Introductory remarks:
This chapter is a continuation of chapter sixteen; Christ now turns His attention to His disciples warning them not to get puffed up and hate the Pharisees. He tells them that it was good for them to hate Pharisaism without hating the actual Pharisee. This chapter may be outlined as follows: Some sayings of Jesus vv. 1-10; the cleansing of ten lepers vv. 11-19; the coming of the kingdom vv. 20-37.
Some Sayings of Jesus
(Matt:18:6-7, 21-22; Mark 9:42)
Verse 1, "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!"
LGT "And He said to His disciples, It is impossible but that occasion for stumbling should come. But ooiee [to him] by whom they come."
This chapter begins with Christ admonishing the disciples not to be the ones to give offense, literally, to cause a child to stumble. Christ says that it is impossible that offences should not come, but that they should not be the ones by which these offences come.
Verse 2, "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
LGT "It is profitable for him if a millstone is hanged about his neck, and he is hurled into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble."
The disciples had the wrong attitude concerning these little ones, as we learned from Matthew and Mark's account, where Jesus set a little child on His lap and spoke these same words. Christ is warning the disciples that they would be better off dead than to cause a little child to stumble. We must always look out for the welfare of the little children, for they are so dependent and fragile.
Verse 3, "Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."
LGT "Take heed to yourselves: if your brother should sin against you, rebuke him; and if he should repent, forgive him."
The disciples not only had the wrong attitude against the little children, they were looking down upon each other; so Christ exhorts them that if their brother might offend them, bring it to their attention; and if they repent, that is, change their mind regarding their sin, they must be forgiven.
Verse 4, "And if he trespass against thee seven times a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."
LGT "And if seven times in the day he should sin against you, and seven times return to you, saying, I repent, you should forgive him."
Most of us have little patience with someone who has offended us once in the day, let alone seven times; it is my nature to question the persons motives when they say their sorry, especially my wife. It just simply goes against the flesh to forgive. We are so egotistical that we think that we should never be offended. Christ certainly puts a new understanding, to the disciples, that is, on forgiveness here; He says we should forgive our brother no matter how many times he offends, if he repents. God forgives us no matter how many times we confess our sins, but we are unwilling to forgive others.
Verse 5, "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."
LGT "And the apostles said to the Lord, Give more faith to us."
"Bruce thinks that this sounds much like the stereotyped petition in church prayers. A little reflection will show they should answer the prayer themselves" (Robertson).
Verse 6, "And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
LGT "But the Lord said, If you had faith, as a grain of mustard, you might say to [this] sycamine tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea: and it would obey you."
"Luke distinguishes between this and sukomorea, the fig mulberry (chp 19:4). The names were sometimes confused, but a physician would readily make the distinction, as both were used medicinally" (Vincent). I believe the lesson our Lord is teaching his disciples is that what seems impossible to nature, is not impossible with God.
Verses 7, 8, "But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? Will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? "
LGT "But which of you, having a servant plowing or shepherding, who coming out of the field, will say to him, Immediately come recline at table? But will he not say to him, Prepare what I may sup on, and girding yourself serve me, while I eat and drink, and after these things, you shall eat and drink?"
The servant will naturally do his service to his master as usual. He does not expect anything else.
Pentecost notes;
"Christ now addressed a word to the disciples regarding the obligation resting on the servants of God. They were to imagine that one of them had sent a servant to plow the field or tend the flock. The servant had spent a day doing the masters will. When the servant returned from his day of service, the master did not serve the servant as a reward for the service. Rather, the master commanded the servant to prepare dinner and wait on him while he ate. After the master was satisfied, the servant ate. The servant was subject to the master's will, and the servant gave proof of being a good and faithful servant by doing what the master commanded. No limits were placed on the service of the servant."
Verse 9, "Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not."
LGT "Is he thankful to the servant because he did the things commanded?"
The phrase I trow not or I judge not is omitted in the best manuscripts. This question begins with the negative me expecting a negative answer, no!
Verse 10, "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."
LGT "Thus also you, when you may have done all things commanded you, say, Unprofitable servants are we, that which we were bound to do, we have done."
