Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble^(A) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.^{(B) 2} It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones^(C) to stumble.^{(D) 3} So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister^[a] sins against you, rebuke them;^(E) and if they repent, forgive them.^{(F) 4} Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”^(G)

⁵ The apostles^(H) said to the Lord,^(I) “Increase our faith!”

⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,^(J) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.^(K)

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me^(L) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”^(M)

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem,^(N) Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.^{(O) 12} As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[b](P) met him. They stood at a distance^{(Q) 13} and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,^(R) have pity on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”^(S) And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God^(T) in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.^(U)

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”^(V)

The Coming of the Kingdom of God^(W)

²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,^(X) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’^(Y) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[c]

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,^(Z) but you will not see it.^{(AA) 23} People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.^{(AB) 24} For the Son of Man in his day^[d] will be like the lightning,^(AC) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things^(AD) and be rejected^(AE) by this generation.^(AF)

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah,^(AG) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot.^(AH) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.^{(AI) 31} On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.^{(AJ) 32} Remember Lot’s wife!^{(AK) 33} Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.^{(AL) 34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”^{(AM) [36] [e]}

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”^(AN)