Lucas 17

ARC · Chapter 17/24

1E disse aos discipulos: É impossivel que não venham escandalos, mas ai d'aquelle por quem vierem!

2Melhor lhe fôra que lhe pozessem ao pescoço uma mó de atafona, e fosse lançado ao mar, do que escandalizar um d'estes pequenos.

3Olhae por vós mesmos. E, se teu irmão peccar contra ti, reprehende-o, e, se elle se arrepender, perdoa-lhe.

4E, se peccar contra ti sete vezes no dia, e sete vezes no dia tornar a ti, dizendo: Arrependo-me; perdoa-lhe.

5Disseram então os apostolos ao Senhor: Accrescenta-nos a fé.

6E disse o Senhor: Se tivesseis fé como um grão de mostarda, dirieis a esta amoreira: Desarreiga-te d'aqui, e planta-te no mar; e vos obedeceria.

7E qual de vós terá um servo lavrando ou apascentando, e, voltando elle do campo, lhe diga: Chega-te, e assenta-te á mesa?

8E não lhe diga antes: Prepara-me a ceia, e cinge-te, e serve-me, até que tenha comido e bebido, e depois comerás e beberás tu?

9Porventura dá graças ao tal servo, porque fez o que lhe foi mandado? Creio que não.

10Assim tambem vós, quando fizerdes tudo o que vos fôr mandado, dizei: Somos servos inuteis, porque fizemos sómente o que deviamos fazer.

11E aconteceu que, indo elle a Jerusalem, passou pelo meio da Samaria e da Galilea;

12E, entrando n'uma certa aldeia, sairam-lhe ao encontro dez homens leprosos, os quaes pararam de longe;

13E levantaram a voz, dizendo: Jesus, Mestre, tem misericordia de nós.

14E elle, vendo-os, disse-lhes: Ide, e mostrae-vos aos sacerdotes. E aconteceu que, indo elles, ficaram limpos.

15E um d'elles, vendo que estava são, voltou glorificando a Deus em alta voz;

16E caiu aos seus pés, com o rosto em terra, dando-lhe graças: e este era samaritano.

17E, respondendo Jesus, disse: Não foram dez os limpos? E onde estão os nove?

18Não houve quem voltasse a dar gloria a Deus senão este estrangeiro?

19E disse-lhe: Levanta-te, e vae; a tua fé te salvou.

20E, interrogado pelos phariseos sobre quando havia de vir o reino de Deus, respondeu-lhes, e disse: O reino de Deus não vem com apparencia exterior.

21Nem dirão: Eil-o aqui, ou, Eil-o ali; porque eis que o reino de Deus está entre vós.

22E disse aos discipulos: Dias virão em que desejareis vêr um dos dias do Filho do homem, e não o vereis.

23E dir-vos-hão: Eil-o aqui, ou, Eil-o ali está; não vades, nem os sigaes:

24Porque, como o relampago, fuzilando de uma parte debaixo do céu, resplandece até á outra debaixo do céu, assim será tambem o Filho do homem no seu dia.

25Mas primeiro convem que elle padeça muito, e seja reprovado por esta geração.

26E, como aconteceu nos dias de Noé, assim será tambem nos dias do Filho do homem:

27Comiam, bebiam, casavam e davam-se em casamento, até ao dia em que Noé entrou na arca, e veiu o diluvio, e os consumiu a todos.

28Como tambem da mesma maneira aconteceu nos dias de Lot: comiam, bebiam, compravam, vendiam, plantavam e edificavam.

29Mas no dia em que Lot saiu de Sodoma, choveu do céu fogo e enxofre, e os consumiu a todos.

30Assim será no dia em que o Filho do homem se ha de manifestar.

31N'aquelle dia, quem estiver no telhado, e as suas alfaias em casa, não desça a tomal-as; e, da mesma sorte, o que estiver no campo não volte para traz.

32Lembrae-vos da mulher de Lot.

33Qualquer que procurar salvar a sua vida perdel-a-ha, e qualquer que a perder salval-a-ha.