Christ is telling His disciples by this parable that they should respond with We are unworthy servants, we have only done what was expected of us. By unprofitable is meant they have done no more than what was demanded of them for their service.
The Cleansing of the Leper
Verse 11, "And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee."
LGT "And it came to pass in His going up to Jerusalem, that He passed through [the] midst of Samaria and Galilee."
"Jesus was going from Ephraim (John 11:54) north through the midst of Samaria and Galilee so as to cross over the Jordan near Bethshean and join the Galilean caravan down through Perea to Jerusalem. The Samaritans did not object to people going north away from Jerusalem, but did not like them to see them going south towards the city (Luke 9:52-56)" (Robertson).
Verse 12, "And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:"
LGT "And on His entering into a certain village, ten leprous men met [Him], who stood afar off."
"We have here an account of the cure of ten lepers, which we had not in any other of the evangelists. The leprosy was a disease which the Jews supposed to be inflicted for the punishment of some particular sin, and to be, more than any other diseases, a mark of God's displeasure; and therefore Christ, who came to take away sin, and turn away wrath, took particular care to cleanse the lepers that fell in His way. Christ was now in His way to Jerusalem, about the mid-way, where He had little acquaintance in comparison with what He had either at Jerusalem or in Galilee. He was now in the frontier-country, the marches that lay between Samaria and Galilee. He went that road to find out these lepers, and to cure them; for He is fond of them that sought him not" (Matthew Henry).
Verse 13, "And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."
LGT "And they lifted up [their] voices, saying, Jesus. Master, have compassion on us."
Pentecost notes that these ten men did not recognize the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, for they addressed Him as Jesus and Master.
Verse 14, "And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed."
LGT "And seeing [them] He said to them, Having gone show yourselves to the priests. And it came in their going they were cleansed."
They were to show themselves to the priests, probably of their respective districts, that they had been healed, not to be healed. On the way to the priests, they were healed, for they had to have complete confidence that Christ would heal them or they never would have gone.
Barnes notes:
"By this command he gave them an implied assurance that they would be healed; for the design for which they were to go to exhibit the evidence that they were restored, and to obtain permission from the priests to mingle again in society. It may also be observed that this required no small measure of faith on their part, for He did not first heal them, and then tell them to go; He told them to go without expressly assuring them that they would be healed, and without, as yet, any evidence to show to the priest. So sinners, defiled with the leprosy of sin, should put faith in the Lord Jesus and obey His commands, with the fullest confidence that He is able to heal them, and that He will do it if they follow His directions (which we know that these directions are confessing to the Father our sins - 1 John 1:9); and that in due time they shall have the fullest evidence that their peace is made with God (that is, fellowship with God has been restored), and that their souls shall by him be declared free from the defilement of sin."
Verses 15, 16, "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."
LGT "And one of them, seeing he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying God, and fell on [his] face at His feet, giving thanks to Him: and he was a Samaritan."
What a touching scene; this should make every believer reading this account praise God. The one man who turned back to take the time and praise God with a loud voice, and fall at Jesus' feet, was none other than a despised Samaritan. (McGee noted, "The Pharisees winced at this one.")
Edersheim wrote:
"Bearing in mind what constant succession of miraculous cures - without a single failure - had been witnessed these years, it cannot seem strange that lepers should apply to Jesus. Nor yet perhaps did it, in the circumstances, involve very much greater faith to go to the priests at His bidding - implying, of course, that they were or would be healed. But it was far different to turn back and to fall down at His feet in lowly worship and thanksgiving. That made a man a disciple."
Verse 17, "And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?"
LGT "And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? But where [are] the nine?"
This question of Jesus was brought about by the returning of only one of the men to thank Him; it is implied that God does expect gratitude from those whom He helps. Many of us don't even take the time to thank Him at our meals; we just assume our food will be there. Every morning we get out of bed is a miracle of God's grace, for none of us are self-sustaining.
Verse 18, 'There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."
LGT "Were there not found [any] returning to give glory to God except this stranger?"
