(Luke 17:1 NASB) And He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come!
(Luke 17:2 NASB) “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.
Luke 17:2: The term “stumbling blocks” is a reference to “hindrances.” It is mentioned along with those who commit lawlessness (Matt. 13:41-42, 16:23). The “stumbling blocks” are things that others do to attempt to cause people to commit lawlessness (1 Peter 2:7-8, 1 John 2:10-11).
(Luke 17:3 NASB) “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
(Luke 17:4 NASB) “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
Luke 17:4: This is a solid teaching of Torah. We are to rebuke those of Israel in sin (Lev. 19:17-18, Psalm 141:5, Prov. 9:8-10, 17:10). And we are to forgive others (Isa. 58:6-9, Prov. 25:21-22).
(Luke 17:5 NASB) And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
(Luke 17:6 NASB) And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.
Luke 17:6: Why did the apostles ask for this? It seems that they are asking for an increase in “belief.” But they are not. The term used for “faith” is G4102. pistis, from G3982; faith, faithfulness:– faith(238), faithfulness(3), pledge(m)(1), proof(1). The Hebrew word for “faith” is almost always translated “Faithfulness,” Faith – H530. emunah, [53c]; from H539; firmness, steadfastness, fidelity:– faith(1), faithful(3), faithfully(8), faithfulness(25), honestly(1), responsibility(m)(1), stability(m)(1), steady(1), trust(2), truth(5).
Elohim has established faithfulness with His lovingkindness toward us (Psalm 89:1-5, 119:138). His lovingkindness far exceeds His duty toward us. By the same token, Yeshua is saying that if we exceed our faithfulness beyond just the rules of Torah, we will be exhibiting His attributes. And Yeshua says we will be like Him in many ways, even in His power.
(Luke 17:7 NASB) “But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’?
(Luke 17:8 NASB) “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterward you will eat and drink’?
(Luke 17:9 NASB) “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
(Luke 17:10 NASB) “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'”
Luke 17:10: In this parable, Yeshua is saying that we are to do more than just what is commanded. If we do just what is commanded, then we are just doing what we ought to, and nothing more. We are to INCREASE in our faithfulness by forgiving and loving one another as He has loved us (John 13:34-35, 15:12-15). That is how we increase our faithfulness and how His love is perfected in us (1 John 4:7-12).
(Luke 17:11 NASB) And it came about while He was on the way to Jerusalem, that He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
(Luke 17:12 NASB) And as He entered a certain village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;
(Luke 17:13 NASB) and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
Luke 17:13: The ten leprous men stood at a distance. This is commanded in Torah (Lev. 13:45-46, Num. 5:2-3).
(Luke 17:14 NASB) And when He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:14: A cleansed leper was to show himself to the priest according to Torah (Lev. 14:1-4).
(Luke 17:15 NASB) Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,
(Luke 17:16 NASB) and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.
(Luke 17:17 NASB) And Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine– where are they?
(Luke 17:18 NASB) “Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
Luke 17:16: One of the lepers, who was a Samaritan, when he saw that he was healed, turned back to give thanks to Yeshua. He fell on his face at his feet. The others were apparently not as grateful.
Luke 17:18: The intriguing thing here is Yeshua’s obvious remark pertaining to His Deity. He said this man turned back and gave glory to Elohim when he thanked Yeshua (Psalm 50:23).
(Luke 17:19 NASB) And He said to him, “Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:19: Notice what has made this man well . It was not his strong emotional pull toward Jesus.. The word “faith” is the Greek word “pistis” which virtually always means “faithfulness.” It was this man’s faithfulness, or his actions of thanking and glorifying Elohim, that made him well.
(Luke 17:20 NASB) Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;
(Luke 17:21 NASB) nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Luke 17:21: The kingdom of Elohim arrived with the coming of Messiah. His Spirit within men who acknowledge Him and His Torah as ruler in their lives are His kingdom on earth (Luke 10:8-11, Romans 14:16-18).
The message to the Pharisees is that the Kingdom of Elohim is among them. However, He had much more information to give to His disciples.
(Luke 17:22 NASB) And He said to the disciples, “The days shall come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
Luke 17:22: Yeshua tells His disciples that they will miss Him greatly because He must leave. He is saying that they will not see His return because it speaks of them longing to “see one of the days of the Son of Man” instead of saying they will long to “see the Son of Man.” Verse 24 speaks of the Son of Man “in His Day,” speaking of His return. Also, Verse 26 tells us that the “days of the Son of Man” are at His return.
(Luke 17:23 NASB) “And they will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them.
(Luke 17:24 NASB) “For just as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
Luke 17:24: No one will have to declare the Coming of Yeshua in His Day. It will be self-evident.
Another interesting part of this passage is the declaration that the Son of Man in His day is another term for “the Day of Yahweh.”
(Luke 17:25 NASB) “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Luke 17:25: Yeshua tells His disciples that before the days of the Son of Man, He must first suffer and be rejected by this generation.
(Luke 17:26 NASB) “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man:
(Luke 17:27 NASB) they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:27: Yeshua compares the days of His return to the days of Noah. Life will go on as usual for most until that very day.
(Luke 17:28 NASB) “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;
(Luke 17:29 NASB) but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
(Luke 17:30 NASB) “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
Luke 17:30: Yeshua says it will be the same as it was in the days of Lot. Life was going on as usual. Then in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone and destroyed them all. Yeshua said it will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed (Rev. 16:20-21). This is what will happen to Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38:21-23).
(Luke 17:31 NASB) “On that day, let not the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house go down to take them away; and likewise let not the one who is in the field turn back.
(Luke 17:32 NASB) “Remember Lot’s wife.
(Luke 17:33 NASB) “Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it.
Luke 17:33: Many Bible commentators make the mistake of comparing this passage to the ones concerning the Abomination of Desolation in Matthew 24:17-21 and Mark 13:14-16. Those passages were the answer when they asked for signs of His return.
However, in this passage, the context is different. Yeshua is warning against turning back to the things of the world and concerning ourselves with material things in that day (Matt. 16:25-27, Mark 8:35-38).
(Luke 17:34 NASB) “I tell you, on that night there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken, and the other will be left.
(Luke 17:35 NASB) “There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken, and the other will be left.
(Luke 17:36 NASB) “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”
Luke 17:36: This is speaking of the resurrection. The Greek word for “taken” also means “received.” “Taken” – G3880. paralambano, par-al-am-ban’-o; from G3844 and G2983; to receive near, i.e. associate with oneself (in any familiar or intimate act or relation); by anal. to assume an office; fig. to learn:–receive, take (unto, with).
On the day that the Son of Man is revealed, the dead in Messiah will rise first, then we who are still alive will be caught up in the air (1 Thess. 4:14-17).
Yeshua is cautioning us to live Torah observant lives until His return.
The disciples then ask what will be the place of His return.
(Luke 17:37 NASB) And answering they said^ to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered.”
Luke 17:37: The reference to the vultures gathering takes us to the day and place of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 39:17-20, Rev. 19:17-18).
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas