Luke · chapter 17 of 24
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Luke 17 gathers teachings on limitless forgiveness, faith like a mustard seed and humble service. Jesus heals ten lepers and only one, a Samaritan, returns to give thanks. He tells the Pharisees that the kingdom of God is among them, and warns his disciples what the day will be like when the Son of Man is revealed.
Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem and prepares his disciples for life in the kingdom and for his coming. Luke 17 moves from practical rules for the community (not causing stumbling, forgiving, serving) to a scene of unexpected gratitude and a teaching on how the kingdom will come, a theme that continues in the next chapter.
Jesus tells his disciples that stumbling blocks are bound to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. He tells them to rebuke a brother who sins and forgive him if he repents, even if he sins seven times a day. The apostles ask him to increase their faith, and Jesus says that if they had faith like a mustard seed they could tell a sycamine tree to be planted in the sea. He then teaches that a servant who has worked all day does not expect special thanks: when he has done what was commanded, he should say he is an unworthy servant who has only done his duty.
On the way to Jerusalem, passing between Samaria and Galilee, ten lepers cry out from a distance for him to have mercy on them. Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to the priests, and as they go they are cleansed. One of them, a Samaritan, turns back praising God with a loud voice, falls at Jesus' feet and thanks him. Jesus asks about the other nine and says only this foreigner returned to give glory to God. He tells him to rise and go his way, his faith has made him well.
The Pharisees ask when the kingdom of God is coming. Jesus answers that it does not come with observable signs, and that the kingdom of God is in their midst. He tells the disciples not to follow those who say he is here or there: like lightning that flashes from one end to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. First he must suffer much and be rejected. He compares his coming with the days of Noah and Lot, when life went on as usual until judgment came. He tells them to remember Lot's wife and not to cling to life; one will be taken and the other left. When they ask where, Jesus answers with an image: where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus teaches that if a brother sins we should rebuke him, and if he repents we should forgive him, even if it happens seven times a day. Christian forgiveness has no accounting limit.
If they had faith like a mustard seed, they could tell a sycamine tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea. What matters is not the size of faith but the one to whom it is directed.
One of the ten, seeing he is healed, returns praising God with a loud voice and falls at Jesus' feet. Luke emphasizes that he was a Samaritan: the grateful one is the one least expected.
Jesus says the kingdom of God does not come with observable signs and is already in their midst. The king himself is present, though many do not recognize him.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Even if he sins against you seven times in a day and seven times returns repenting, you must forgive him. — Luke 17:4
Answer: They asked him to increase their faith. — Luke 17:5
Answer: Go and show themselves to the priests. — Luke 17:14
Answer: One of the ten, who was a Samaritan. — Luke 17:15-16
Answer: That the kingdom of God does not come with observable signs and is in their midst. — Luke 17:20-21
Answer: To the days of Noah and the days of Lot. — Luke 17:26-29
Luke 17 reminds us that forgiveness is a decision made again and again. Jesus does not minimize the offense, but asks for a constant willingness to restore the one who repents. In a class you can talk about whom we need to forgive today and what concrete step we can take.
The ten lepers challenge us on gratitude: nine received the gift and went on their way. Ask yourself when you last came back to thank God for something specific. And the warning about his coming calls us to live with open eyes, not trapped by routines that make us forget what matters.
Luke 17 ends with a solemn warning about the day of the Son of Man. In Luke 18 Jesus teaches through two parables on prayer, the persistent widow and the Pharisee and the tax collector, and heals a blind man near Jericho.
The Greek phrase can be translated either way. Because Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, who did not believe in him, many prefer in your midst: the king is present among them. Others see an inner reality. In either case, the kingdom has already begun with his coming.
According to Genesis 19, she looked back as she fled Sodom. Jesus uses her as a warning not to cling to what we leave behind, because whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it. It is an invitation not to set our hearts on the things of this world.
It is a saying that expresses that the judgment will be visible and unavoidable: just as vultures find the carcass, the day of the Son of Man will be evident to all. Interpreters understand it in several ways, but the central idea is the certainty of judgment.