Issachar_Luke17 - The Visual Bible Explorer Series

Chapter 17 Luke 17

Jesus Teaches on Forgiveness, Faith and Duty (vv. 1-10)

¹Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! ² It would be better for him if a large millstone ^a were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones ^b to sin. ³ So watch what you do!
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, ^c and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ If he sins against you seven times ^d in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
⁵The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.” ^{e
6}The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ^f ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.
⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? ⁸ Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ ⁹ The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? ¹⁰ It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

Interesting Stuff:

a A millstone was a heavy stone used for grinding grain. Jesus was saying here that a horrible death was preferable to being judged by God if one was to cause spiritual harm to the ‘little ones’ (see note below).
b These ‘little ones’ may refer either to those who were young in age or young in the faith, or to those who have no place in society, like the poor, crippled, lame, blind who had been on the receiving end of Jesus’ ministry.
c A disciple has the responsibility of helping and warning a fellow Christian who sins so that he does not remain in sin and has the opportunity to repent. This does not mean that we are to be harshly critical because the context is forgiveness. It means that we are not to be indifferent to sin.
d This does not mean seven actual times but that we are to be generous in forgiving a limitless number of times. This is the only right response for those who themselves have been forgiven.
e The disciples probably felt that this kind of forgiveness would demand more faith than they had. They wanted greater faith in order to live up to the standards set by Jesus.
f The mulberry tree grows quite large, sometimes to a height of about 12 m (35 ft) and is difficult to uproot. Jesus was saying that it was not so much the amount of faith they had. Even the tiniest amount of faith is capable of mighty tasks if their faith was genuine and they trusted in the God who answers that faith. The issue was more obedience to Jesus’ commands.

Questions:

What was Jesus’ warning to those who cause the little ones to sin (vv. 2-3)?

2. According to Jesus, what is our responsibility towards a believer who sins (v. 3)?

What happens if he sins against us again and again in one day (v. 4)?

3. What was Jesus’ response to his disciples when they asked for more faith to help them forgive (v. 6)?

4. Relate the parable of the servant told by Jesus (vv. 7-10).

What was Jesus trying to teach through this parable?

Summary of Section:

Jesus warned his disciples that although things that make people sin were bound to happen, it would be terrible for the one who caused it to happen.
It would be better for that person if a millstone were tied round his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of Jesus’ little ones to sin. So the disciples were cautioned to watch what they do.
He told them that if their brother sins, they were to rebuke him and if he repents, they were to forgive him.
If the brother sinned against them seven times in one day, they were to forgive him each time he came to them and said that he repented.
The apostles told Jesus to make their faith greater.
Jesus responded by telling them that if they had faith as big as a mustard seed, they could tell the mulberry tree to uproot and plant itself in the sea and it would be done.
Then Jesus told them this parable about the duty of a servant:
i) He asked them to imagine that they had a servant who was plowing or looking after sheep in the field.
ii) When the servant came in from the field, he would not be told to hurry along and eat his meal.
iii) Instead he would be told to get the master’s supper ready, to put on his apron and wait on the master while the master ate and drank.
iv) After that only would the servant have his meal.
v) The servant did not deserve thanks for obeying orders because that was his duty as a servant.
Jesus concluded by telling the disciples that it was the same for them. They were like servants of God, who after they had done all that they were told to do, were to say that they were ordinary servants who had only done their duty.

Nuggets of Wisdom

The practices which Jesus addressed here were typical of Pharisical attitudes, e.g., lack of regard for the ‘little ones’ and sinners in their midst, faithlessness and a concern for recognition and status. He was concerned that his disciples were not to be like the Pharisees.
Jesus did not specify the kind of behaviour that would stumble others. It could refer to failing to show compassion and justice to those in need or those whom others look down upon. The disciples were to be on their guard against a mindset that was indifferent to the ‘little ones’ and that did not care about restoring sinners back to community.
Jesus counselled, first, confrontation and, second, readiness to forgive, so that the brother or sister could be brought back into the fellowship of God’s people.
For Jesus, faith shows itself in faithfulness. Thus ‘Make our faith greater’ is tantamount to saying ‘Make us more faithful people’. However, that was not the issue here according to Jesus. He was asking for faithfulness to follow his teachings. According to him, even a very tiny amount of faith is sufficient to bring about things which are more extraordinary than the things Jesus had outlined for them.
In the parable, Jesus used what was a well known reality of village life to teach something about faithfulness. Jesus pointed out the absurdity of a master being under obligation to reward a slave for doing his work for that would place the master in debt to the slave. In the master-slave relationship of that time, a slave, by fulfilling his duties to the master, did not become his master’s patron.
Similarly, in v. 10, ‘worthless slaves’ as some versions have it, refers to slaves to whom no favour is due. The disciples were not to expect reward or to gain honour from being faithful to what they are called to do. Thus being faithful not to cause others to stumble and working at restoring sinners into the community of God’s people are part and parcel of the daily life of a disciple of Jesus and no rewards are to be expected.
God does not owe us anything for our service to Him. In being faithful to God, we are only doing our duty.

