Daily Bible Reading (Monday, March 26th)

6

Luke 17 (ESV)

 

Temptations to Sin

And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin[a] are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.[b] Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

“Will any one of you who has a servant[c] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly,[d] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants;[e] we have only done what was our duty.’”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[f] who stood at a distance13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”[g]

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”[h]

22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.[i] 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”[j] 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse[k] is, there the vultures[l] will gather.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 17:1 Greek Stumbling blocks
  2. Luke 17:2 Greek stumble
  3. Luke 17:7 Or bondservant; also verse 9
  4. Luke 17:8 Greek gird yourself
  5. Luke 17:10 Or bondservants
  6. Luke 17:12 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
  7. Luke 17:19 Or has saved you
  8. Luke 17:21 Or within you, or within your grasp
  9. Luke 17:24 Some manuscripts omit in his day
  10. Luke 17:35 Some manuscripts add verse 36Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left
  11. Luke 17:37 Greek body
  12. Luke 17:37 Or eagles

6 Comments

Just as surely as Christ came the first time He will come again. I need to live in light of this reality everyday.

Verses 7-8 are a good reminder that we are to be humble. Our obedience to Christ is just what is expected of us. As Paul says, the only reasonable response to our salvation is to be living sacrifices (slaves of God). That surely is a humbling reminder! Oh Lord, give me humility as I serve you! Help my service to you to be from a heart of gratitude and joy rather than a heart of pride.

Jesus reminds us of our responsibility to forgive our brother. We hear this throughout the scriptures, and I probably cannot hear this too much. I need to forgive as Christ forgave me. This is a hallmark behavior of believers, we forgive each other...at home, in the church, at work, and in our daily interactions. Easy to say, not always easy to do. Thank God for the Holy Spirit.

V 5-10 always catches me. The disciples request 'increase our Faith' seems a reasonable one. But Jesus doesn't bother addressing that, he just places their eyes upon the power of God capable of moving a mulberry tree.

He then calls them to humility.

So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants;[e] we have only done what was our duty.’”

When I feel the need for increased faith, I'll look upon the mightiness of God, and not the size of my faith. And when we have done all that was commanded, we humbly confess that we've done only that required of us.

v10: My obedience merits one thing on this earth: my own humility. v11-19: Our faith makes us well and heals us from our leprous death sentence of sin sickness, and when we recognize our healing, we must outwardly glorify the Son who saved us as a testimony to His miraculous healing power. I once was chained by the sin of lust and a lying tongue, but Jesus set me free from it all to where I do not battle with those sins anymore. All glory goes to Christ for healing me!

There is much to learn from this chapter, but one section in particular that stuck out to me was the example of the the Samaritan leper who was healed. After he had been cleansed, he rightly recognized the power of Jesus and took a moment to praise and worship him for the gift he had freely received. Sound familiar? This is how all have received salvation. I’m convicted at how often I fail to thank Christ for all the gifts he’s bestowed upon me including my salvation. Holy God you are so so good to us. I praise you for sending your son to die and be raised to life!

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