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Luke 17

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1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences 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 offend one of these little ones.

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive 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 repent; thou shalt forgive him.

5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith 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.

7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by 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 trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye 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.

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst 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:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. 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 thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

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 cometh not with observation:

21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

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, see 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 day.

25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

26 And as it was in the days of Noe, 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 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 builded;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom 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 Lot's wife.

33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose 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 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

   

Commentary

 

Explanation of Luke 17

By Rev. John Clowes M.A.

Verse 1. That though the Divine providence cannot prevent the operation of evils and falsities, yet the fault is not in providence, but in those who cherish evils and falsities.

Verse 2. Therefore it is better for a man not to have known what is good and true, but only what is evil and false, than to pervert those who acknowledge the Lord.

Verses 3-4. Thus there is need of caution, that if another commit evil, he may he convinced of his evil, and if on conviction he turns away from evil, that evil be no longer imputed to him, and this on all occasions as often as he turns away from evil.

Verses 5-6. All therefore ought to pray that they may abide in the Lord, that so by virtue of faith derived from the Lord, and not from themselves, they may be enabled to cast out from themselves the faith of what is false grounded in evil.

Verses 7-11. And in all their exploration of truth and of good, may submit themselves to Divine guidance and government, that so they may appropriate what is good and true from the Lord, and thus ascribe all merit to Him.

Verses 11-15. And should they fall at any time into profanation of truth, they should then supplicate the Divine mercy of the Lord for deliverance, and open their minds to the reception of that mercy, in which case deliverance would be effected.

Verses 15-20. They should also confess in humility and gratitude that their deliverance is solely the result of that mercy.

Verses 20-21. For the Divine good and Divine truth of the Lord, in which the angels are principled, are not out of man, but within him.

Verses 22-23. And in the end of the Church, there will be no longer any faith, because there is no charity, at which time all Divine Truth will perish.

Verses 24-25. And as the lightening is instantly dissipated, so the internal worship of the Lord will at that time be dissipated also, in consequence of opposition made to His Holy Word.

Verse 26. Thus the state of vastation of those who are of the Church will resemble that of the first or most ancient Church, whose last judgement is described by a flood.

Verse 27. For they will appropriate what is evil and false, and will conjoin those principles in themselves, until they are entirely inundated by them.

Verse 28. Thus they will live to themselves and the world, and will procure to themselves evils and falsities, and communicate them to others, and confirm themselves in such things, so as to live in them.

Verses 29-30. On which occasion the falsities and lusts of self-love shall have rule, to the entire destruction of heavenly love and truth.

Verses 31-32. They therefore who are in the good of heavenly love ought not to take themselves thence to those things which are of the doctrinals of faith, inasmuch as those things are signified by Lot's wife.

Verse 33. But should rather renounce self-love and its guidance, that so they may be led of the Divine Love.

Verse 34. Since when there is no faith, because no charity, they within the Church who live according to the doctrine of truth will be saved, and they within the Church who live contrary to the doctrine of what is true will be damned.

Verse 35. They also who confirm themselves in truths from the Word will be saved, and they who confirm themselves in falsities will be damned.

Verse 36. They too will be saved who are principled in truth of doctrine, and they will be damned who are principled in the false of doctrine.

Verse 37. And confirmations of what is false will be multiplied in the vastated Church.

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