Jesus Heals Ten Men (vv. 11-19)

¹¹ As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ^g ¹² He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. ^h They stood at a distance ^{i 13}i and shouted, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”
¹⁴ Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.” ^jOn the way they were made clean. ¹⁵ When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Jesus spoke up, “There were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine? ¹⁸Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?” ^{k 19} And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.” ^l

Interesting Stuff:

^g The village lay between Samaria and Galilee. Therefore there would be a mix of both Jewish and Samaritan lepers (see v. 16) there. Normally Jews and Samaritans did not associate with one another but the terrible suffering these lepers shared in common broke down that barrier.
^hSee chap 5, note g.
ⁱThe lepers were compelled by Law to keep their distance and these did. But they came as near as they dared and shouted to Jesus to help them. They did not ask specifically for healing, but simply for mercy, for Jesus to take pity on them.
^j When Jesus saw them, he responded not by telling them they were healed but by asking them to go and show themselves to the priests. This was the normal procedure when a leper was cured. The priest acted as a kind of health inspector to certify that the cure had taken place (Lev 14:1ff). Jesus was putting their faith to the test by asking these men to act as though they had been cured. And as they obeyed so it happened – they were cleansed.
^k It might have been expected that the Samaritan, a foreigner, would have been the last to give thanks to a Jewish healer. But Luke noted that he was the first and evidently the only one. The other nine were so absorbed in their own happiness that they did not give a thought about coming back and thanking Jesus.
^lThe phrase may also read ‘your faith has saved you’. It could be that Jesus saw in the Samaritan the right heart towards God. Thus he sent him off with the assurance that it was well with his soul as it was with his body. Full restoration means a saved soul as well as a sound body.

Questions:

Describe what happened as Jesus was going into a village near the border between Samaria and Galilee (vv. 11-13).

2. How did Jesus respond to the lepers’ cries for help (v. 14)?

3. Relate what happened when the ten lepers went in response to what Jesus told them (vv. 14-16).

What was Jesus’ reaction when only one of the lepers came back to thank him (vv. 17-18)?

4. What did Jesus say to the Samaritan who came back (v. 19)?

Summary of Section:

As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease.
They stood at a distance and shouted to Jesus to have pity on them.
Jesus saw them and told them to go and let the priests examine them.
On their way, they were made clean.
When one of them a Samaritan saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself on the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.
Jesus asked why it was that only one man, a Samaritan, came back to thank him and where were the other nine who were healed.
He told the Samaritan to get up and to go, assuring him that his faith had made him well.

Nuggets of Wisdom

We see in this section some of Luke’s main themes again:
i) Jerusalem as the goal of Jesus’ journey
ii) Jesus’ compassion towards the outcasts of society
iii) Jesus’ obedience to the Law by asking the lepers to go to the priests for examination
iv) God’s grace extended beyond the Jews to the Samaritans and later to the Gentiles as well
Falling at the feet of someone is an act of submission by which one acknowledges another’s authority. For the leper it signified both reverence and gratitude. This went beyond all the normal responses to Jesus’ previous acts of healing. The people usually responded in praise but not in falling at Jesus’ feet.
It was at this point that Luke reveals that this leper who recognised Jesus as the source of God’s power and authority was a Samaritan, a foreigner, and not a Jew as would be expected. The rest failed either to recognise the divine touch of Jesus upon their lives, or to respond in gratitude to what he had done for them.
As on three other occasions (7:50; 8:48; 18:42) involving the prostitute, the woman with the blood discharge and a blind beggar, Jesus declared that the person’s faith had saved him. The leper had faith and responded faithfully to the mercy he had received. It was on that basis alone and nothing else that the leper received salvation.

The Coming of the Kingdom (vv. 20-37)

²⁰ Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. ²¹ No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.” ^m²² Then he said to the disciples, ⁿ “The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. ²³ There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, over there!’ or, ‘Look, over here!’ But don’t go out looking for it. ^{o 24}As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, ^pso will the Son of Man be in his day. ²⁵But first he must suffer much and be rejected by the people of this day. ²⁶ As it was in the time of Noah ^q so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ Everybody kept on eating and drinking, and men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat and the flood came and killed them all. ²⁸It will be as it was in the time of Lot. ^r Everybody kept on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ On the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and killed them all. ³⁰ That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
³¹ “On that day the man who is on the roof of his house ^s must not go down into the house to get his belongings; in the same way the man who is out in the field must not go back to the house. ^{t 32}Remember Lot’s wife! ^{u 33}Whoever tries to save his own life will lose it; whoever loses his life will save it. ^{v 34}On that night, I tell you, there will be two people sleeping in the same bed: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding meal together: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.” ^w³⁷ The disciples asked him, “Where, Lord?” Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.” ^x

