Luke 17

Causing Others to Lose Faith—Matthew 18:6–10; Mark 9:42–50

1 Jesus told his disciples, “Situations that cause people to lose their faith are certain to arise. But how horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith!2 It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith.

3 So watch yourselves!
“If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him.

4 Even if he wrongs you seven times in one day and comes back to you seven times and says that he is sorry, forgive him.”

The Apostles Ask For More Faith

5 Then the apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.”6 The Lord said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.7 “Suppose someone has a servant who is plowing fields or watching sheep. Does he tell his servant when he comes from the field, ‘Have something to eat’?8 No. Instead, he tells his servant, ‘Get dinner ready for me! After you serve me my dinner, you can eat yours.’9 He doesn’t thank the servant for following orders.

10 That’s the way it is with you. When you’ve done everything you’re ordered to do, say, ‘We’re worthless servants. We’ve only done our duty.’ ”

Ten Men With a Skin Disease Are Healed

11 Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee on his way to Jerusalem.12 As he went into a village, ten men with a skin disease met him. They stood at a distance

13 and shouted, “Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us!”
14 When he saw them, he told them, “Show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were made clean.t15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he turned back and praised God in a loud voice.

16 He quickly bowed at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (The man was a Samaritan.)
17 Jesus asked, “Weren’t ten men made clean? Where are the other nine?

18 Only this foreigner came back to praise God.”
19 Jesus told the man, “Get up, and go home! Your faith has made you well.”

The Pharisees Ask About the Kingdom of God

20 The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come.He answered them, “People can’t observe the coming of the kingdom of God.

21 They can’t say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ You see, the kingdom of God is withint you.”

Jesus Teaches About the Time When He Will Come Again

22 Jesus said to his disciples, “The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.23 People will say, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Don’t run after those people.24 The day of the Son of Mant will be like lightning that flashes from one end of the sky to the other.

25 But first he must suffer a lot and be rejected by the people of his day.
26 “When the Son of Man comes again, the situation will be like the time of Noah.

27 People were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. Then the flood destroyed all of them.
28 “The situation will also be like the time of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.29 But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from the sky and destroyed all of them.

30 The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that.
31 “On that day those who are on the roof shouldn’t come down to get their belongings out of their houses. Those who are in the field shouldn’t turn back.32 Remember Lot’s wife!

33 Those who try to save their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives will save them.
34 “I can guarantee that on that night if two people are in one bed, one will be taken and the other one will be left.

35 Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other one will be left.”t
37 They asked him, “Where, Lord?”Jesus told them, “Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.”

Luke 17

Faith and service

(Matthew 18.6,7,21,22; Mark 9.42)

1 Jesus said to his disciples:
There will always be something that causes people to sin. But anyone who causes them to sin is in for trouble. A person who causes even one of my little followers to sin 2 would be better off thrown into the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their neck.

3 So be careful what you do.
Correct any followerst of mine who sin, and forgive the ones who say they are sorry.t

4 Even if one of them ill-treats you seven times in one day and says, “I am sorry,” you should still forgive that person.

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith stronger!”

6 Jesus replied:
If you had faith no bigger than a tiny mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree to pull itself up, roots and all, and to plant itself in the ocean. And it would!
7 If your servant comes in from ploughing or from taking care of the sheep, would you say, “Welcome! Come on in and have something to eat”? 8 No, you wouldn't say that. You would say, “Prepare me something to eat. Get ready to serve me, so I can have my meal. Then later on you can eat and drink.” 9 Servants don't deserve special thanks for doing what they are supposed to do.

10 And that's how it should be with you. When you've done all you should, then say, “We are merely servants, and we have simply done our duty.”

Ten men with leprosy

13 and shouted, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

14 Jesus looked at them and said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”tt
On their way they were healed. 15 When one of them discovered that he was healed, he came back, shouting praises to God.

16 He bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was from the country of Samaria.
17 Jesus asked, “Weren't ten men healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God?”

19 Then Jesus told the man, “You may get up and go. Your faith has made you well.”

God's kingdom

(Matthew 24.23-28,37-41)

21 There is no use saying, ‘Look! Here it is’ or ‘Look! There it is.’ God's kingdom is here with you.”t

22 Jesus said to his disciples:
The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not. 23 When people say to you, “Look there,” or “Look here,” don't go looking for him. 24 The day of the Son of Man will be like lightning flashing across the sky. 25 But first he must suffer terribly and be rejected by the people of today. 26 When the Son of Man comes, things will be just as they were when Noah lived.t

27 People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day when Noah went into the big boat. Then the flood came and drowned everyone on earth.t
28 When Lott lived, people were also eating and drinking. They were buying, selling, planting, and building.t 29 But on the very day Lot left Sodom, fiery flames poured down from the sky and killed everyone.

30 The same will happen on the day when the Son of Man appears.
31 At that time no one on a rooftopt should go down into the house to get anything. No one in a field should go back to the house for anything.t

32 Remember what happened to Lot's wife.tt
33 People who try to save their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives will save them.t 34 On that night two people will be sleeping in the same bed, but only one will be taken. The other will be left.

35-36 Two women will be together grinding wheat, but only one will be taken. The other will be left.t

37 Then Jesus' disciples spoke up, “But where will this happen, Lord?”
Jesus said, “Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.”t