Luke 17:1–19:27

Sin, Faith and Duty

17Jesus spoke to his disciples. “Things that make people sin are sure to come,” he said. “But how terrible it will be for the person who brings them! ²Suppose people lead one of these little ones to sin. It would be better for those people to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck. ³So watch what you do.

“If your brother sins, tell him he is wrong. Then if he turns away from his sins, forgive him. ⁴Suppose he sins against you seven times in one day. And suppose he comes back to you each time and says, ‘I’m sorry.’ Forgive him.”

⁵The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”

⁶He replied, “Suppose you have faith as small as a mustard seed. Then you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up. Be planted in the sea.’ And it will obey you.

⁷“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. And suppose the servant came in from the field. Would you say to him, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸No. Instead, you would say, ‘Prepare my supper. Get yourself ready. Wait on me while I eat and drink. Then after that you can eat and drink.’ ⁹Would you thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

¹⁰“It’s the same with you. Suppose you have done everything you were told to do. Then you should say, ‘We are not worthy to serve you. We have only done our duty.’ ”

Jesus Heals Ten Men

¹¹Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into a village, ten men met him. They had a skin disease. They were standing close by. ¹³And they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”

¹⁴Jesus saw them and said, “Go. Show yourselves to the priests.” While they were on the way, they were healed.

¹⁵When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back. He praised God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Jesus asked, “Weren’t all ten healed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Didn’t anyone else return and give praise to God except this outsider?”

¹⁹Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

The Coming of God’s Kingdom

²⁰Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He replied, “The coming of God’s kingdom is not something you can see just by watching for it carefully. ²¹People will not say, ‘Here it is.’ Or, ‘There it is.’ God’s kingdom is among you.”

²²Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. “The time is coming,” he said, “when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man. But you won’t see it. ²³People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ Or, ‘Here he is!’ Don’t go running off after them.

²⁴“When the Son of Man comes, he will be like the lightning. It flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵But first the Son of Man must suffer many things. He will not be accepted by the people of today.

²⁶“Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ²⁷People were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking. They were buying and selling. They were planting and building. ²⁹But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven. And all the people were destroyed.

³⁰“It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is shown to the world. ³¹Suppose someone is on the roof of his house on that day. And suppose his goods are inside the house. He should not go down to get them. No one in the field should go back for anything either. ³²Remember Lot’s wife! ³³Anyone who tries to keep his life will lose it. Anyone who loses his life will keep it.

³⁴“I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed. One person will be taken and the other left. ^35/36Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷“Where, Lord?” his disciples asked.

He replied, “The vultures will gather where there is a dead body.”

The Story of the Widow Who Would Not Give Up

18Jesus told his disciples a story. He wanted to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said, “In a certain town there was a judge. He didn’t have any respect for God or care about people. ³A widow lived in that town. She came to the judge again and again. She kept begging him, ‘Make things right for me. Someone is doing me wrong.’

⁴“For some time the judge refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t have any respect for God. I don’t care about people. ⁵But this widow keeps bothering me. So I will see that things are made right for her. If I don’t, she will wear me out by coming again and again!’ ”

⁶The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge says.

⁷“God’s chosen people cry out to him day and night. Won’t he make things right for them? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸I tell you, God will see that things are made right for them. He will make sure it happens quickly.

“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find people on earth who have faith?”

The Story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹Jesus told a story to some people who were sure they were right with God. They looked down on everybody else. ¹⁰He said to them, “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee. The other was a tax collector.

¹¹“The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself. ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people,’ he said. ‘I am not like robbers or those who do other evil things. I am not like those who commit adultery. I am not even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week. And I give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³“But the tax collector stood not very far away. He would not even look up to heaven. He beat his chest and said, ‘God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner.’

¹⁴“I tell you, the tax collector went home accepted by God. But not the Pharisee. Everyone who lifts himself up will be brought down. And anyone who is brought down will be lifted up.”

Little Children Are Brought to Jesus

¹⁵People were also bringing babies to Jesus. They wanted him to touch them. When the disciples saw this, they told the people to stop.

¹⁶But Jesus asked the children to come to him. “Let the little children come to me,” he said. “Don’t keep them away. God’s kingdom belongs to people like them. ¹⁷What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who will not receive God’s kingdom like a little child will never enter it.”

Jesus and the Rich Ruler

¹⁸A certain ruler asked Jesus a question. “Good teacher,” he said, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

¹⁹“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good except God. ²⁰You know what the commandments say. ‘Do not commit adultery. Do not commit murder. Do not steal. Do not give false witness. Honor your father and mother.’ ”

²¹“I have obeyed all those commandments since I was a boy,” the ruler said.

²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You are still missing one thing. Sell everything you have. Give the money to those who are poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²³When the ruler heard this, he became very sad. He was very rich.

²⁴Jesus looked at him. Then he said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom! ²⁵Is it hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle? It is even harder for the rich to enter God’s kingdom!”

²⁶Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷Jesus replied, “Things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter said to him, “We have left everything we had in order to follow you!”

²⁹“What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus said to them. “Has anyone left home or family for God’s kingdom? ³⁰They will receive many times as much in this world. In the world to come they will live forever.”

Jesus Again Tells About His Coming Death

³¹Jesus took the Twelve to one side. He told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. ³²He will be handed over to people who are not Jews. They will make fun of him. They will laugh at him and spit on him. They will whip him and kill him. ³³On the third day, he will rise from the dead!”

³⁴The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them. So they didn’t know what Jesus was talking about.

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight

³⁵Jesus was approaching Jericho. A blind man was sitting by the side of the road begging. ³⁶The blind man heard the crowd going by. He asked what was happening. ³⁷They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

³⁸So the blind man called out, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

³⁹Those who led the way commanded him to stop. They told him to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

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

“Lord, I want to be able to see,” the blind man replied.

⁴²Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.”

⁴³Right away he could see. He followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²A man named Zacchaeus lived there. He was a chief tax collector and was very rich.

³Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. But he was a short man. He could not see Jesus because of the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree. He wanted to see Jesus, who was coming that way.

⁵Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was. He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So Zacchaeus came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

⁷All the people saw this. They began to whisper among themselves. They said, “Jesus has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ”

⁸But Zacchaeus stood up. He said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of what I own…