Luke 17
MCGARLuke 17:1-10
(Probably in Peræa.)
L 1-10. [Jesus here ceases to speak to the Pharisees, and begins a new series of sayings addressed to the disciples, which sayings are, however, pertinent to the occasion, and not wholly disconnected with what he has just been saying] [in a world where Pharisees abound, etc.– ] [See ] [See ), it is impossible that he can do than his duty. We may be rewarded for the discharge of our duty, but the reward is of grace and not of merit. Compare . The theme is no doubt suggested by . When one’s faith endows him with great gifts he need not consider himself as an unusually profitable servant for he can do no more than it is his duty to do. Godet denies this connection with , contending that miracles are not among “the things that are commanded” in the terms of ; but miracles were commanded, and for those who could bestow it, a gift of healing was as much an obligation as a gift of alms . The paragraph is a fitting close to a discourse so much of which relates to Phariseeism.] [FFG 517-518]
Luke 17:11-37
(Borders of Samaria and Galilee.) L 11-37. [If our chronology is correct, Jesus passed northward from Ephraim about forty miles, crossing Samaria (here mentioned first), and coming to the border of Galilee. He then turned eastward along that border down the wady Bethshean which separates the two provinces, and crossed the Jordan into Peræa, where we soon find him moving on toward Jericho in the midst of the caravan of pilgrims on the way to the passover.] [One may still meet such groups of lepers outside the villages. They do not stand directly in the road so as to make an actual meeting, but are off to one side and near enough to beg. The law required lepers to keep away from the rest of the people . The rabbis are said to have prescribed a fixed distance at which lepers must keep, but authority varies as to this distance, some giving it as [529] a rod, and others as high as a hundred paces] [such as they had, for the leper’s bronchial tubes are dry, and the voice is harsh and squeaky] [Considering their condition, their prayer was definite enough.] [the disciples about him probably at first obstructed the Lord’s view] [See ] [made strong by health and gratitude] [On his way to the priests at Mt. Gerizim the Samaritan turned back to express his thanks.
Apparently nine of the lepers were Jews. A Samaritan was among them because they were along the border of his country, and because the fellowship of affliction and disease obliterated the distinctions of race, as it does to this day.
In the leper-houses at Jerusalem Mohammedans and Jews now live together despite the rancor existing between the healthy representatives of these two religions.] [The Lord publicly noted the indifference and ingratitude of the nine and the thanksgiving of the tenth. As we look around to-day and see how many are ungrateful for the blessings which they receive, the words ring like an echo in our ears.] [It sometimes happens that we receive most where we expect least. Though the Samaritan’s religion was partly Jewish, yet by blood he was a foreigner, as the word “stranger” means.] [Thus Jesus emphasized the fact that the blessing came through faith, encouraging the man to seek [530] higher blessings by the same means.] [ . The question of the Pharisees was doubtless a covert criticism. More than three years before this Jesus had begun to say that the kingdom of heaven was at hand; and they thought that after all this preparation it was high time that the kingdom should commence. They were looking for some manifestation of the sovereignty of God in the realm of the civil and the external, which would raise the Jewish nation to conspicuous supremacy, but they are told that the work of the kingdom is internal and spiritual , and that its effects are not such as can be located in space.
They were seeking honors and joys, and would find contempt and sorrow . Some have thought it strange than Jesus should say “within you” when addressing the Pharisees, but the word “you” is used generally and indefinitely.] [giving them instructions suggested by the question of the Pharisees] [ , .
If the Pharisees looked eagerly for a sensuous external Messianic kingdom, so also would the disciples be tempted in the days to come to cherish a somewhat similar yearning. Knowing that Jesus was to come again to rule in power and in great glory, they would, under the stress of persecution, hunger to see one of the days of his rule. This longing for the coming of the Christ is frequently expressed . In their restless eagerness the [531] unwary disciples would be tempted to follow the false Messiahs who excited widespread admiration and attention. Against all this Jesus warns them, telling them that when the kingdom of heaven does at last assume a visible shape in the manifestation of its King, that manifestation will be so glorious, universal and pronounced as to be absolutely unmistakable.] [Thus when he speaks of his glory Jesus is careful to mention the humiliation and suffering which precedes it, that the faith of his disciples may not be weakened by false expectations and misunderstandings. The day of glory was not for that generation, since it would reject him.] [ ] [ , , ] [Our Lord here gives us two historical incidents of the false security of the ungodly, and in doing so he endorses them as real history.
The antediluvians and the citizens of Sodom discharged the business of the day and laid their plans for to-morrow and had no thought of evil or anticipation of trouble down to the very moment that the bowls of wrath were poured upon them. Despite all warnings, they were taken by surprise when completely off their guard.
The coming of Christ shall be a like surprise to the people of the last day , and it shall be a day of like punishment– .] [the flat roofs of Oriental houses [532] are used much the same as we use porches] [ , .] [See ). If in that hour we be found seeking to save our carnal treasures, it will be a sign that we have lost the spiritual from our lives and have no heavenly treasures.] [making meal or flour with the little stone hand-mills, as they still do in the East] [Day and night exist simultaneously upon the earth, and the Lord’s coming will be at noon to some and at midnight to others. His saints will be found mingled with the rest of the people and engaged in duties befitting the hour. But the Lord will receive them to himself as his own , and they will be ready to be detached from their worldly ties that they may go to meet and welcome the bridegroom at his coming– , .] [The disciples desired to know where this manifestation and division would take place, looking upon it as a local prediction. Jesus gave a proverbial answer, the meaning of which is that sin courts and draws to itself punishment and destruction just as a carcass draws winged [533] scavengers. Applying his words, we may say that as the corruption of the antediluvians drew upon them, the devastation of the flood, and as the crimes of the Sodomites called down upon them, the fires from heaven, and as the unbelief of the Jews of Christ’s day caused the destruction of Jerusalem and the death of the nation, so the wickedness of the men of the last times will result in the ending of the world.
The word translated eagles is generic, and included the vultures also (Pliny Nat. His. ix. 3).
It is likely that the Revision Committee retained the word “eagles” instead of vultures because of the mistaken notion of Lightfoot and others that our Lord here makes a covert allusion to the eagles which were borne upon the Roman standards. A passage similar to the latter part of this section is found at .] [FFG 529-534]