Luke 17:2

Jesus Warns of Offenses

1 Then He said to the disciples, ^a“It is impossible that no offenses should come, but ^bwoe to him through whom they do come!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should¹ offend one of these little ones.

3 Take heed to yourselves. ^aIf your brother sins against you, ^brebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns¹ to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Faith and Duty

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6 ^aSo the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself ^aand serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?

9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded¹ him? I think not.

10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are ^aunprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”

Ten Lepers Cleansed

11 Now it happened ^aas He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, ^awho stood afar off.

13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 So when He saw them, He said to them, ^a“Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice ^aglorified God,

16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a ^aSamaritan.

17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

19 ^aAnd He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation;

21 ^anor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, ^bthe kingdom of God is within you.”

22 Then He said to the disciples, ^a“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.

23 ^aAnd they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them.

24 ^aFor as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.

25 ^aBut first He must suffer many things and be ^brejected by this generation.

26 ^aAnd as it ^bwas in the ^cdays of ^dNoah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:

27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the ^aday that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and ^bdestroyed them all.

28 ^aLikewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;

29 but on ^athe day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man ^ais revealed.

31 “In that day, he ^awho is on the housetop, and his¹ goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.

32 ^aRemember Lot’s wife.

33 ^aWhoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

34 ^aI tell you, in that night there will be two¹ men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.

35 ^aTwo women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left.

36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”

37 And they answered and said to Him, ^a“Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Luke 17:2 Mean?

Luke 17:1-10

When God calls us, we may take our newly found power of faith for granted and may be increasingly susceptible to becoming angry at offenses and persecution. Aware of this, Jesus sought to caution His apostles against such pitfalls. In Luke 17:1-6, Jesus sets up the Parable of the Unprofitable Servants with introductory instruction. He warns His disciples of the inevitable attacks on His teaching and on those who proclaim it, pointing out the guilt of those responsible (verses 1-2). Then He admonishes them to value a loving and forgiving attitude and to be ready to pardon when an offender repents. Knowing this is difficult and seeing this weakness in themselves, the apostles feel the need for an increase of faith, an additional amount of spiritual help to aid them in complying with Jesus' requirements.

The lesson in verses 1-6 unites with the parable in verses 7-10, which emphasizes the obligation of each disciple to serve the Master without expectation of release or reward. His followers must give complete obedience to Him no matter what trials come upon them and like Him, they must conquer their own human nature by suffering. Jesus emphasizes the kind of faith His disciples would need to endure coming trials and to obey His commands (I Timothy 1:5). This parable is designed to guard against the subtle danger in the servant who becomes satisfied with his work and expects that the Master will recognize his service with reward. Jesus impresses on His disciples the difficult and continuous service He requires of them and the attitude in which their service should be given.

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Unprofitable Servants

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Luke 17:2:**

Jeremiah 7:4-12
Matthew 17:25
Matthew 26:51-53
Luke 17:1-10
1 Corinthians 10:32

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