34Digo-vos que n'aquella noite estarão dois n'uma cama; um será tomado, e outro será deixado.

35Duas estarão juntas, moendo; uma será tomada, e outra será deixada.

36Dois estarão no campo; um será tomado, o outro será deixado.

37E, respondendo, disseram-lhe: Onde, Senhor? E elle lhes disse: Onde estiver o corpo, ahi se ajuntarão as aguias.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus teaches about forgiveness, faith, and humble service. He heals ten lepers, but only one, a Samaritan, returns to give thanks. Afterward, he teaches about the sudden coming of the Kingdom of God and of the Son of Man.

Explanation

The teaching on forgiving someone 'seven times a day' if they repent (v.4) shows that Christian forgiveness has no limit on its count when there is genuine repentance. The healing of the ten lepers, with only the Samaritan — a despised foreigner — returning to give thanks, exposes common ingratitude and highlights sincere gratitude, especially coming from the one least expected. The closing teachings about the days of Noah and Lot warn that the coming of the Son of Man will surprise people caught up in life's ordinary routine, without spiritual preparation. The practical application today is to cultivate the habit of gratitude and to live spiritually prepared, without growing complacent.

Fun facts

  • Lepers were required by law to live in isolation and to cry out their condition aloud (Leviticus 13:45-46), which is why the group of ten men 'stood at a distance' when they saw Jesus (v.12).
  • The tension between Jews and Samaritans (v.16-18) makes it especially significant that the Samaritan — from a people the Jews considered heretical — was the only one to show genuine gratitude to Jesus.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Lucas 17:1Jesus acknowledges that occasions for sin are unavoidable in the world, but that does not excuse from responsibility whoever causes such occasions for another person.
  2. Lucas 17:2This specific millstone was the large mill stone pulled by a donkey — far heavier than the small hand-grinding stone used at home. Tying it around someone’s neck before throwing him into the water is an image of certain, irreversible drowning, an exaggerated way of marking the seriousness of causing one of the little ones to stumble in faith.
  3. Lucas 17:3‘Take heed to yourselves’ calls for personal watchfulness; the practical instruction is to rebuke whoever sins against you and to forgive when there is repentance — forgiveness is tied to a process of correction, not automatic with no response at all from the other party.
  4. Lucas 17:4The demand goes to the extreme: even if a person sins and asks for forgiveness seven times in the same day, forgiveness must be given every time — there is no limit after which the willingness to forgive runs out.
  5. Lucas 17:5Faced with such a demanding standard of forgiveness, the apostles ask that their own faith be increased, recognizing that they do not feel up to it on their own.
  6. Lucas 17:6Jesus’ answer uses a deliberate exaggeration: even faith the size of a mustard seed would be enough to uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea — the point is not the size of the faith, but that it truly taps into the power of God.
  7. Lucas 17:7The parable describes what is normally expected of a servant: he would not be invited to sit down at the table as soon as he came in from the field, even after a full day’s work.
  8. Lucas 17:8Instead, he is expected to prepare the meal and serve the master first, and only afterward eat and drink on his own — the normal order of priorities in a household of that time.
  9. Lucas 17:9The rhetorical question about thanking the servant for doing what he was told already suggests the answer: this is considered basic duty, not an extra favor.
  10. Lucas 17:10The application is about humility: even after doing everything commanded, the right attitude is to recognize that one has only done one’s duty, without expecting special merit for it.
  11. Lucas 17:11This geographic detail, passing between Samaria and Galilee, places the scene in a border region between Jews and Samaritans — relevant to the episode of the ten lepers that follows.
  12. Lucas 17:12The ten lepers stop at a distance, keeping the separation the law required for those with that disease, unable to freely approach other people.
  13. Lucas 17:13The group cries out together, united by the same condition of exclusion, pleading for mercy from Jesus in unison.
  14. Lucas 17:14Sending the ten to the priests meant requesting the same official procedure always used to declare someone cleansed of leprosy — except here Jesus gives that order before any visible sign of healing. They have to set out trusting that the healing will happen along the way, which is exactly what happens.
