Luke 17

Luke 17:1

Luke: The Man Christ Jesus Jesus on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Luke 9:51 to 19:44

www.easyenglish.info Ian Mackervoy This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 17 *Sin, *faith and duty – Luke 17:1-10 v1 Jesus spoke again to his *disciples. ‘It is certain that some things will cause people to *sin. But it will be terrible for anyone who causes that to happen. v2 It is a serious thing to cause even the least important person to *sin. It would be better if people threw that person into the sea with a large stone round his neck. v3 So, be careful what you do. If your brother *sins, show him his error. Then if he *repents of his *sin, forgive him. v4 Suppose he *sins against you 7 times in a day. If he *repents each of those 7 times, you must forgive him.’

v5 The *apostles said to the *Lord, ‘Give us more *faith.’

v6 The *Lord replied, ‘If only you had *faith as small as a tiny *mustard seed! Then you could say to this mulberry tree, “Lift yourself out of the ground. Go and plant yourself in the sea.” It would obey you.

v7 Suppose that you had a servant. He has been ploughing or feeding the animals. When he comes in from the farm, you do not tell him to sit down and eat. v8 No, you would say to him, “Prepare a meal for me. Then get ready and serve me. After I have had my meal, you can have something to eat and drink.” v9 You would not especially thank the servant because he obeyed you. v10 That is how it should be with you. You should do all that God tells you to do. Then say, “We are merely servants and our master has not gained anything from our work. We have done only what we ought to have done.” ’

Verses 1-4 The things of this world will tempt even the *disciples of Jesus. Often the fault is the *disciple’s own natural desires. But sometimes other people will tempt them to *sin. God will punish those people who cause his people to *sin. Jesus does not say what that punishment will be. However, he did explain that God considers this to be a very severe matter.

The large stone would have been part of a mill. It would be very heavy. It would hold the person down so that he would drown. The person who causes even the weakest *disciple to *sin deserves an even worse punishment than that. However, God can forgive the person that caused the *disciple to *sin. But that person must first *repent. God cannot forgive anyone who refuses to *repent.

God hates *sin. Therefore, Christians must be careful not to *sin. And they must be careful not to cause other people to *sin. If a Christian does *sin, other Christians must show him his error. They must not do this as if they were judges. They must do it because they care about him. If he *repents, they must forgive him. The number 7 here does not mean only 7 times. It means ‘however many times he *sins’.

Verses 5-6 The *apostles wanted more *faith. But it was not a question of quantity. The amount of *faith was not important but the kind of *faith was. A little real *faith could do great things.

The mustard seed was very small. The mulberry tree is a tree that has very firm roots. So, to move a mulberry tree would be difficult. A small *faith would be enough for a *disciple to tell the tree to lift itself out of the ground. By this, Jesus taught that nothing is impossible to real *faith.

In the Bible, *faith means belief and trust in God. Jesus was telling the *disciples simply to believe and trust in God. If they did that, God would do great things in and through their lives. He would even do things that seemed impossible.

Verses 7-10 A servant had worked hard all day. When he came in, his master expected him to prepare a meal. After the master had eaten then the servant could feed himself. That was normal. That was the job of the servant. He had done nothing more than he ought to have done. The master would not thank him especially because of what he had done.

Suppose that we obey God. And we do all that God wants us to do. That is our duty because we are his servants. We have only done what we ought to have done. We have done nothing special. 10 *lepers – Luke 17:11-19 v11 On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. v12 As he came into a village, 10 *lepers met him. They stood at a distance. v13 They called out with loud voices, ‘Jesus, master, pity us.’

v14 Jesus saw them and he said to them, ‘Go. Show yourselves to the priests.’ As they went, the *Lord cured them of *leprosy.

v15 One of them saw that the *Lord had cured him. And he came back to Jesus and he praised God in a loud voice. v16 He bent down so that his face was on the ground in front of Jesus’ feet. And he thanked Jesus. This man was a *Samaritan.

v17 So Jesus said, ‘I cured 10 men of their *leprosy. But the other 9 have not returned. v18 None of them came back to praise God except this foreigner.’ v19 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up. Go on your way. Your *faith has made you well.’

