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The Gospels · New Testament

Luke 17

Luke 17: forgiveness, ten lepers, and the day of the Son of man

General context

Jesus tells the disciples that offences will come, pronounces woe on the one through whom they come, and says a millstone and the sea would be better than offending one of these little ones. He commands rebuke of a trespassing brother and forgiveness seven times in a day when he repents. The apostles ask for increased faith, and he answers with faith like a grain of mustard seed and a sycamine tree planted in the sea, then with a servant who plows and afterward serves at table, ending with unprofitable servants who have only done their duty. Going to Jerusalem through the midst of Samaria and Galilee, he meets ten lepers who stand afar off and call for mercy; he sends them to the priests and they are cleansed as they go. One turns back glorifying God and falls at his feet, and the narrator adds that he was a Samaritan. Jesus asks where the nine are and tells the man his faith has made him whole. Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he says it comes not with observation. To the disciples he speaks of the days of Noe and of Lot, of not returning back, of remembering Lot's wife, and of one taken and another left.

Cited passages: Luke 17:1, Luke 17:2, Luke 17:3, Luke 17:4, Luke 17:5, Luke 17:6, Luke 17:7, Luke 17:8, Luke 17:9, Luke 17:10, Luke 17:11, Luke 17:12, Luke 17:13, Luke 17:14, Luke 17:15, Luke 17:16, Luke 17:17, Luke 17:18, Luke 17:19, Luke 17:20, Luke 17:21, Luke 17:22, Luke 17:24, Luke 17:25, Luke 17:26, Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28, Luke 17:29, Luke 17:32, Luke 17:34

Luke 17 (KJV)

1Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

2It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

3Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

4And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

6And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

7But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

8And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

9Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

11And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

23And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

24For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

25But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

26And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

32Remember Lot’s wife.

33Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

34I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

35Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

36Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

37And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

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Historical context

The ten men are called lepers, are not named, and are described as standing afar off. Only one of them is identified by people group, and the narrator supplies that detail after the man has already turned back; Jesus then calls him this stranger. The setting marker is a journey to Jerusalem through the midst of Samaria and Galilee, with no town named and no date given. The instruction to show themselves to the priests comes before any cleansing is described, and the narrator places the cleansing on the way. The references to Noe and to Lot are Jesus' own appeals to earlier accounts, given as comparisons rather than retold narratives. The saying that the kingdom of God is within you is his answer to a question from the Pharisees, and the chapter does not expand on it.

Cited passages: Luke 17:11, Luke 17:12, Luke 17:13, Luke 17:14, Luke 17:15, Luke 17:16, Luke 17:17, Luke 17:18, Luke 17:19, Luke 17:20, Luke 17:21, Luke 17:25, Luke 17:26, Luke 17:28, Luke 17:29, Luke 17:32

Literary context

The apostles ask for more faith and are answered with a smaller measure, a grain of mustard seed, and then with a picture of a servant coming in from the field, which reframes the request as duty rather than reward. In the leper account the arithmetic is made explicit: ten cleansed, one returned, and a question about the nine. The one who returns moves from standing afar off with the others to falling on his face at Jesus' feet. The closing section works by stacked repetition, the same string of ordinary verbs for the days of Noe and the days of Lot, and the same clause destroyed them all after each. Three paired examples follow, and each ends with one taken and one left. Between them sits the shortest sentence in the chapter, three words about Lot's wife, and the answer to the disciples' final question is an image of eagles and a body rather than a place.

Cited passages: Luke 17:5, Luke 17:6, Luke 17:7, Luke 17:9, Luke 17:10, Luke 17:12, Luke 17:13, Luke 17:14, Luke 17:15, Luke 17:16, Luke 17:17, Luke 17:18, Luke 17:26, Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28, Luke 17:29, Luke 17:30, Luke 17:32, Luke 17:34, Luke 17:35, Luke 17:36, Luke 17:37

Key moments

  1. Forgive seven times in a day (Luke 17:4). He commands forgiveness each time a brother turns again saying he repents.
  2. Increase our faith (Luke 17:5). The apostles ask the Lord for more faith.
  3. Unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10). He tells them to say they have only done their duty.
  4. Ten lepers call out (Luke 17:13). The ten lift up their voices and ask for mercy from a distance.
  5. Cleansed as they went (Luke 17:14). They are cleansed on the way to show themselves to the priests.
  6. One turns back (Luke 17:16). The man who returns falls at his feet, and the narrator says he was a Samaritan.
  7. One taken, the other left (Luke 17:34). He describes two in one bed, one taken and one left.

For reflection

Nine cleansed men keep going to the priests as they were told, and one turns back before getting there. What does the account actually say about the difference between them, and what does it leave open?

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