Luke 17

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service

1 Jesust said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woes to the one through whom they come!2 It would be better for him to have a millstonets tied around his neck and be thrown into the seat than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.t3 Watcht yourselves! Ift your brothert sins, rebuke him. Ift he repents, forgive him.

4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgives him.”
5 Thet apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”s

6 Sot the Lord replied,t “Ift you had faith the size oft a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberrys tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’t and it would obeyt you.
7 “Would any one of you sayt to your slavet who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’?t8 Won’tt the mastert instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself readyt to serve me whilet I eat and drink. Thent you may eat and drink’?9 He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told,t will he?t

10 So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise;t we have only done what was our duty.’”t

The Grateful Leper

11 Now ont the way to Jerusalem,ss Jesust was passing alongt between Samaria and Galilee.12 Ast he was enteringt a village, ten men with leprosys met him. Theyt stood at a distance,13 raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercys on us.”14 Whent he saw them he said, “Got and show yourselves to the priests.”s Andt as they went along, they were cleansed.15 Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praisingt God with a loud voice.16 Het fell with his face to the groundt at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.s (Nowt he was a Samaritan.)s17 Thent Jesus said,t “Weret not ten cleansed? Where are the othert nine?18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?”s

19 Thent he said to the man,t “Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well.”t

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Now at one pointt the Phariseess asked Jesust when the kingdom of Gods was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signst to be observed,

21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God ist in your midst.”t

The Coming of the Son of Man

22 Thent he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the dayss of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.23 Then peoplet will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’t or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.s24 For just like the lightning flashess and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.s25 But first he musts suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.26 Justt as it wast in the days of Noah,s so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man.27 Peoplet were eating,t they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage – right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Thent the flood came and destroyed them all.s28 Likewise, just as it wast in the days of Lot, peoplet were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.s30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof,s with his goods in the house, must not come downs to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back.32 Remember Lot’s wife!s33 Whoever tries to keepts his life will lose it, but whoever loses his lifes will preserve it.34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.s

35 There will be two women grinding grain together;t one will be taken and the other left.”ss

37 Thent the disciplest saidt to him, “Where,s Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead bodyt is, there the vulturests will gather.”t

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

4 Even if one of them mistreats 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 plowing 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  t Jesus looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”t
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 t When the Son of Man comes, things will be just as they were when Noah lived.

27 t 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.
28  t When Lott lived, people were also eating and drinking. They were buying, selling, planting, and building. 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  t 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.

32 t Remember what happened to Lot's wife.t
33  t People who try to save their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives will save them. 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