1Jesus said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
2It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
7Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?
8Instead, won’t he tell him, ‘Prepare my meal and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you may eat and drink’?
9Does he thank the servant because he did what he was told?
10So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
11While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
12As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance
13and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.
15When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice.
16He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.
17“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine?
18Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?”
19Then Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well!”
20When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.
21Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
22Then He said to the 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.
23People will tell you, ‘Look, there He is!’ or ‘Look, here He is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.
24For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.
25But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
27People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
31On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
32Remember Lot’s wife!
33Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
34I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: one will be taken and the other left.
35Two women will be grinding grain together: one will be taken and the other left.”
36(This translation does not include this verse.)
37“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
Luke 17 Verse Notes
Luke 17:3-4
Conditional vs. unconditional forgiveness in Jesus's teachings
Many people believe Jesus taught unconditional forgiveness, meaning one should forgive without requiring repentance. However, Jesus's teachings, as found in the Gospels, indicate that forgiveness is conditional upon the wrongdoer realizing their mistake, repenting, and apologizing.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · How to Weaponize the Bible · watch the clip
Luke 17:3
Forgiveness Requires Repentance and Request
Jesus' teaching on forgiveness is conditional, not unconditional. He taught that God forgives sins for those who repent and request forgiveness. This means that while no payment or penalty is attached, a change of heart and an appeal for forgiveness are necessary.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Did Jesus Have to Suffer? Trying to Make Sense of a Troubling View · watch the clip
Luke 17:11
Inaccurate travel route from Galilee to Jerusalem
Luke's account of Jesus' journey from Galilee to Jerusalem through Samaria in chapters 9 and 17 presents a geographically confused route. Jesus appears to be moving back and forth between Galilee and Samaria, indicating the author's unfamiliarity with the actual terrain and layout of these regions.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Acts Knows Greece. It Doesn't Know Judea. Here's What That Means · watch the clip
Luke 17:20-21
Kingdom of God is Present
In Luke's Gospel, Jesus tells the Pharisees that "the kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed" but is "among you." This suggests that the kingdom is already present through Jesus' ministry, manifested in his healings, exorcisms, feeding of multitudes, and raising the dead, rather than being solely a future event.
Summarized by AI · Luke's Maverick Gospel · Lecture 5: The End That Has Not Come · watch the clip
Luke's modified eschatology
Luke's eschatology differs from Mark's, toning down the immediacy of the end times. He omits Mark's 'the kingdom of heaven is at hand' and includes a unique saying where Jesus states the kingdom of God is 'in the midst of you' or 'within you.' The very existence of Acts, a sequel, implies a longer future for the church, suggesting a softening of imminent eschatological expectations.
Summarized by AI · The Mysteries of the Synoptic Gospels: Discovering Matthew, Mark, and Luke · Lecture 15: Was Luke a Historian or a Theologian? · watch the clip
The Kingdom as Present Reality in Thomas
Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, where the kingdom of God is a future event, the Gospel of Thomas teaches that the kingdom is a present reality, already 'spread out upon the earth,' though people do not perceive it. Jesus states that the kingdom 'will not come by waiting for it' and is not a matter of saying 'here it is' or 'there it is.' This emphasizes that the kingdom is accessible through knowledge and recognition of one's divine origins in the realm of light.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 13: The Lost Gospels | Stories From the Shadows · watch the clip
Jesus' Prophecy of the Kingdom and Paradise
In Luke 9:27, Jesus tells his disciples that some will not die before seeing the Kingdom of God. This is reconciled with Luke 23:43, where Jesus promises the criminal on the cross immediate entry into Paradise, by understanding that for Luke, followers of Jesus enter Paradise upon death, while the Kingdom of God will eventually manifest on Earth.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Was Luke Written by Luke? And Why Should We Care? · watch the clip
Luke 17:20
Jesus' Main Teachings in Synoptics Focus on God's Kingdom, Not Himself
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus' primary focus is not on his own divinity but on the coming Kingdom of God, judgment, and the interpretation of God's law, particularly the love commandments. He frequently uses parables to teach about the Kingdom, and his most significant self-declaration is his prediction of suffering, death, and resurrection.
Summarized by AI · Did Jesus Think He Was God? A Closer Look at the Evidence · Did Jesus Think He Was God? A Closer Look at the Evidence · watch the clip
The Kingdom as a Pre-Existent Realm of Light
In the Gospel of Thomas, the 'kingdom' is not a future, apocalyptic reality as depicted in the Synoptic Gospels. Instead, it is a pre-existent realm of light from which humans originate, existing before the creation of the world and the acquisition of physical bodies. Jesus teaches that humans came from this light, and the problem is their entrapment in the material world of death and decay.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 13: The Lost Gospels | Stories From the Shadows · watch the clip
Luke 17:21
Kingdom of God 'among you' not 'within you'
The phrase 'the kingdom of God is within you' in Luke 17:21 is likely a mistranslation. Given Luke's broader theological context, which depicts the kingdom as a future earthly reality, and Jesus' address to his enemies (the Pharisees), the more accurate translation is 'the kingdom of God is among you,' referring to its presence through Jesus' ministry.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Does Mark Have a Vendetta against the Twelve Disciples? · watch the clip
Luke 17:33
Matthew as Collector of Sayings, Luke as Raw Material
Matthew appears to collect and organize scattered sayings into topical clusters, such as those related to facing opposition and discipleship demands. Luke, by contrast, presents these sayings in a more dispersed, less organized manner, suggesting Matthew is the collector and Luke preserves the 'raw material' or a more primitive order.
Summarized by AI · Did Q Exist? · Lecture 3: The Case for Q · watch the clip