  15. Lucas 17:15Only one of them, on realizing he was healed, turns back glorifying God aloud — a striking exception within a group that should have reacted the same way.
  16. Lucas 17:16Given the hostility between Jews and Samaritans that appears elsewhere in the book, it is striking that the only one who comes back to give thanks is identified as the foreigner, the Samaritan. The other nine, presumably Jews, simply go on their way once healed.
  17. Lucas 17:17Jesus’ question exposes the imbalance: ten were healed, but only one came back — most simply went on their way without showing any gratitude.
  18. Lucas 17:18It is striking that the only one who came back to give glory to God was identified as a foreigner — a Samaritan showing more spiritual perception than the other nine, presumably Jews.
  19. Lucas 17:19Jesus ties the physical healing already given to something deeper, called here ‘salvation,’ tied specifically to the faith that moved him to come back and give thanks.
  20. Lucas 17:20Faced with the Pharisees’ question about when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus goes against the common expectation of visible, calculable signs announcing its arrival.
  21. Lucas 17:21This saying, one of the most debated in the Gospel, is generally understood as the kingdom already present in the very person and ministry of Jesus among them, not a future place to point to on a map.
  22. Lucas 17:22Jesus warns the disciples of a future time when they will long to relive the days when they were physically with Him and will not be able to — anticipating the longing for His direct presence.
  23. Lucas 17:23The warning against claims of ‘See here’ or ‘see there’ repeats the same idea given to the Pharisees, now as a warning against being deceived by false messianic claims.
  24. Lucas 17:24The coming of the Son of Man is compared to lightning, instantly visible across the whole sky — the opposite of a localized, secret claim about where he might be hidden.
  25. Lucas 17:25Before that glorious manifestation, though, Jesus inserts the necessity of suffering: He must first be rejected by this generation — avoiding any premature triumphalism.
  26. Lucas 17:26The comparison to the days of Noah is a classic biblical example of normal life continuing right up until a sudden judgment.
  27. Lucas 17:27Eating, drinking, and marrying are not wrong activities in themselves — the point is that life went on completely as usual right up to the very moment the flood arrived by surprise. It is a warning against complacency, not a condemnation of ordinary daily things.
  28. Lucas 17:28The same pattern repeats in the days of Lot: buying, selling, planting, and building went on as normal, with no apparent sign of alarm.
  29. Lucas 17:29On the very day Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone fell, destroying everything — the moment of rescue and the moment of judgment coincide exactly, with no gap between them.
  30. Lucas 17:30Jesus applies both stories directly: so it will be also on the day the Son of Man is revealed, sudden and in the midst of ordinary life.
  31. Lucas 17:31The instruction not to come down for one’s belongings or turn back from the field calls for an immediate response, without hesitating over material goods — the same principle of urgency already taught earlier about the plow.
  32. Lucas 17:32The reference is to the episode in Genesis in which Lot’s wife looked back toward the destruction of Sodom, against the instruction she had received, and turned into a pillar of salt. It is a short, direct warning against hesitating or clinging to what is being left behind when the time comes to act.
  33. Lucas 17:33This saying, already used earlier in another context, repeats the paradox: trying to save one’s own life results in losing it, and losing one’s life results in saving it — now applied to this scenario of sudden judgment.
  34. Lucas 17:34The scene of two people in the same bed, one taken and the other left, describes an individual separation happening even among people in the exact same circumstances.
  35. Lucas 17:35The same idea repeats with two women grinding grain together — reinforcing that the separation does not depend on shared activity or place, it is personal.
  36. Lucas 17:36One more repetition of the same image, now with two men in the field — the insistence on varying the setting reinforces that no one is automatically included or excluded by company or location.
  37. Lucas 17:37The disciples ask where this will happen, and Jesus answers with a proverb: wherever the body is, there the vultures will gather — suggesting the event will be self-evident, needing no location announced in advance.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.