The term stranger could mean that this Samaritan who returned to praise God was either a Gentile, or one from a distant tribe.
Verse 19, "And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole."
LGT "And He said to him, Having arisen, go forth; your faith has cured you."
Jesus makes it very plain to this Samaritan that it was his faith in His person that healed him. "Christ wanted the disciples who accompanied Him to realize that they were indebted to the One who had bestowed blessings on them and to respond by giving thanks and adoration as the Samaritan had done. The incident also seems designed to contrast the attitude of Israel toward the blessings that Messiah had come to bestow on them the attitude that should have characterized them, as exemplified by the Samaritan" (Pentecost).
The Coming of the Kingdom
(Matt. 24:23-28, 37-41)
Verse 20, "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation."
LGT "And having been asked by the Pharisees, when is the coming of the kingdom of God, He answered them and said, Comes not the kingdom of God with observation;"
Christ tells the Pharisees that the kingdom of God cannot be defined by watching for signs of its coming. "Christ did not deny that, according to their views, the time was drawing near; but He denied that His kingdom would come in the manner in which they expected. The Messiah would not come with pomp like an earthly prince; perhaps not in such a manner as to be discerned by the eyes of sagacious [clever] and artful men, who were expecting Him in a way agreeable to their own feelings" (Barnes).
Verse 21, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
LGT "Nor shall they say, Lo here, or there; for lo, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."
This difficult verse has caused much confusion for those who wish to interpret this verse that Christ is teaching the kingdom of God is strictly spiritual, that is, within each one of them. Mayer says that the whole concept of the kingdom of God being within men, rather than men being within the kingdom, is a modern concept. The controversy stems from the use of the little preposition entos or en. Most conservative Greek scholars that I read agree that the context demands the use of in the midst, that is, that Christ is right there among them. There is a sense that to believers the kingdom of God is in their hearts through the abiding relationship of the Lord Jesus, however, to these Pharisees, it is most appropriate to use the term among you, or here I am in your midst.
Verse 22, "And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it."
LGT "And He said to the disciples, days will come, when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and shall not see [it]."
Christ now turns His attention towards His disciples away from the Pharisees. One of the days of the Son of Man refers to the Great Tribulation period, just before the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ, when men will long for the kingdom. All that the prophets had predicted, and there He was in their midst, but they would not at that time see the kingdom set up.
Verse 23, "And they shall say to you, See here, or see there: go not after them, nor follow them."
LGT "And they will say to you, Lo here, [or] lo there: go not forth nor follow."
Josephus says that there were many false Christ's at that time. He came in His first advent but was not recognized as the Messiah. "The first time He came, they failed to recognize Him because they were looking for a conquering Messiah to come and deliver them from Rome. Instead He came as a baby and lived as a peasant. The next time He comes it will not be in an isolated place like Bethlehem, but He will come in glory. Therefore He warns them not to pay any attention to those who say He is here or there - or who say He is coming at a certain time. This is one reason you cannot set the date of the coming of Christ" (McGee).
Verse 24, "For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day."
LGT "For just as the lightning lightens from the [one end] under the heaven to the [other end] under heaven shines, thus will be the Son of Man [in His day]."
This verse should be compared to Matthew 24; the Son of Man's coming to set up His kingdom will be an earth-shaking event, displayed as lightning is broadcast in the heavens. "The second coming will be sudden and universally visible. There are still some poor souls who are waiting in Jerusalem under the delusion that Jesus will come there and nowhere else" (Robertson). A great commentator said No man will foresee it, but all men will see it (Barclay).
Verse 25, "But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation."
LGT "But first it is necessary for Him to suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation."
The second coming can only come after the cross, for this is the purpose of His first advent. God's program has been outlined in the Word of God very clearly; He was to go to the cross and rescue you and me, and then He will come back the second time to set up His Davidic Kingdom.
Verse 26, "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man."
LGT "And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, thus shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man."
Jesus says that the attitude of the people at His coming will be the same as the people reacted to Noah's preaching.
Verse 27, "They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all."
LGT "They were eating, they were drinking, they were given in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed all."