Verses 11-14 Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. Here he was on the border between Samaria and Galilee. The exact route that Jesus took is not clear to us. He started the journey on the road through Samaria (9:51-56), which was the shorter route. But the last part of his journey seems to have been through Perea (Matthew 19:1, Mark 10:1). Perea is on the east side of the river Jordan. From there, he went through Jericho (19:1). The most likely explanation is that Luke did not put these events in order of time.

*Lepers had to keep at a distance from other people. So, these 10 *lepers had to cry out with loud voices. They asked Jesus to pity them. They may have expected to receive a gift of food or money. They did not ask him to cure them. But that is probably what they hoped.

Jesus told them to go to the priests. The priests would examine the *lepers. The priests would decide whether the disease had gone or not (Leviticus chapter 14). The *lepers obeyed Jesus and they went. That showed that they were trusting Jesus to cure them. Then as they went, Jesus cured them of the disease.

Verses 15-19 One of the *lepers came back to thank Jesus. He did not first go to the priest to check that he was free of the disease. He knew that Jesus had cured him. He praised God in a loud voice. The other 9 did not come back.

This man was a *Samaritan. In normal circumstances the *Jews and the *Samaritans would stay away from each other. But this *Samaritan *leper was with *Jewish *lepers. Unlike them, he could not go to the *Jewish priests. So instead this *Samaritan returned to give honour and thanks to Jesus, a *Jew. He was the last one that we would expect to thank Jesus. But he was the only one.

Jesus expressed surprise that only this foreigner had returned to give God thanks. God had cured 10 men; they all should be very grateful to God. But the other 9 men were not praising God for the wonderful thing that he had done for them.

Jesus told the *Samaritan to get up and to go on his way. The other *lepers had believed and Jesus had cured them. But Jesus told the *Samaritan that his *faith had made him well. This must mean more than what the other *lepers had received. Jesus had cured their bodies. But Jesus made this man whole. Maybe this man received the *salvation that Jesus *preached. When the *kingdom of God comes – Luke 17:20-37 v20 Some *Pharisees asked Jesus when the *kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered ‘God’s *kingdom will come. But you will not be able to see it with your eyes. v21 Nobody will say, “Here it is.” Nor will they say, “There it is.” They cannot see it because God’s *kingdom is with you.’

v22 Jesus said this to the *disciples. ‘The time will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man. But you will not be able to see one. v23 People will say to you, “Look. There he is.” Or, “Here he is.” Do not go with or follow those people. v24 The lightning flashes and shines from one end of the sky to the other end. The Son of Man will be like that in the day when he comes. v25 First, he must suffer many things. And the people of this age will refuse him.

v26 Before the Son of Man’s return, people will be carrying on their usual activities. It will be like the days before Noah’s flood came. v27 Then, people ate and they drank. They married and they gave their children in marriage. This continued until the day that Noah entered his ship. Then the flood came and it killed them all.

v28 It was the same in the days of Lot. People ate and they drank. They bought and they sold. They planted and they built. v29 But the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and *sulphur rained down from heaven. And it killed all of them.

v30 It will be very much like that on the day when the Son of Man appears. v31 On that day, a person may be on the roof of his house, with his goods inside the house. But he should not go into the house to get them. Anyone in a field should not turn back to the things that are behind him. v32 Remember Lot’s wife.  v33 Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will preserve them. v34 I tell you, on that night two people will be asleep in one bed. The *Lord will take one away but he will leave the other one. v35 Two women will beat grain to make flour. The *Lord will take one away but he will leave the other one. v36 [Two men will be in the field. The *Lord will take one away but he will leave the other one.]’

v37 The *disciples asked him, ‘Where, *Lord?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Where there is a dead body. That is where the *vultures will gather.’

Verses 20-21 Much of what Jesus taught was about God’s *kingdom. The *Pharisees asked him when this *kingdom would come. Jesus told them that it would come. But this *kingdom was different to their idea of a *kingdom. They thought of the *kingdom as a king in *Israel who would defeat the *Romans. However, Jesus said that they could not see God’s *kingdom. People cannot say that the *kingdom is here or there. It has no physical place on the earth.

