New Testament Commentary - Luke 17

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 17 Jesus speaks of offenses, forgiveness, and faith—Even the faithful are unprofitable servants— Ten lepers are healed—Jesus discourses on the Second Coming.
1 THEN said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that ^aoffences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should ^aoffend one of these little ones.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
3 ¶ Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother ^atrespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, ^bforgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I ^arepent; thou shalt forgive him.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6 And the Lord said, If ye had ^afaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or ^afeeding cattle, will say unto him ^bby and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I ^atrow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are ^aunprofitable servants: we have done that which was our ^bduty to do.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
11 ¶ And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee^a. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were ^alepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.	11^a he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee Jesus does not avoid Samaria as the common Jew did. And only at one time and in a certain circumstance did he prohibit the missionary effort unto the Samaritans.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the ^apriests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him ^athanks: and he was a Samaritan^a.	16^a he was a Samaritan Whenever Jesus can, he points to a Samaritan in that roll in which is being discussed. Here the significance of the one out of ten being a Samarition that returns is going to be expressed by the Savior. If the man who returned with gatitude in the heart was not a Samaritan of the tribe of Ephrain, the Lord would not have so taken note and so taught the associated statement to it.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten ^acleansed? but where are the ^bnine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger^a. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.	18^a There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger Here the one that was found is associated with he that is lost being applied to the lost ten tribes of Israel. And it was a matter of comparision with that which would come to pass in the latter day gathering, that it would be those of Ephraim who would return to give glory to God in the restoration and to the taking the gospel to the world and the fulfilling of the covenant promise to Abraham that through his seed the nations of the earth would be blessed. As to why this 'Samaritan' was here called a 'stranger' is that the Jews tended to consider the Samaritan but as Gentiles because they were of a supposed mixed blood of Ephraim and the heathern nations. Even at that the Jews did tend to treat the Samaritans to be even worse and lowere than the Gentiles.
20 ¶ And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the ^akingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the ^akingdom of God ^bis ^cwithin you^a.	21^a the kingdom of God is within you All the outward acts, associations and performances will never save a man in the kingdom of God. It is that inner sanction of communion and sanctification of the Holy Spirit within a man which does qualify him for the kingdom of God. If he has not this, regardless of all else, he is lost. Thus it is what is inside, that which is written upon the fleshy tablets of the heart and soul which doth redeem and exalt a man unto Eternal life and the kingdom of God. Said another way, it is not that which comes from the outside in which defiles a man. It is what that man is from the inside out which determines his status in the kingdom of God.
22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, ^asee there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his ^aday.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of ^aNoe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the ^aflood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of ^aSodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember ^aLot's wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall ^alose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 ^aAnd they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, *Wheresoever the body is,* thither will the eagles be gathered together^a**.	37^a Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together Those some might think this a negative meaning being implied by the 'vultures' hovering about the dead body, this is NOT the intend of the comparison. It is but to say where Chrsit is come, there also with the people be found. Which people is more to the question here. And in a general sense, it ought to be considered that it is the people of the Lord who are gathered to meet him at his coming. Thus it is that were Christ and his people are gathered to receive the coming of the Lord, there will it be. One such place is Adam-ondi-Ahman.