Luke 17
The Message
A Kernel of Faith
17 1-2 He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a concrete vest and take a swim with the fishes than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!
3-4 “Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
6 But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”
11-13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”
When the Son of Man Arrives
20-21 Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.”
22-24 He went on to say to his disciples, “The days are coming when you are going to be desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man, and you won’t see a thing. And they’ll say to you, ‘Look over there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.
24-25 “You know how the whole sky lights up from a single flash of lightning? That’s how it will be on the Day of the Son of Man. But first it’s necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.
26-27 “The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah—everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.
28-30 “It was the same in the time of Lot—the people carrying on, having a good time, business as usual right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. That’s how it will be—sudden, total—when the Son of Man is revealed.
31-33 “When the Day arrives and you’re out working in the yard, don’t run into the house to get anything. And if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.
34-35 “On that Day, two men will be in the same boat fishing—one taken, the other left. Two women will be working in the same kitchen—one taken, the other left.”
37 Trying to take all this in, the disciples said, “Master, where?”
He told them, “Watch for the circling of the vultures. They’ll spot the corpse first. The action will begin around my dead body.”
Luke 17
New Life Version
Jesus Teaches about Forgiving
17 Jesus said to His followers, “For sure, things will come that will make people sin. But it is bad for the person who makes someone else sin. 2 It would be better for him to have a large rock put around his neck and be thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.
3 “Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, speak sharp words to him. If he is sorry and turns from his sin, forgive him. 4 What if he sins against you seven times in one day? If he comes to you and says he is sorry and turns from his sin, forgive him.”
5 The followers said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.” 6 The Lord said, “If your faith was as a mustard seed, you could say to this tree, ‘Be pulled out of the ground and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
Jesus Teaches about Being Faithful
7 “What if you owned a servant who was working in the field or taking care of sheep? Would you say to him when he came in from his work, ‘Come and sit down to eat?’ 8 No, instead you would say, ‘Get my supper ready. Dress yourself and care for me until I am through eating and drinking. Then you can eat and drink.’ 9 Does the servant get thanks for doing what he was told to do? I am sure he does not. 10 It is the same with you also. When you do everything you have been told to do, you must say, ‘We are not any special servants. We have done only what we should have done.’”
Jesus Heals Ten Men with a Bad Skin Disease
11 Jesus went on His way to Jerusalem. He was passing between the countries of Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He was going into one of the towns, ten men with a bad skin disease came to Him. They stood a little way off. 13 They called to Him, “Jesus! Teacher! Take pity on us!” 14 When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go and show yourselves to the religious leaders.” As they went, they were healed. 15 One of them turned back when he saw he was healed. He thanked God with a loud voice. 16 He got down on his face at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. He was from the country of Samaria. 17 Jesus asked, “Were there not ten men who were healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Is this stranger from another country the only one who turned back to give thanks to God?” 19 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go on your way. Your trust in God has healed you.”
Jesus Teaches about the Holy Nation of God
20 The proud religious law-keepers asked when the holy nation of God would come. Jesus said to them, “The holy nation of God is not coming in such a way that can be seen with the eyes. 21 It will not be said, ‘See, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For the holy nation of God is in you.”
Jesus Tells of His Second Coming
22 Jesus said to His followers, “The time will come when you will wish you could see the Son of Man for one day. But you will not be able to. 23 They will say to you, ‘He is here,’ or, ‘He is there,’ but do not follow them. 24 When the Son of Man comes, He will be as lightning that shines from one part of the sky to the other. 25 But before that, He must suffer many hard things. The people of this day will have nothing to do with Him.
26 “As it was in the time of Noah, so will it be when the Son of Man comes back. 27 People ate and drank. They married and were given in marriage. They did these things until the day Noah went into the large boat. Then the flood came and killed all the people on earth. 28 It was the same in the time of Lot. People ate and drank. They bought and sold. They planted and built. 29 But the day Lot left the city of Sodom, fire and sulphur came down from heaven like rain. It killed all the people of Sodom.
30 “It will be the same on the day when the Son of Man comes again. 31 In that day the man who is on top of a house should not come down to take his things out of the house. In the same way, the man who is in the field should not go back to his house. 32 Remember Lot’s wife!
33 “He who wants to keep his life will have it taken away from him. He who loses his life will have it given back to him. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two men in the same bed. One of them will be taken. The other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together. One of them will be taken. The other will be left. 36 *Two men will be working in a field. One will be taken. The other will be left.”
37 Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this happen?” He said to them, “Birds also gather where there is a dead body.”
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.