American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Luke 17
1
Then said he to the disciples, It is impossible but that offenses will come: but woe to him, through whom they come!
Reference
2
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Reference
3
Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespass against you, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
Reference
4
And if he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him.
Reference
5
And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith.
Reference
Faith
Mark 9:24
Hebrews 12:2
2 Thessalonians 1:3
Parallel theme
Philippians 4:13
Mark 6:30
References Lord
Luke 7:13
6
And the Lord said, If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this sycamine tree, Be you plucked up by the root, and be you planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Reference
7
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say to him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8
And will not rather say to him, Make ready with which I may sup, and gird yourself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward you shall eat and drink?
Reference
9
Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
10
So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Reference
11
And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the middle of Samaria and Galilee.
12
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
Reference
14
And when he saw them, he said to them, Go show yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
Reference
15
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
Reference
20
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God comes not with observation:
Reference
21
Neither shall they say, See here! or, see there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Reference
Kingdom
Matthew 12:28
Romans 14:17
Parallel theme
Mark 13:21
Luke 21:8
Luke 17:23
References God
Colossians 1:27
22
And he said to the disciples, The days will come, when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it.
Reference
23
And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Reference
24
For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
Reference
Light
Matthew 24:27
Zechariah 9:14
Parallel theme
Matthew 24:30
2 Peter 3:10
1 Thessalonians 5:2
James 5:8
2 Thessalonians 2:2
25
But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 16:21
Luke 9:22
Mark 8:31
Isaiah 53:3
Mark 12:10
Matthew 21:42
John 1:11
Luke 18:33
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 flood 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 built;
29
But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Reference
31
In that day, he which shall be on 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.
Reference
33
Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
Reference
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.
Reference
35
Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 24:41
36
Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37
And they answered and said to him, Where, Lord? And he said to them, Wherever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 24:28
Summary of Luke 17
Luke 17 brings together several important teachings of Jesus concerning forgiveness, faith, humble service, gratitude, God's kingdom, spiritual readiness, and coming judgment, moving from practical instructions for daily discipleship to warnings about the future revelation of the Son of Man.
Jesus begins by warning His disciples that causing another person to stumble into sin is extremely serious, using the shocking image of a millstone around the neck to demonstrate the responsibility believers have toward the spiritual well-being of others.
At the same time, Jesus commands His followers to correct wrongdoing while remaining willing to forgive repeatedly when someone genuinely repents, showing that Christian community requires both truth and mercy rather than either unlimited tolerance or unforgiving judgment.
When the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, He responds with the image of a tiny mustard seed, explaining that genuine faith does not need to appear impressive because its effectiveness depends upon God rather than the apparent size of human confidence.
Jesus then teaches humility through the example of servants who simply perform their assigned duties without demanding special praise, reminding His disciples that obedience to God should produce gratitude and humility rather than spiritual superiority.
The chapter then moves to one of Jesus' most memorable miracles as He travels toward Jerusalem and encounters ten men suffering from leprosy, who remain at a distance and ask Him for mercy.
Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priests, and as they go, they are cleansed, but only one of the ten returns to Jesus, loudly praising God and falling at His feet in gratitude.
Luke deliberately identifies the grateful man as a Samaritan, making the story particularly powerful because Samaritans and Jews had longstanding religious and cultural tensions.
Jesus' question about the other nine exposes a central lesson: receiving God's blessing and recognizing God's grace are not the same thing.
The chapter then turns toward the subject of God's kingdom, as the Pharisees ask Jesus when it will come.
Jesus explains that God's kingdom cannot simply be identified by people pointing to a particular visible location because God's reign is already being revealed through His presence and ministry.
He then teaches His disciples about the future coming of the Son of Man, warning them against chasing rumors and false claims about where God's kingdom will appear, because His future revelation will be unmistakable, like lightning visible across the sky.
However, Jesus emphasizes that suffering must come before glory, telling His disciples that He will first suffer many things and be rejected by His generation.
He compares the future judgment with the days of Noah and Lot, when people continued their ordinary lives—eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building—until judgment suddenly arrived.
The lesson is not that ordinary activities are sinful but that people can become so absorbed in everyday life that they fail to recognize their accountability before God.
Jesus therefore warns His followers to remain ready and not become so attached to possessions or former circumstances that they hesitate when decisive obedience is required, using the brief but memorable reminder to remember Lot's wife.
