Luke 17
Watch out for traps and forgive those who make amends
Jesus told his students,
“There will always be traps that bait you, but whoever sets them up should watch out out! It would be better for that person to be thrown into the ocean with a boulder tied around his neck than it would be to cause even a seemingly insignificant person to be ensnared.
Be alert! If your brother violates the law, reprimand him, and if he makes amends, then let him off the hook. Even if he violates the law against you seven times a day, but makes amends each time, you should forgive him.”
Faith causes obedience
When the students asked the leader to increase their faith, the leader said,
“If you had faith even as small as a seed you would tell this tree to be uprooted and planted in the ocean, and it would obey you.
Those who are in debt obey their lenders
“Who would ever tell his slave,
‘Come take a seat and have something to eat’?
Wouldn’t he say,
‘Get dressed, make me some food, and serve me while I eat, then you can eat afterwards.’?
You don’t thank your slave for following your orders, do you? In the same way, when you follow orders, you should say,
‘We are worthless slaves only paying back what we owe.’
Faith heals 10 sick people
While he was making his way toward Jerusalem, he traveled between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, 10 men with skin diseases stood at a distance and met him. They shouted,
“Commander Jesus, have mercy on us!”
When he saw them, he told them, to present themselves to the priests, and while they were on their way, they were cleansed. When they noticed they had been healed, one of them went back, loudly praising God, then he fell on his face at Jesus’s feet and thanked him. That man was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked,
“Weren’t there ten of you who were cleansed? Where are the other 9? Was this foreigner the only one who came back to commend God?
He told the man,
“You can get up and go on your way. Your confidence has restored your health.”
God’s empire is internal
After the religious leaders asked him when God’s empire was coming, he answered them by saying,
“God’s empire isn’t coming in a way that can be observed. People won’t say ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ Open your eyes and you’ll see that God’s empire is on the inside.”
When it’s time for the Culmination of Humanity, it will happen suddenly
He told his students,
“One day you will crave for the Culmination of Humanity’s time to come, but it won’t. People will say, ‘Look here or there,’ but don’t be fooled. The same way that lightning flashes across the sky is how the Culmination of Humanity’s time will come. But first he needs to suffer significantly and be rejected by mankind.
The same way it happened in Noah’s time will be how it happens in the Culmination of Humanity’s time: they were eating, drinking, and getting married until Noah stepped foot onto the boat and the flood came and wiped everyone out.
The same thing happened with Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building, but the moment Lot stepped foot out of Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and wiped them out.
That’s how it will be on the day that the Culmination of Humanity is revealed.
On that day, if someone is working on his roof or on his farm, he shouldn’t even go inside to grab his valuables. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife. Whoever wants to save his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul will preserve it. I assure you that on that night, there will be two people in the same bed, and one will be taken while the other is left alone. Two people will be working side by side, and one will be taken while the other is left alone.”
The Culmination of Humanity’s time will come wherever it’s relevant
When his students asked “Where?” Jesus replied,
“Wherever the body is is where the vultures will gather.”