Luke 17 Study Notes

17:1-2 Offenses (Gk skandalon, “that which causes sin”) are unavoidable in life. However, divine judgment awaits the person who causes a disciple of Christ (one of these little ones) to sin. A millstone was a large round stone used to grind grain. A large stone around the neck would cause a person thrown into the sea to sink and drown.

17:3-4 The purpose of rebuking a sinner is to get him to repent of his sin. If there is true repentance, there should be full forgiveness. Seven is the biblical number of completeness. To forgive “seven times” means to keep forgiving, no matter what (see Mt 18:21-22).

17:5-6 Genuine faith is powerful even in small quantities. The mustard seed was thought by farmers in Palestine to be the smallest of seeds. A mulberry tree has such an extensive and deep root system that it might live for several hundred years. It took a very powerful force to uproot such a tree.

17:7-10 A servant who only did his job, or what was commanded, got no special commendation since all he had done was to fulfill his responsibilities. Similarly, a disciple of Christ (v. 1) should not expect special commendation for doing what is required. We serve the Lord because this is what it means to follow him as disciples. It is our duty.

17:11 Jesus apparently walked along the border between Samaria and Galilee, then crossed the Jordan River at the nearest point, proceeding down the eastern bank of the Jordan toward the crossing point opposite Jericho (see note at 19:1-2), which is the next location mentioned in the narrative (18:35).

17:12-14 On show yourselves to the priests after being healed from leprosy, see note at 5:12-14.

17:15-19 It is striking that the only one of the ten men healed who returned and thanked Jesus was a Samaritan . . . a foreigner. This is in keeping with Luke’s theme of the universal outreach of the gospel. Jesus’s statement your faith has saved you implies that the Samaritan was healed physically and spiritually.

17:20-21 The Jews were looking for a kingdom of God that would come with signs in the sky and miracles (Jl 2:28-32), but that was yet in the future. The aspect of God’s kingdom that Jesus emphasized in his ministry was not observable in that sense. The presence of the King (Jesus) and his offer of the kingdom through the gospel meant that the kingdom was already “in their midst.”

17:22-24 Jesus’s disciples must not be led astray by false predictions of his coming. Instead, when he comes, it will be as obvious as the lightning flashing across the sky.

17:25 This is one of numerous predictions Jesus made about his suffering and rejection in Luke’s Gospel (5:35; 9:22,43-44; 13:32-33; 18:32; 24:7).

17:26-29 Before Christ comes back, there will be no clear-cut warning signs that signal the end. Rather, it will be like (1) the days of Noah, when business as usual was carried on until the unexpected destruction of the flood, and (2) the days of Lot, when the status quo continued until, suddenly, fire and sulfur rained down on Sodom.

17:30-33 When Jesus returns, those on earth must not be attached to their possessions and earthly comforts, as was Lot’s wife (see Gn 19:26). Commitment to Christ involves attachment only to spiritual and eternal realities. These provide the greatest security available.

17:34-36 The three aspects of life mentioned here cover the normal routine in an agricultural society: sleeping, grinding grain, and working in a field. It is not certain whether the one who is taken will be a believer taken by the Lord (see 1Th 4:15-17) or an unbeliever taken in judgment (Mt 13:40-42).

17:37 Jesus answered the disciples’ question about where his coming would take place with a proverbial saying. It is easy to find a corpse by noting where the vultures are circling. Similarly, there will be no hiding Christ’s second coming. It will be obvious to the entire world.