The chapter concludes with Jesus explaining that trying to preserve one's life at all costs can result in losing it, while surrendering one's life for God's purposes leads to true life.
His illustrations of two people sleeping, two women grinding grain, and the textual variant concerning two people working in a field emphasize that judgment can bring sudden separation between people who appear outwardly identical, making spiritual readiness more important than external circumstances.
Historically, Luke 17 belongs to the 1st century AD, during Jesus' final journey toward Jerusalem around AD 28–30. The chapter reflects first-century Jewish beliefs concerning purity, healing, resurrection, God's kingdom, judgment, and the coming of the Son of Man.
The encounter with the ten lepers also reflects the social isolation experienced by people with serious skin diseases, while the Samaritan's response highlights the deep Jewish-Samaritan tensions of the period.
Luke 17 ultimately teaches that followers of Jesus must forgive generously, trust God, serve humbly, respond to His blessings with gratitude, recognize that God's kingdom is already at work, and remain spiritually prepared because God's final judgment will be sudden, decisive, and impossible to escape once it arrives.
Jesus begins by warning His disciples that causing another person to stumble into sin is extremely serious, using the shocking image of a millstone around the neck to demonstrate the responsibility believers have toward the spiritual well-being of others.
At the same time, Jesus commands His followers to correct wrongdoing while remaining willing to forgive repeatedly when someone genuinely repents, showing that Christian community requires both truth and mercy rather than either unlimited tolerance or unforgiving judgment.
When the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, He responds with the image of a tiny mustard seed, explaining that genuine faith does not need to appear impressive because its effectiveness depends upon God rather than the apparent size of human confidence.
Jesus then teaches humility through the example of servants who simply perform their assigned duties without demanding special praise, reminding His disciples that obedience to God should produce gratitude and humility rather than spiritual superiority.
The chapter then moves to one of Jesus' most memorable miracles as He travels toward Jerusalem and encounters ten men suffering from leprosy, who remain at a distance and ask Him for mercy.
Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priests, and as they go, they are cleansed, but only one of the ten returns to Jesus, loudly praising God and falling at His feet in gratitude.
Luke deliberately identifies the grateful man as a Samaritan, making the story particularly powerful because Samaritans and Jews had longstanding religious and cultural tensions.
Jesus' question about the other nine exposes a central lesson: receiving God's blessing and recognizing God's grace are not the same thing.
The chapter then turns toward the subject of God's kingdom, as the Pharisees ask Jesus when it will come.
Jesus explains that God's kingdom cannot simply be identified by people pointing to a particular visible location because God's reign is already being revealed through His presence and ministry.
He then teaches His disciples about the future coming of the Son of Man, warning them against chasing rumors and false claims about where God's kingdom will appear, because His future revelation will be unmistakable, like lightning visible across the sky.
However, Jesus emphasizes that suffering must come before glory, telling His disciples that He will first suffer many things and be rejected by His generation.
He compares the future judgment with the days of Noah and Lot, when people continued their ordinary lives—eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building—until judgment suddenly arrived.
The lesson is not that ordinary activities are sinful but that people can become so absorbed in everyday life that they fail to recognize their accountability before God.
Jesus therefore warns His followers to remain ready and not become so attached to possessions or former circumstances that they hesitate when decisive obedience is required, using the brief but memorable reminder to remember Lot's wife.
The chapter concludes with Jesus explaining that trying to preserve one's life at all costs can result in losing it, while surrendering one's life for God's purposes leads to true life.
His illustrations of two people sleeping, two women grinding grain, and the textual variant concerning two people working in a field emphasize that judgment can bring sudden separation between people who appear outwardly identical, making spiritual readiness more important than external circumstances.
Historically, Luke 17 belongs to the 1st century AD, during Jesus' final journey toward Jerusalem around AD 28–30. The chapter reflects first-century Jewish beliefs concerning purity, healing, resurrection, God's kingdom, judgment, and the coming of the Son of Man.
The encounter with the ten lepers also reflects the social isolation experienced by people with serious skin diseases, while the Samaritan's response highlights the deep Jewish-Samaritan tensions of the period.
Luke 17 ultimately teaches that followers of Jesus must forgive generously, trust God, serve humbly, respond to His blessings with gratitude, recognize that God's kingdom is already at work, and remain spiritually prepared because God's final judgment will be sudden, decisive, and impossible to escape once it arrives.