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Luke 17

Luke places forgiveness, faith, humble service, and gratitude alongside Jesus’ warnings about the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Jesus teaches his disciples about causing others to stumble, forgiving repeated offenses, and serving without claiming special credit. On his way to Jerusalem, along the borders of Samaria and Galilee, he heals ten men with leprosy; one Samaritan returns to thank him. The Pharisees then ask when God’s Kingdom will come. Jesus answers them before warning his disciples about his coming suffering and the sudden judgment that will accompany the Son of Man’s revelation.

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1He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!
2It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
4If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
8Wouldn’t he rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’?
10Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
11As he was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.
12As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.
13They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.
15One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.
16He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.
17Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
18Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
19Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”
20Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation;
21neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”
22He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
23They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away or follow after them,
24for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky, shines to another part under the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
25But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26As it was in the days of Noah, even so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man.
28Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky and destroyed them all.
30It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
31In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.
32Remember Lot’s wife!
33Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.
34I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left.
35There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left.”
37They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Luke 17:6Jesus answers the apostles’ request for increased faith with a tiny seed and an image of what seems impossible.
Luke 17:3Jesus joins a warning to watch oneself with commands to confront a brother’s sin and forgive when he repents.
Luke 17:26The comparison with Noah introduces Jesus’ warning that ordinary life will continue until the sudden arrival of judgment.
Where this chapter reaches

Matthew shares the mustard-seed image of faith and the comparison between Noah’s days and the Son of Man’s coming; Mark also connects faith with seemingly impossible commands. Genesis supplies the accounts of Noah, Lot, and Lot’s wife that Jesus uses to describe sudden judgment.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out to you about Jesus’ response to the Samaritan who returned to thank him?

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How does the warning about Noah and Lot change the way you read the chapter’s earlier commands?

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Questions people ask about Luke 17

What does “God’s Kingdom is within you” mean in Luke 17:21?

The wording can be understood as within you or among you. Since Jesus is addressing Pharisees, many interpreters understand him to mean that God’s reign is present among them through his own presence and work. The context contrasts their search for observable signs with the Kingdom already present in their midst.

What does faith like a mustard seed mean in Luke 17?

The apostles ask for more faith after Jesus commands repeated forgiveness. Jesus responds with a tiny mustard seed and the startling image of a tree obeying a command to move into the sea. His answer presents even small faith as sufficient for what seems impossible; it offers no technique for controlling God.

Who is taken and who is left in Luke 17?

Jesus describes people together in ordinary activities being separated when the Son of Man is revealed. The passage does not name the destination of those taken. Interpreters differ over whether being taken means rescue or judgment. The comparisons with Noah and Lot, followed by the vultures image, place the warning within judgment.

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Luke · 24 chapters
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What the Bible says about forgiveness →What the Bible says about gratitude →What the Bible says about fear →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).