The Bible — World English Bible

Luke 17

In brief

Luke 17 strings together several teachings of Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. He warns against what makes little ones stumble, asks us to rebuke a brother who sins and to forgive him each time he returns, then answers the apostles who want more faith: a mustard seed is enough. The parable of the servant reminds us that the disciple does his duty without claiming anything. Ten lepers are healed, but only one, a Samaritan, comes back to give thanks. Finally Jesus says that the kingdom is in your midst, then announces the day of the Son of Man.

The chapter in 5 parts

  1. v. 1-4Causes of stumbling and repeated forgiveness
  2. v. 5-10Faith like a mustard seed and the unworthy servant
  3. v. 11-19The ten lepers and the Samaritan who comes back
  4. v. 20-21The kingdom of God is in your midst
  5. v. 22-37The day of the Son of Man: stay alert as in the days of Noah and Lot

1He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!

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

3Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

4If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

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

6The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

7But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table,’

8and will not rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me, while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’?

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

10Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’ ”

11As he was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

12As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.

13They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.

15One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.

16He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

17Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

18Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”

19Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

20Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation;

21neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”

22He said to the disciples, “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.

23They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away or follow after them,

24for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky, shines to another part under the sky; so will the Son of Man be in his day.

25But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.

27They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;

29but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky and destroyed them all.

30It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

31In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.

32Remember Lot’s wife!

33Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.

34I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left.

35There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left.”

37They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”

Key verses

Verse 3-4
Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Jesus asks us to rebuke a brother who sins, then to forgive him when he repents, even seven times in the same day. Forgiveness is not a feat reserved for great believers, it describes the normal life of a disciple.

Verse 6
The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

The apostles ask for more faith. Jesus answers that quantity matters less than presence: a tiny faith, like a mustard seed, is enough for God to act. The image of the uprooted sycamine tree is deliberately striking.

Verse 10
Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’ ”

After the parable of the servant, Jesus invites us to say, “We are unworthy servants.” He does not despise service: he removes the pride of the one who thinks God owes him something because he obeyed.

Verse 17-18
Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”

Jesus is surprised that, of ten men healed, only one foreigner comes back to give glory to God. The passage shows that gratitude can become a second encounter with the Lord, beyond the benefit received.

Verse 21
neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”

To those who ask when the kingdom will come, Jesus answers that it is already in their midst, that is, in him. Translations and commentators hesitate between in your midst and within you.

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Frequently asked questions about Luke 17

What does faith like a mustard seed mean in Luke 17:6?

The apostles ask for their faith to be increased, and Jesus answers that faith as small as a mustard seed would be enough to uproot a sycamine tree. The point is not the size of faith but its nature: it rests on God, who acts, and not on the one who believes.

Why does only one of the ten lepers come back to thank Jesus?

Luke specifies that the one who comes back is a Samaritan, a foreigner. Jesus notes that nine did not give glory to God and tells the one who returned that his faith has made him well. The story invites us not to treat God's blessings as owed, but to come back to the one who gives them.

What does the statement that the kingdom of God is in your midst mean in Luke 17:21?

Jesus answers the Pharisees that the kingdom does not come in a spectacular way: it is already present in his person and his work. The Greek term can also be translated as within you, and commentators are not unanimous, but the reading in your midst is the most common.

Do we really have to forgive seven times a day?

Jesus says that if the brother comes back seven times in a day saying “I repent,” he must be forgiven. The number seven evokes fullness: the point is not to count to seven and stop at the eighth, but to have a heart ready to forgive each time. This does not remove the need to rebuke the one who has done wrong.

Articles quoting Luke 17

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World English Bible translation — public domain.