Faith and the coming of the kingdom; ten lepers healed

17:11 Now on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 17:12 As he was entering a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance, 17:13 raised their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 17:14 When he saw them he said, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went along, they were cleansed. 17:15 Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 17:16 He fell with his face to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. (Now he was a Samaritan.) 17:17 Then Jesus said, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 17:18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 17:19 Then he said to the man, "Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well." 17:20 Now at one point the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming, so he answered, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 17:21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst." 17:22 Then he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 17:23 Then people will say to you, 'Look, there he is!' or 'Look, here he is!' Do not go out or chase after them. 17:24 For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 17:25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 17:27 People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage - right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 17:28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 17:29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 17:30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 17:31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof, with his goods in the house, must not come down to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back. 17:32 Remember Lot's wife! 17:33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 17:34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 17:35 There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left." 17:37 Then the disciples said to him, "Where, Lord?" He replied to them, "Where the dead body is, there the vultures will gather."

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Jesus’ mercy is meant to bring people back to him in grateful faith, not simply to send them on with a blessing. He also teaches that God’s kingdom was already present in his own person and ministry, while the final day of the Son of Man still lies ahead and will come openly, suddenly, and with decisive judgment.

Website-Ready Commentary Main Point: Jesus’ mercy is meant to lead people back to him in thankful faith, not merely on with their lives after receiving help. God’s kingdom was already present in Jesus’ ministry, but its full unveiling will come later in the day of the Son of Man, and that day will arrive suddenly and bring judgment. Commentary: Luke reminds us that Jesus is still on the way to Jerusalem. That journey keeps his coming suffering in view, which matters because later in this passage Jesus says that the Son of Man must first suffer before the final day comes. He is traveling through the border region between Samaria and Galilee, a setting that fits the appearance of a Samaritan in the story and also matches Luke’s repeated emphasis that unexpected outsiders sometimes respond better than those who should have known better. As Jesus enters a village, ten men with leprosy meet him. They stand at a distance, in keeping with the Old Testament laws concerning uncleanness and the social exclusion that came with this disease. They do not make demands. Together they cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Their appeal is for compassion, not for something they believe they deserve. Jesus tells them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” This assumes the Old Testament procedure in Leviticus, where priests verified cleansing so that a person could be recognized as clean again and restored to normal community life. Jesus does not touch them here. Instead, he gives them a command, and as they go, they are cleansed. The priests do not cause the healing. Jesus heals them as they respond obediently to his word. Then one of the ten, when he sees that he has been healed, turns back. He praises God with a loud voice, falls at Jesus’ feet, and thanks him. Luke then adds a striking detail: this man was a Samaritan. That is not incidental. It is the sharp point of the story. The one who returns to give glory to God is the outsider. Jesus asks, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” These are not requests for information. He is exposing their failure to respond rightly to mercy. All ten received the physical benefit, but only one came back in worshipful gratitude. In returning to Jesus and thanking him, the Samaritan is also glorifying God. Luke presents no conflict between honoring Jesus and glorifying God. God’s mercy is being encountered in and through Jesus. Jesus then says to the man, “Your faith has made you well.” Since all ten were already said to be cleansed, this points to more than physical healing alone. The word here carries the sense of saving, rescuing, or making whole. So this is not merely a lesson in good manners. The Samaritan’s return showed a deeper faith—a personal trust that recognized God’s mercy in Jesus and brought him back in praise and thanks. He received not only cleansing, but a fuller wholeness. The next section shifts from the healing story to Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God, but the two parts belong together. Both deal with recognition, response, and readiness. The Samaritan recognized what God had done in Jesus and returned rightly. The Pharisees, by contrast, ask when the kingdom of God is coming. Jesus answers that the kingdom of God is not coming in a way that can be tracked by visible signs in the manner they expect. People will not be able to say, “Look, here it is,” or “There it is,” as though the kingdom were a spectacle to locate and measure. Then he says, “The kingdom of God is in your midst.” In this context, that does not mean the kingdom was inwardly present inside each Pharisee. Jesus is speaking to questioning Pharisees, and the verses that follow still point to a future public unveiling. The meaning is that the kingdom was already present among them in Jesus himself and in his ministry. Jesus then turns to his disciples and speaks about the future. Days are coming when they will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and they will not see it. In other words, a period of waiting and longing lies ahead. During that time, false reports will arise: “Look there!” or “Look here!” Jesus tells them not to go out and chase such claims. His coming will not be hidden, local, or secretive. It will be like lightning flashing across the sky—sudden, public, and unmistakable. But before that final day, something else must happen: the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Jesus does not allow people to move straight to kingdom glory while skipping over his suffering. Rejection and suffering come first; public vindication and judgment come later. Jesus then compares that coming day to the days of Noah and Lot. In both cases, people were living ordinary lives—eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building. The problem is not that these activities are sinful in themselves. The point is that life continued as normal right up until sudden judgment fell. People were unprepared. Judgment broke into ordinary routine without warning and destroyed them. That is how it will be when the Son of Man is revealed. So Jesus gives urgent instruction. On that day, a man on the roof must not go down into the house to get his belongings. A person in the field must not turn back. The warning concerns self-protecting attachment. When that decisive moment comes, possessions and earthly securities must not rule the heart. Jesus then says, “Remember Lot’s wife!” She is the negative example. She was escaping judgment, yet looked back, showing attachment to what God was judging. Jesus immediately adds the principle: whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. This is a general truth stated in the setting of final crisis. If someone clings to present security rather than obeying God, that grasping will end in ruin. But costly surrender in obedience to God is the path to true preservation. Jesus next says that in that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left. The point is that the coming day will bring separation even between close companions engaged in ordinary life. Shared home, shared work, or outward nearness will not guarantee the same outcome. The meaning of “taken” and “left” has been debated, but in this context the stronger reading is that the one taken is taken in judgment, while the one left is left in preservation. That fits the examples of Noah and Lot, where the judged are swept away, and it also fits the final proverb Jesus gives. When the disciples ask, “Where, Lord?” Jesus answers, “Where the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.” He is not giving a map or a geographic prediction. He answers with a proverb. The point is that judgment will be evident and unavoidable. Where its object is found, its arrival will be as sure and recognizable as vultures gathering around a corpse. Taken together, this passage teaches two closely related truths. First, Jesus’ mercy must be met with thankful, faith-filled return to him. It is possible to receive a benefit from Jesus and still fail to respond rightly, as the nine did. Second, the kingdom is already present in Jesus, but its final revelation still lies ahead. Therefore people must neither be blind to the kingdom’s present reality nor chase speculative claims about hidden manifestations. They must recognize Jesus now, trust him, and remain ready for the sudden and public day when he is revealed.