The words ‘with you’ could mean ‘inside you’ or ‘among you’. ‘Among you’ would seem to be the right translation. Jesus would not tell the *Pharisees that the *kingdom was inside them. The *kingdom cannot be where people refuse Jesus.

The *kingdom was there among them in the person of Jesus. They could not see it. Those people who believe in Jesus enter into the *kingdom. They belong in the *kingdom. Jesus rules in their lives. Where he rules, that is God’s *kingdom.

Verses 22-25 It is not clear what ‘one of the days of the Son of Man’ means. It could mean that the *disciples would remember the past. They would wish that Jesus were still with them on earth. But ‘the days of the Son of Man’ appear to be in the future. They refer to the time when Jesus will come again. That will be the start of this *kingdom on the earth. But the *disciples will not yet see those days.

People will say that the *Christ has come again. They will say that he has come in secret. They will ask the *disciples to come and see him. Jesus said that this is false. He will not come in secret. When he comes, all the people will know it. They will see it as clearly as they see the lightning in the sky.

Before he comes again, Jesus must suffer. The people will refuse to accept him as the *Christ. And they will kill him.

Verses 26-29 Until Jesus comes again, life will continue as usual. It was the same in the time of Noah. Then the people lived their ordinary lives. They did not believe what Noah told them. They did not obey God or trust in him. So, they were not ready when the flood came. They all died in the flood.

It was the same in the days of Lot. Then the people lived their ordinary lives. Lot was a good man but the people of Sodom were wicked people (Genesis 13:13). They did not obey God or trust in him. So, they were not ready when God destroyed their city. All the people died in the fire and the sulphur. Sulphur is a yellow chemical that burns.

Verses 30-36 When Jesus comes, people will be living their ordinary lives. Most of them will not believe in Jesus. They will not know that Jesus will come. They will not expect him to come. They will not be ready for him when he comes.

This is not about the year *AD 70, when the *Romans destroyed Jerusalem. It is about when Jesus comes back. That time is still in the future.

Jesus will come suddenly. Then the situation will be urgent. There will be no time to gather up material possessions. People must give their whole attention to the Son of Man. Those people who try to keep their way of life will lose their lives. Only those people who have handed their lives over to God will be ready to lose their lives (Mark 8:34-35). But the result will be, in fact, that they will save their lives. Lot’s wife was almost safe but she looked back (Genesis 19:26). She was unwilling to leave her old life.

People will be either for Jesus or against him. Jesus will take those people who are for him. He will leave those people who are not for him. Jesus does not explain what he means. But Paul wrote about the time when Jesus will come (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). At that time those people who believe in Jesus, he will take up from the earth. Those people who remain will have to come in front of God. He will be their judge and he will punish them. Those people who belong to Jesus will escape that fate.

In that country, houses usually had flat roofs. There would be steps up the outside of the house. The roof was part of the living space.

Some Bibles have verse 36. This is in some old texts but it is not in the best texts.

Verse 37 The *disciples wanted to know where all this will happen. Jesus did not directly answer their question. Vultures are large birds that eat dead animals. So, a dead body in the desert will attract vultures. So you can know that it is there because of the vultures.

People who do not believe in Jesus are dead in God’s opinion. Wherever they are at that time, the *Lord will be their judge. They will not escape the punishment for their evil deeds. As a dead body attracts vultures, so they will have brought about their own punishment.

© 2013, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

November 2013

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var w5 = new Array;w5[0]=’<b%3Esin</b%3E ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God.’;w5[1]=’<b%3Efaith</b%3E ~ trust in someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus Christ his Son.’;w5[2]=’<b%3Edisciple</b%3E ~ a person who follows a leader, especially the 12 men that Jesus chose to be with him.’;w5[3]=’<b%3Esin</b%3E ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God.’;w5[4]=’<b%3Erepent</b%3E / <B%3Erepentance</B%3E ~ to change one’s mind and heart. To turn away from sin and turn to God. To turn one’s mind and heart away from sin is to repent.