Luke 17:1a| stumbling| Matt. 18:7
Luke 17:1b| woe| Luke 22:22
Luke 17:1c| whom| Matt. 13:41
Luke 17:2a| millstone| Matt. 18:6;| Mark 9:42
Luke 17:3a| Take| Luke 8:18
Luke 17:3b| sins| Matt. 18:15
Luke 17:3c| rebuke| Lev. 19:17
Luke 17:3d| forgive| Matt. 6:14;| 18:35;| Eph. 4:32
Luke 17:4a| seven| Matt. 18:21-22
Luke 17:51a| Increase| cf. Mark 9:24
| Or, Add to us faith.
Luke 17:6a| faith| Matt. 17:20;| 21:21;| Mark 11:23-24
Luke 17:6b| mustard| Matt. 13:31
Luke 17:6c| sycamine| Luke 19:4
Luke 17:8a| gird| Luke 12:35, 37
Luke 17:10a| unprofitable| cf. Matt. 25:30
Luke 17:11a| Jerusalem| Luke 9:51, 53;| 13:22
Luke 17:11b| Samaria| Luke 9:52;| John 4:4
Luke 17:11c| Galilee| Matt. 19:1;| John 4:3;| Luke 4:14
Luke 17:121a| leprous| Lev. 13:45-46;| Num. 5:2
| See note 401 in Mark 1.
Luke 17:14a| priests| Lev. 14:2-9;| Luke 5:14;| Matt. 8:4
Luke 17:141| went
| This was their believing and obeying. Hence, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:15a| glorifying| Luke 7:16;| 18:43
Luke 17:16a| fell| Luke 5:12;| Num. 16:22;| 1|Cor. 14:25
Luke 17:16b| Samaritan| Matt. 10:5;| John 4:9
Luke 17:18a| give| John 9:24
Luke 17:19a| faith| Luke 8:48;| 7:50;| 18:42;| Mark 5:34
Luke 17:191| healed
| Lit., saved.
Luke 17:20a| Pharisees| Luke 5:21;| 6:2;| 7:30, 39;| 11:38, 53;| 13:31;| 14:1;| 15:2;| 16:14;| 19:39
Luke 17:20b| when| cf. Acts 1:6
Luke 17:201c| kingdom| Luke 8:10;| 9:27;| 10:9, 11;| 11:2, 20;| 13:18-20;| 16:16;| 19:11-12, 15;| 21:31;| 22:16, 18;| 23:42;| Rom. 14:17
| See note 432 in ch. 4.
Luke 17:202| not
| Indicating that the kingdom of God is not material but spiritual. It is the Savior in His first coming (vv. 21-22), in His second coming (vv. 23-30), in the rapture of His overcoming believers (vv. 31-36), and in His destroying of the Antichrist (v. 37) to recover the whole earth for His reign there (Rev. 11:15).
Luke 17:21a| here| Matt. 24:23;| Mark 13:21
Luke 17:211| kingdom
| Verses 22-24 prove that the kingdom of God is the Savior Himself, who was among the Pharisees when He was questioned by them. Wherever the Savior is, there the kingdom of God is. The kingdom of God is with Him, and He brings it to His disciples (v. 22). He is the seed of the kingdom of God to be sown into God’s chosen people to develop into God’s ruling realm (see note 432 in ch. 4). Since His resurrection He has been within His believers (John 14:20; Rom. 8:10). Hence, the kingdom of God is within the church today (Rom. 14:17).
Luke 17:212| you
| Referring to the questioning Pharisees (v. 20). The Savior as the kingdom of God was not within them but only in the midst of them.
Luke 17:22a| days| Luke 5:35
Luke 17:22b| days| John 8:56
Luke 17:221| not
| This indicates the Savior’s absence. During His absence, the world, having rejected Him, will be an evil generation, living in the indulgence of lust (vv. 23-30), and an opponent of His followers, persecuting them because of their testimony concerning Him (18:1-8). Hence, His followers need to overcome the stupefying effect of the world’s indulgent living by losing their soul-life in this age (vv. 31-33). Also, they need to deal with the world’s persecution by being long-suffering and praying persistently in faith (18:7-8), that they may be raptured as overcomers and enter into the enjoyment of the kingdom of God at the Savior’s coming back (vv. 34-37).
