Luke 17–19

17TH CHAPTER

Causing Others to Lose Faith—Matthew 18:6–10; Mark 9:42–50

¹Jesus told his disciples, “Situations that cause people to lose their faith are certain to arise. But how horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith! ²It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith. ³So watch yourselves! 

“If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him. ⁴Even if he wrongs you seven times in one day and comes back to you seven times and says that he is sorry, forgive him.” 

The Apostles Ask for More Faith

⁵Then the apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.” 

⁶The Lord said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you. 

⁷“Suppose someone has a servant who is plowing fields or watching sheep. Does he tell his servant when he comes from the field, ‘Have something to eat’? ⁸No. Instead, he tells his servant, ‘Get dinner ready for me! After you serve me my dinner, you can eat yours.’ ⁹He doesn’t thank the servant for following orders. ¹⁰That’s the way it is with you. When you’ve done everything you’re ordered to do, say, ‘We’re worthless servants. We’ve only done our duty.’ ” 

Ten Men with a Skin Disease Are Healed

¹¹Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee on his way to Jerusalem. ¹²As he went into a village, ten men with a skin disease met him. They stood at a distance ¹³and shouted, “Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us!” 

¹⁴When he saw them, he told them, “Show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were made clean.^a15When one of them saw that he was healed, he turned back and praised God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He quickly bowed at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (The man was a Samaritan.) 

¹⁷Jesus asked, “Weren’t ten men made clean? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Only this foreigner came back to praise God.” 

¹⁹Jesus told the man, “Get up, and go home! Your faith has made you well.” 

The Pharisees Ask about God’s Kingdom

²⁰The Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. 

He answered them, “People can’t observe the coming God’s kingdom. ²¹They can’t say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ You see, God’s kingdom is within^byou.” 

Jesus Teaches about the Time When He Will Come Again

²²Jesus said to his disciples, “The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. ²³People will say, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Don’t run after those people. ²⁴The day of the Son of Man^cwill be like lightning that flashes from one end of the sky to the other. ²⁵But first he must suffer a lot and be rejected by the people of his day. 

²⁶“When the Son of Man comes again, the situation will be like the time of Noah. ²⁷People were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. Then the flood destroyed all of them. 

²⁸“The situation will also be like the time of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from the sky and destroyed all of them. ³⁰The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that. 

³¹“On that day those who are on the roof shouldn’t come down to get their belongings out of their houses. Those who are in the field shouldn’t turn back. ³²Remember Lot’s wife! ³³Those who try to save their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives will save them. 

³⁴“I can guarantee that on that night if two people are in one bed, one will be taken and the other one will be left. ³⁵Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other one will be left.”^d

³⁷They asked him, “Where, Lord?” 

Jesus told them, “Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.” 

18TH CHAPTER

God Will Help His People

¹Jesus used this illustration with his disciples to show them that they need to pray all the time and never give up. ²He said, “In a city there was a judge who didn’t fear God or respect people. ³In that city there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice.’ 

⁴“For a while the judge refused to do anything. But then he thought, ‘This widow really annoys me. Although I don’t fear God or respect people, ⁵I’ll have to give her justice. Otherwise, she’ll keep coming to me until she wears me out.’ ” 

⁶The Lord added, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge thought. ⁷Won’t God give his chosen people justice when they cry out to him for help day and night? Is he slow to help them? ⁸I can guarantee that he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

A Pharisee and a Tax Collector

⁹Jesus also used this illustration with some who were sure that God approved of them while they looked down on everyone else. ¹⁰He said, “Two men went into the temple courtyard to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people! I’m not a robber or a dishonest person. I haven’t committed adultery. I’m not even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my entire income.’ 

¹³“But the tax collector was standing at a distance. He wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Instead, he became very upset, and he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 

¹⁴“I can guarantee that this tax collector went home with God’s approval, but the Pharisee didn’t. Everyone who honors himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be honored.” 

Jesus Blesses Children—Matthew 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16

¹⁵Some people brought infants to Jesus to have him hold them. When the disciples saw this, they told the people not to do that. 

¹⁶But Jesus called the infants to him and said, “Don’t stop the children from coming to me! Children like these are part of God’s kingdom. ¹⁷I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn’t receive God’s kingdom as a little child receives it will never enter it.” 

Eternal Life in the Kingdom—Matthew 19:16–30; Mark 10:17–31

¹⁸An official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

¹⁹Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God. ²⁰You know the commandments: Never commit adultery. Never murder. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Honor your father and your mother.” 

²¹The official replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a boy.” 

²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still need one thing. Sell everything you have. Distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!” 

²³When the official heard this, he became sad, because he was very rich. ²⁴Jesus watched him and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom! ²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.” 

²⁶Those who heard him asked, “Who, then, can be saved?” 

²⁷Jesus said, “The things that are impossible for people to do are possible for God to do.” 

²⁸Then Peter said, “We’ve left everything to follow you.” 

²⁹Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Anyone who gave up his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of God’s kingdom ³⁰will certainly receive many times as much in this life and will receive eternal life in the world to come.” 

For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 20:17–19; Mark 10:32–34

³¹Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said to them, “We’re going to Jerusalem. Everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. ³²He will be handed over to foreigners. They will make fun of him, insult him, spit on him, ³³whip him, and kill him. But on the third day he will come back to life.” 

³⁴But they didn’t understand any of this. What he said was a mystery to them, and they didn’t know what he meant. 

Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man—Matthew 20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52

³⁵As Jesus came near Jericho, a blind man was sitting and begging by the road. ³⁶When he heard the crowd going by, he tried to find out what was happening. ³⁷The people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸Then the blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹The people at the front of the crowd told the blind man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

⁴⁰Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him. When the man came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹“What do you want me to do for you?” 

The blind man said, “Lord, I want to see again.” 

⁴²Jesus told him, “Receive your sight! Your faith has made you well.” ⁴³Immediately, he could see again. He followed Jesus and praised God. All the people saw this, and they, too, praised God. 

19TH CHAPTER

Zacchaeus Meets Jesus

¹Jesus was passing through Jericho. ²A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was the director of tax collectors, and he was rich. ³He tried to see who Jesus was. But Zacchaeus was a small man, and he couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd. ⁴So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see Jesus, who was coming that way. 

⁵When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down! I must stay at your house today.” 

⁶Zacchaeus came down and was glad to welcome Jesus into his home. ⁷But the people who saw this began to express disapproval. They said, “He went to be the guest of a sinner.” 

⁸⸤Later, at dinner,⸥ Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Lord, I’ll give half of my property to the poor. I’ll pay four times as much as I owe to those I have cheated in any way.” 

⁹Then Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “You and your family have been saved today. You’ve shown that you, too, are one of Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁰Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who…