Interesting Stuff:

m Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of God was unlike any kingdom that the Pharisees were familiar with. It is spiritual and internal rather than physical and external and therefore its coming could not be observed. ‘Within you’ could not be interpreted that the Kingdom was in the Pharisees because they did not believe in Jesus’ claims about who he was. In fact, the Kingdom was already among them, present in the person and ministry of Jesus and they could not recognise it.
n Then Jesus spoke to his disciples about the future of the Kingdom. The day when the Son of Man comes again would be very obvious. But first he had to suffer and be rejected.
o They were not to leave their work in order to chase after predictions about Jesus’ second coming.
p Jesus’ coming will be sudden, unexpected and public. Everyone would be able to see it.
q See Ge 6:9ff. Till the Son of Man comes, life would continue normally. The people of Noah’s time were so caught up, not so much with sinful activities, but with the ordinary activities of life, that they took no notice of Noah. The result was that they were overtaken in the destruction that they could have avoided.
r Jesus drew a similar warning from Lot’s experience (see Ge 19:1ff). In his day, the people too went on with the business of living and took no heed to his leaving Sodom.
s It was customary to relax on the flat roof of the house. When the final hour comes, however, the individual there should not be thinking of going into the house to retrieve his possessions.
t The sudden coming of the Son of Man leaves no time even for the quick gathering of possessions from one’s home. There is the urgency of deciding between eternal values and earthly concerns.
u See Ge 19:26. Lot’s wife was brought right out of the doomed city and set on the way to safety. But, reluctant to leave her old life, she looked back to Sodom, and was caught up in its destruction.
v This saying of Jesus is found in all four Gospels and in two of the Gospels, it is found more than once. No other sayings of Jesus is given such emphasis.
w Even those closely associated (in bed and at work) would be separated, one taken into fellowship with God, the other abandoned to judgment. No matter how close two people may be in life, they have no guarantee of the same eternal destiny.
x Just as the Pharisees had asked ‘When’ (v. 20), so now the disciples asked ‘Where’. This was despite the fact that Jesus had already explained earlier that the coming of the Son of Man would be seen everywhere and by everyone (vv. 22-24). So Jesus explained again to his disciples using this proverb that just as circling vultures would indicate the presence of a dead body, so his presence would be clearly evident when he comes again.

Questions:

How did Jesus answer the Pharisees’ question about when the Kingdom of God would come (vv. 20-21)?

2. What did Jesus teach his disciples concerning his coming again (vv. 22-35)?

Summary of Section:

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come.
Jesus answered that it would not come in such a way as to be seen. No one would be able to observe it because the Kingdom of God was not a physical kingdom but it was within them. Jesus then turned to the disciples and spoke about the coming of the Son of Man:
a. He told them not to go around looking when they hear rumours because when he comes, it would be as obvious as the lightning flashing across the sky.
b. However, he must suffer and be rejected by the people of his day first.
c. The day when Jesus comes again would be like in the days of Noah and Lot. The people were carrying out their normal daily activities when destruction came upon them.
d. That day would come so suddenly that there would not be time for a man to run home to gather his belongings whether he is up on the roof, or out in the field. For whoever tries to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life will save it, like in the case of Lot’s wife who looked back.
e. On that day, even those who are closely associated, either sleeping in the same bed, or working together grinding meal, would be separated, one would be taken away, and the other left behind.
When the disciples asked Jesus where it would happen, he replied by using a proverb that said that where there was a dead body, the vultures would gather.

Nuggets of Wisdom

Jesus’ answer to the question posed by the Pharisees showed that they had misunderstood the nature of God’s Kingdom and reign. They assumed that God’s reign would only come about in the future. Jesus declared to them that the Kingdom was already present and active in the person and ministry of himself if they would only open their eyes to see.
Jesus then turned to his disciples to teach about what it would be like when he comes again. He described the day of his return as sudden and unexpected, coming when people are in the midst of carrying out their normal daily activities. No one can mistake it when it comes, nor can they escape it. Moreover, it would be disastrous for those who are not prepared.
Thus his followers must maintain vigilance and be in a state of readiness. They were not to get caught up with their own concerns like the rest of the world. In the midst of carrying out the normal activities of life, they must remain faithful, building their lives on the values of the Kingdom of God. Then when Jesus returns, they will not be left behind.
In spite of what Jesus said, the disciples still ended up inquiring about the whereabouts of his coming. Thus he quoted a saying to them that just as the presence of a dead body is indicated by circling vultures, so will his presence at the end be clearly evident.