Luke 17:241| lightning
| See note 271 in Matt. 24.
Luke 17:242| of
| Lit., under.
Luke 17:24a| day| 1|Cor. 1:8
Luke 17:25a| rejected| Luke 9:22
Luke 17:261a| And| vv. 26-27: Matt. 24:37-39
| For vv. 26-27, see notes in Matt. 24:37-39.
Luke 17:262b| days| Gen. 6:5-9
| The conditions of evil living that stupefied the generation of Noah before the deluge and the generation of Lot before the destruction of Sodom portray the perilous condition of man’s living before the Lord’s parousia (presence, coming) and the great tribulation (Matt. 24:3, 21). To participate in the overcomers’ rapture that we may enjoy the Lord’s parousia and escape the great tribulation, we must overcome the stupefying effect of man’s living today.
Luke 17:26c| days| 1|Thes. 5:2-3
Luke 17:27a| ark| Gen. 7:7;| Heb. 11:7;| 1|Pet. 3:20
Luke 17:27b| flood| Gen. 7:10;| 2|Pet. 2:5
Luke 17:28a| days| Gen. 19:1-14
Luke 17:28b| Lot| Gen. 19:15-16, 23;| 2|Pet. 2:7
Luke 17:29a| Sodom| Gen. 19:24-25, 28;| 2|Pet. 2:6;| Jude 7
Luke 17:29b| brimstone| Psa. 11:6;| Isa. 30:33;| Rev. 14:10
Luke 17:30a| revealed| 1|Cor. 1:7;| 2|Thes. 1:7;| 1|Pet. 1:7, 13;| 4:13
Luke 17:31a| housetop| Matt. 24:17-18
Luke 17:311| not
| To linger in the earthly and material things will cause us to miss the overcomers’ rapture revealed in vv. 34-36.
Luke 17:321| Lot’s
| Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt because she took a lingering look backward at Sodom, indicating that she loved and treasured the evil world that God was going to judge and utterly destroy. She was rescued from Sodom, but she did not reach the safe place that Lot reached (Gen. 19:15-30). She did not perish; neither was she fully saved. Like the salt that becomes tasteless (14:34-35 and note 342), she was left in a place of shame. This is a solemn warning to the world-loving believers.
Luke 17:331| preserve
| See note 391 in Matt. 10. Preserving our soul-life is related to lingering in the earthly and material things, as mentioned in v. 31. We linger in the earthly things because we care for our soul’s enjoyment in this age. This will cause us to lose our soul; that is, our soul will suffer the loss of its enjoyment in the coming kingdom age.
Luke 17:33a| soul-life| Luke 9:24
Luke 17:341| I
| For vv. 34-36, see notes in Matt. 24:40-41. In these verses the rapture of the overcoming believers is revealed. It will occur secretly and unexpectedly, at night for certain believers who are sleeping, and in the daytime for certain sisters grinding at home and certain brothers working in the field. They are chosen because they have overcome the stupefying effect of the age. In 14:25-35 the Savior charges us to pay the price, insofar as we are able, that we may follow Him. In 16:1-13 He charges us to overcome mammon that we may serve Him prudently as faithful stewards. In vv. 22-37 of this chapter, He charges us to overcome the stupefying effect of self-indulgent living in this age that we may be raptured into the enjoyment of His parousia (presence, coming). All these charges are related to the believers’ overcoming in their practical living.
Luke 17:34a| two| vv. 34-36: Matt. 24:40-41
Luke 17:342b| taken| 1|Thes. 4:17
| This is the rapture of the overcomers (see note 362 in ch. 21), who do not preserve their soul-life by loving the worldly things of this age (vv. 26-32).
Luke 17:35a| grinding| Exo. 11:5;| Isa. 47:2
Luke 17:361| Two
| Some MSS omit this verse.
Luke 17:371| body
| I.e., corpse. See note 281 in Matt. 24.
Luke 17:37a| vultures| cf. Job 39:26-30