seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Luke 17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 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 to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 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.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
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 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.’”
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
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.”
20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, 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,’ 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, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day[d] will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, 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. 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. 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. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 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.” [36] [e]
37 “Where, Lord?” they asked.
He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
Footnotes:
a. Luke 17:3 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman.
b. Luke 17:12 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
c. Luke 17:21 Or is within you
d. Luke 17:24 Some manuscripts do not have in his day.
e. Luke 17:36 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Matt. 24:40.
This morning I read the easy English commentary and the Blueletterbible.org commentary again.
Jesus said "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.”
That's when the disciples said "give us faith"...... How many times have you heard a Christian exclaim "Lord, give me strength" with a heavy sigh. That's an example of a millstone. Claiming the word isn't the problem. Quoting the proper scripture or worse, a scripture taken out of context, like this one is wrong and someone on the outside looking for Salvation can be led off on the wrong path. As a matter of fact... When I read this I was thinking those disciples were rejecting what Jesus was telling them. Forgiveness.... over and over and over and over and over and over and over again is redundant...... and I think those disciples were expressing their distaste with that notion.... "Give me a break" is what they would have said in today's lingo.... IMHO.
Jesus told the disciples that it was their duty to forgive people.... over and over etc...... [from the commentary]....
We are unprofitable servants: The kind of attitude Jesus is speaking about is not a false humility, the kind of attitude that says "I'm no good at anything"; it is not an admission that we do nothing good or pleasing to God.
We have done what was our duty to do: This is realizing that we are forever in God's debt; an understanding that our work for Him is never done.
I like the way the commentary described what happened with the Samaritan. There were 10 men suffering from leprosy.... staying a safe distance from Jesus..... they called out to Him. Nine of them were descendants of Jacob [Israel] and one was a Samaritan [foreigner... alien]. Jesus told them all to go to the priests.... but the Samaritan was not supposed to go to the priest..... He wasn't welcome in the Temple. He was a Samaritan.... so instead of going to the priest in the Temple.... He went back to Jesus and thanked Him.
The last story... the "put up or shut up" story really got to me this morning. To me it's almost as if they were saying.... "look if you are the king... then when are you going to do something.... instead of being out here healing the sick and stuff.... why not take over and throw the Romans out or "clean up" the church like you're always saying you will do? Either you are the Messiah or you are not."
I am so happy Jesus had a handle on His anger. Human anger can be explosive... and when combined with the power of God.... well those Pharisees could have been toast in an instant if Jesus let His anger get loose. Instead.... Jesus told them that the Kingdom is already here. But it went right over their heads.
As Christians.... I believe.... we are supposed to be forgiving. It's hard in these days of disease and anger. Jesus lived in times of disease and anger too. Jesus said we are supposed to forgive them.... if they repent.....
It's their job to repent and the disciples have the duty to forgive. They should "put up or shut up" repent or don't but one day.... like the people outside the boat in Noah's day..... and Lot's wife in the days of Sodom..... it might be too late......
"Lord, give me strength"..... won't get me out of this one.