They were living normal lives except for one great detail; they were preoccupied with these things, that is, they took no thought of God. They ignored all that Noah had warned them about, and they shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Verse 28, "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;"
LGT "In the same manner just as it came to pass in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building:"
The same comparison here is presented with the emphasis on every day occurrences; their sins aren't even mentioned, because the Lord is emphasizing their unpreparedness for the coming judgment. They certainly were not ready for His second coming.
Verse 29, "But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all."
LGT "But on the day Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all."
God sent fire and sulfur from heaven to destroy sinful Sodom; the use of the term the same day suggests the fact that they were not ready for this judgment, because they did not believe in God.
McGee wrote:
"This is a tremendous thing our Lord says at this juncture. Lot is altogether different from Noah; yet there are similarities. None in Sodom were panicking, selling out their property and getting out of town. The stock market did not collapse because Lot said that judgment was coming. They simply didn't believe it.
God would not destroy the city until Lot had been taken out of it. Neither will He bring the Great Tribulation upon this earth (which immediately precedes the coming of Christ to the earth) until He takes His own out of the world. It is interesting that He uses Lot as an example here, which He does not do in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. The reason is that in Matthew He is answering their question about His coming to earth to establish His kingdom. Here in Luke it is a wider subject. Sodom, because of her sin, stood on the brink of destruction, and the moment Lot left town, judgment fell. I believe that the minute believers leave this earth in the Rapture, the Great Tribulation will begin."
Verse 30, "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."
LGT "In this way shall it be in the day the Son of Man is revealed."
Just as in the old world during Noah's preaching, and in the preaching of Lot, the people were living life without heading the warnings from God, and then sudden destruction will fall upon Israel, and the rest of the unbelieving world.
Verse 31, "In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back."
LGT "In that day, the one shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not come down to take them away, and the one in the field likewise let him not return to the things behind."
Judgment will be swift; the one on the housetop should flee, and not worry about his goods; the same as the man working in the field, he should not return for his top clothes.
Verse 32, "Remember lot's wife."
LGT "Remember the wife of Lot."
"She is an example of one who did not believe God. She had daughters and friends in Sodom. Probably they were having a bridge party that afternoon. She kept saying, 'Let's go back.' Why did she look back? She didn't believe God would (or could) destroy that city. Therefore we are to remember Lot's wife. To believe God is the important thing for us" (McGee).
Verse 33, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."
LGT "Whoever may seek to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever may lose [it], shall preserve alive."
Luke repeats what Christ said at Caesarea Philippi concerning discipleship; He is making a spiritual application of losing ones life for His sake. (See my notes on Matthew 10:39) Only those who are identified with Christ will be saved from judgment in that day.
Verse 34, "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other left."
LGT "I say to you, On that night there shall be two [people] upon one bed, the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left."
This verse begins with on that night, that is, on that Day of Judgment. The one taken will be the one taken in judgment.
Verse 35, "Two women shall be grinding together, the one shall be taken, and the other left."
LGT "Two [women] shall be grinding together, the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left."
Likewise in this verse the one taken will be the one taken in judgment. McGee notes that on one side of the earth people will be sleeping, and on the other side people will be working; this shows that the judgment will reach the four corners of the earth.
Verse 36, (this verse is not in the best manuscripts) It seems as though the translators copied it from Matthew's account.
Verse 37, "And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together."
LGT "And answering they say to Him, Where, Lord? And He said to them, Where the carcass [is], there also will the eagles be gathered together."
"The Pharisees questioned Christ as to where this judgment would take place. His enigmatic [mysterious] reply was Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather. This judgment would come first on the nation Israel. Christ viewed Israel nationally as a lifeless corpse. He was saying that judgment would fall on Israel. Historically, this judgment began in A.D. 70 when Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem. The nation would continue under discipline until the final judgment at the second advent of Christ" (Pentecost). This is a very important note because of how often these Scriptures in Luke and in Matthew 24 have been taken out of context and made to refer to the rapture of the Church. The whole context then is the final war of Armageddon where all the nations of the earth will be destroyed. The next chapter begins with Christ telling more parables.
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