• All ten lepers were physically cleansed, but only the returning Samaritan received Jesus’ word of fuller saving wholeness. - The Samaritan’s gratitude to Jesus is presented as giving glory to God, showing that God’s mercy is encountered in and through Jesus. - The kingdom of God was already present among them in Jesus’ person and ministry
• it is not merely an inward feeling or private experience. - The Son of Man’s final day will not be secret or local but open and unmistakable, like lightning across the sky. - Jesus’ suffering and rejection come before his public vindication and the final judgment. - The examples of Noah and Lot stress ordinary life continuing until sudden judgment breaks in. - Clinging to present life and security at the cost of obedience leads to loss
• relinquishing life in obedient allegiance leads to preservation. - The coming judgment will separate even close companions
• outward nearness to others does not guarantee salvation.

• Do not reduce the Samaritan story to a lesson about politeness. The issue is faith that recognizes God’s mercy in Jesus and returns to him. - Do not read “the kingdom of God is in your midst” as teaching that the kingdom was inwardly present inside the Pharisees. In context it refers to the kingdom present among them in Jesus. - Do not turn this passage into a guide for chasing end-times reports or hidden manifestations. Jesus explicitly forbids that. - Do not overread the Noah and Lot comparisons. Their main point here is sudden judgment breaking into ordinary life. - Do not treat the final proverb about vultures as a coded timetable or geographic forecast. It speaks of the certainty and obviousness of judgment.

The healing account turns on more than disease removal. Jesus sends the lepers toward priestly verification, so the miracle concerns restored standing as well as bodily cleansing, and the Samaritan's return shows that the deepest restoration is found in recognizing God's mercy in Jesus. The kingdom sayings then prevent two opposite mistakes: the kingdom is not a hidden datum to be charted by Pharisaic observation, yet neither is it exhausted by present experience, since the Son of Man's day will arrive publicly, suddenly, and judicially.

- When the Lord shows mercy, do not stop at relief alone; return to him with explicit thanks and praise. - Obey Jesus’ word even before you see the outcome, as the lepers did on the way to the priests. - Do not confuse receiving blessings with having a right response to Christ. - Hold possessions and ordinary securities loosely, so they do not govern you when obedience becomes costly. - Live in readiness. Ordinary routines are not proof that judgment is far away. - Honor both truths Jesus teaches here: the kingdom is already present in him, and its final public revelation is still to come.

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