ploughing or tending sheep. When the servant arrives home, the master does not compliment, or feed, or serve, or massage the servant. The master expected the servant to keep serving because there was still work to do.
In the context of the preceding words of Jesus, we can say that there are still people to forgive; there are still great works of faith to be done.
Does the master thank the servant … Of course not – Of course the master does not thank the servant for such things; in that pre-Christian culture such kindness was unthinkable.
- We don’t serve Jesus, demanding that He thank us or praise us.
- Why would Jesus thank us, in light of all He has done for us.
- Why would Jesus thank us considering all we have left undone.
- Why would Jesus thank us, as all we have, and all we do is from Him anyway.
Yet, He will thank us and reward us ! Even though we don’t deserve it, He will look at the work of each of His children and He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”- Matthew 25:21
We are unworthy servants – The kind of attitude Jesus spoke of is not a false humility, the kind of attitude that says “I’m no good at anything.” It simply recognizes that He has done so much more for us than we could ever do for Him.
Who have simply done our duty –This attitude understands that our Master has done more and greater things for us than we could ever do for Him. What He did for us was out of pure love; what we do for Him is out of proper gratitude and duty.
This is why it is so important for me to emphasize what I believe the Bible itself teaches– what God has done for us. When we realize all that God has done for us in Jesus, we want to serve Him out of gratitude and not for good works. When our hearts are right, we live and act as if we are happy to have the privilege of being allowed to serve God.
(V11-14) It was not unusual for these lepers to congregate with one another. They were outcasts from society at large, and had no company other than other lepers – so, they stood at a distance.
They also stood at a distance, because forbidden by law to come near to those who were clean, for fear of infecting them. – Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:2; 2 Kings 15:5.
They came to Jesus together and they prayed together, even though they were a mixed group of Jews and Samaritans. Bonded by their misery, their national and other prejudices vanished as they came together in prayer. The Leprosy had broken down the barriers and they had forgotten they were Jews and Samaritans.
It was remarkable that Jesus asked them to go to the priests while they were still lepers, as they could have been stoned for coming near a Synagogue never mind walking through the town to get near it. See the one condition of this particular healing was obedience and once ordered, they must obey. God highly honours this kind of faith, and makes it the instrument He uses in many of His big miracles.
(V15-19) Only one came back to give thanks; and he was the unlikely one – a Samaritan. And, though he was the only one, at least he was very loud about his thanks.
All ten were willing to do a religious ceremony which was to go to see the priest.
Showing you praise in a external way raising your arms, saying amen at the proper points etc are easy , and is a pretty common thing today. But is this passage saying that only one in Ten people are actually truly worshiping Jesus in church.
Jesus missed the nine who did not return to give thanks. He wondered where they were. Jesus also notices our lack of gratitude and it shows the value He sets upon the praise.
We can always find reason for gratitude before God. Matthew Henry, the Bible commentator, was robbed of his wallet once. He wrote in his diary that night all the things he was thankful about:
First, that he had never been robbed before.
Second, that though they took his wallet, they did not take his life.
Third, because even though they took it all, it wasn’t very much.
Finally, because he was the one who was robbed and not the one who did the robbing.
Your faith has healed you – A truer translation would be has made you well as when Jesus said this, He meant God’s work within the man’s heart. The other lepers had well bodies, but still had sick hearts.
(V20-21) We can imagine a Pharisee coming to Jesus, and demanding Him to either “put up” and produce the Kingdom, or to “shut up” and stop claiming He was the Messiah.
The Kingdom of Godcan’t be detected by visible signs – The ancient Greek word translated detected is better-translated, hostile examination. Jesus told the Pharisees that their hostile, doubting eyes were unable to see or receive the kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is already among you – Jesus told them that the kingdom was right here among them because the King was among them. Like many today, the Pharisees said they wanted the Kingdom of God to come; but you can’t want the Kingdom and but not want the King.
(V22-25) Now speaking to the disciples, Jesus told them that when He left this earth, the days would come when Jesus’ disciples would long for His return. And that there will be many who claimed to be the Messiah who will come before Jesus actually returned. It is essential that these false Messiah do not deceive us.
But don’t go out and follow them – In the time since Jesus, there have been many who claimed to be the Messiah. Men like David Koresh, Jim Jones, Sun Myung Moon to name just a few. Even today many Orthodox Jews think that a Brooklyn Rabbi named Mendel Schneerson was the Messiah.
For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky – On the day of the Messiah’s triumph, all will see it just like everyone notices lightning that flashes across the sky.
(V26-30) Even as the world seemed to continue in the normal routines of life before the flood and the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus said there will be some sense of normalcy in the world when He is revealed. Jesus didn’t say that all would be good in the world, or that there would be no crisis. Conditions before the flood and before the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah were terrible, but the wickedness was accepted as normal and routine.
Significantly, there are other passages of Scripture that seem to show that Jesus will return to an earth that will be anything but business as usual. These include:
For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. – Matthew 24:21
Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. – Revelation 6:15-16
Because the conditions of the world before the revealing of Jesus are described in such different terms, it is reasonable to say that there will be two distinct phases or aspects of Jesus’ coming, separated by some period of time, this lends credence towards the rapture idea as Jesus will come first to collect all who are faithful before the tribulation.
(V31-33) When Noah’s flood came, one could imagine people trying to keep their possessions safe while they themselves drowned.
Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! – Because she disobeyed God and looked back on Sodom with regret and longing for her old life, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt as she and her family escaped Genesis 19:26. Jesus here cautioned His followers to not look back at the world, but keep our eyes on The Kingdom.
NOTE- When God rained down fire and sulphur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorra its believed that the whole city and surrounding areas were actually sunk. This is why in the Dead Sea you can find a shallow area at the north where it famous for tourist to go floating. This full area is only a few feet deep in comparison with the southern area which is much deeper.
(V34-35) This passage is often applied to the rapture, a term applied to Jesus’ coming for His people
NOTE – The New Testament passage that most clearly describes this event and gives the name rapture from the Latin translation of the passage in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-18
Because this will happen during the normal course of life, the emphasis is on readiness. Jesus will come suddenly and at an unexpected moment. The idea of one asleep while the other is working may indicate that it will be day in one part of the world while it is night on another; at the same time some sleep, others work in a field. Jesus will come for His people all over the earth at one moment..
(V37) Some wonder if the conditions are ready in the present day for this revelation of Jesus, both in delivering His people and judgment upon a world that rejects Him. We may say this with some confidence: The Bible describes certain political, economic, spiritual, social, and military characteristics regarding what the world will be like before His return. It is fair to say that the conditions exist today, and the stage is set.