AM March 29th Luke 17

March 29^th         Luke 17             Forgiveness and Faith

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.

Jesus cleanses Ten Lepers

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.

The Kingdom & Second Coming

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.

Here Christ speaks about offences. That is the hurts and damages that come to us all. Christ gives the terrible picture of a man standing on the stern of a ship with a large stone used for milling bread which was common in every home and he has it around his neck and he is going to throw himself into the deepest sea. Why is he going to take his life? To prevent himself from hurting a young child who believes in Christ. Christ said be very careful what you do. And if a brother sin against you rebuke him and if he repents forgive him. He says if he sins against you seven times a day then rebuke him seven times and if he repents forgive him seven times. The disciples recognised the need for greater faith and they ask for more faith so Christ explains that it is not the size of faith that is important but the greatness of the God in whom our faith is. No servant expects to take precedent over the master nor do they expect thanks. In a Samaritan village Christ is met by ten lepers. They pleased for help from Christ so he told them to go to the priest and to offer the sacrifices required in the law for the cleansing of a leper. They obeyed and went but on their way one of them realised that he was made clean so he turned around and thanked Jesus. Who said where are the nine with you? The one who gave thanks was a Samaritan. Later the Pharisees demanded of Christ when the kingdom of God would come. Christ teaches them that the kingdom will not come by individual observation. It will come like a bolt of lightening lighting up the whole sky for all to see. Christ explains that before this coming will be the suffering of the Messiah. Christ says that it will come like the coming of the flood in the days of Noah. They carried on living their lives and were taken completely by surprise. It was the same in the days of Lot, the fire fell from heaven and they were totally unprepared. The coming of Christ will be so sudden that there will not be any time, even to get your coat. Christ describes the gathering of men for judgment he says there will be two men in a bed one will be taken in judgment and the other will be left for blessing. There will be two grinding at a flour mill and the one woman will be taken for judgment and the other left for the kingdom blessings. There will be two men in a field one will be removed in judgment and other left for the kingdom. This coming in judgment is in complete contrast to the coming of the Lord for the church which is his body. Those taken then will be taken for blessing and those left will be left for time of the wrath of God.