February 28, 2014: Luke Chapter 17

The Gospel According to Luke Chapter 17

Originally posted Monday, March 24, 2008

Luke Chapter 17:1-10

This is a collection of four sayings three of which appear in Matthew but not together. The subjects are sin, forgiveness, faith and the servant's wages.

Vss. 1-2 Scandal: The typical English translation of verse 1 is inadequate in expressing Luke's point. This is not stumbling as if someone were committing a "simple" sin. Placing a household-sized grinding stone around one's neck and being cast into the sea is a little extreme. The word typically translated as temptation is too mild for Luke's intent. The Greek reads, "It is impossible for a scandal not to come but woe [to the one] through whom it comes," where the word "scandal" means an offense that causes disgrace. In brief, a "scandal" is anything that causes a fellow Christian to lose faith, and in Luke's case that would mean renouncing one's faith. This in not just tempting someone to skip worship to get a good tee time (although Luke might have frowned on that too). Luke's community was under significant pressure from those who looked upon Christians as atheists and thought the Eucharist sounded like cannibalism. That and political persecution would be the scandal, the offense which might bring about a loss of faith.

Vss. 3-4 Forgiveness: Luke's version of this saying is more direct than Matthew's. He writes, "Pay attention to yourselves." Be on guard for the misbehavior of others against you. Every person in the church is responsible for correcting the other and to forgive that person even if the other sins seven times "during the day." As Luke puts it, "...and [if] he turns around to you seven times saying 'I repent,' you will forgive him." The seven times, as is the seventy seven times in Matthew is, of course, hyperbole to be sure the reader gets the point of the importance of forgiveness. As we will read in Paul's letters, the Gentile infusion into the Church created a cultural crisis for some when the normally accepted behavior of Gentiles clashed with the sterner morality and ethics of Monotheism. Correction and forgiveness would be very important in such a mixture.

Vss. 5-6 Increasing Faith: Luke uses the rare title "Apostles" instead of disciples which may mean this is an instruction to the Twelve, and likely a post-resurrection story brought forward. Here the Apostles ask Jesus to "add" faith to them. The word for add is of the same root as for prosthesis and can be understood as adding something that is missing and one does not have - as with a prosthetic limb. The Apostles would already have faith at some level (or they would not be Apostles!). They will need more and stronger faith when Jesus is no longer with them and they have been given the mission to preach the good news "to the ends of the earth." Both Luke and Matthew use a descriptive hyperbole to emphasize the need for a strong faith. Matthew calls for a faith that can move a mountain from one place to another. Luke will settle for a mulberry tree but will uproot it and replant it in the sea.

Neither Matthew nor Luke suggests how the disciples/Apostles go about increasing their faith. They only speak of the outcome of having faith. It seems improbable that faith is the same as a quantity of something that can be increased or decreased. Faith is something we have or we do not have. As Dr. Jim Cook once put it, "Faith is the soil in which the Christian is planted and rooted." This leads us to two important possibilities. First, this faith-soil can be nourished - aerated, watered and fertilized. That is the role of the spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, study, tithing and fellowship. To the degree that the faith-soil is nourished it will be productive or unproductive in effecting the growth and maturity of the planted seed/disciple. Second, the outcome of a well nourished soil is a strong, healthy tree and a strong, healthy tree bears good fruit. We are rooted in faith. This faith requires constant nourishment. The disciple rooted in this faith will bear the fruit of good works which are as stated in so many ways, to love God, neighbor and self; to do unto other as we would have them do unto us; to be a light to the nations and the salt of God's covenant; and to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.

Vss. 7-10 The Servant's Wages: From the faith and works of the disciple we move to the question of expectations. What do we expect in return for being the good and faithful disciple? Would we be satisfied with a letter of commendation, our name on a brick or a door to a room in a new building, an appointment to a prestigious board or committee? Do these reflect gathering treasures on earth rather than treasures in heaven as Matthew puts it? We all appreciate recognition when it comes our way and surely recognizing the accomplishments and talents of another is an appropriate Christian gesture of appreciation. The question is not whether we should or should not be recognized for our good works; it is, do we expect to be recognized in some way? Perhaps there is a hidden question within this question: do we do good works in order to be recognized? As one wag has put it, "Can we be good for nothing?"

Luke answers the question with the story of a hard working slave who has worked all day plowing a field and tending the sheep. At sundown he returns to the master's house. He receives no pat on the back and is not thanked for the day's work. Rather, he is told to put on his apron, prepare the evening meal and serve it to the master. When he has finished he receives no recognition for the meal. It is only then the slave can eat. Jesus asks if the slave is thanked for doing what he was supposed to do. He answers his own question changing perspectives putting the disciple in the role of the slave who says we have done only what we ought to have done. Thanks is not necessary. It feels good to receive thanks and a Christian will no doubt offer such thanks, but it is not necessary to the role of a faithful disciple of Jesus. We do not serve or give or love for the sake of receiving the plaudits of others. The reward is already in the doing.

Luke Chapter 17:11-19 Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

The core of this passage is from LK 5:12-16, the healing of one leper and his instruction to go show himself to the Priest and make the required sacrifice for his cleansing. Here Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He would have been traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee toward the Jordan River which he would cross (to avoid entering Samaria) then head south to the Jericho crossing. In an unnamed village ten lepers come out, keeping an appropriate distance. They ask Jesus to show mercy. In this version Jesus does not touch the lepers. He simply tells them to go show themselves to the Priests. As they go they receive healing through their faith in Jesus as one in whom God is at work. One of the ten, a Samaritan, returns to thank Jesus (in a posture of obeisance and worship). Jesus asks the rhetorical questions about the number of lepers made clean and is it just this "foreigner" who is loudly praising God for his healing.

The story is reminiscent of the Good Samaritan in which a foreigner is shown to be more obedient to doing God's work of mercy than the Jewish officials who passed by the injured man. So, we have a Samaritan who does God's work and a Samaritan who worships God. The conclusion is not difficult to discern. As with Jesus' association with "tax collectors and sinners," breaking bread and serving thousands of Gentiles, we are led to see within this passage Jesus' promise that the Kingdom of God is open to everyone. This is the justice of God offered without barriers.

Luke Chapter 17:20-37 The Coming of the Kingdom

Luke has provided a significant glimpse into the early church theology of the Kingdom of God and the end times which are separate realities, one present and one future. The Pharisees want to know when the Kingdom of God is coming. Jesus' answer would be (and is) a radical departure on the subject as far as the Pharisees are concerned. They would be aware of the words of Enoch and other Jewish Apocalyptic writers who describe the cosmic signs and earthly events that will precede the Kingdom. Jesus rejects such a notion. There will be no preceding signs. There will be nothing observable to which others can point. In fact, he says, the Kingdom of God is among you. This is the unique contribution of Christianity, that the Kingdom of God was already present in and through the life and ministry of Jesus. 

Another aspect of Luke's understanding of the Kingdom of God as already present and among us is the separation of the present Kingdom from the future coming of the Son of Man. The figure of the Son of Man is derived from Daniel and Enoch as the one who ushers in the cataclysmic Day of the Lord, the resurrection of the dead and final judgment. In this line of thinking it is after this that the Kingdom of God will be fully realized. There are varying interpretations of all of these elements of the end times. Luke seems to understand the "already and ongoing" present Kingdom as of first importance. Yet he does affirm the future day of the Son of Man. He writes of the interim period of the suffering and rejection of the Son of Man (Jesus), the normality of life and the surprising appearance of the Son of Man without signs or wonders beyond that of his coming.  When asked where the Son of Man will appear he refuses to answer just as he would not answer the "when" question of the Pharisees (vs. 20). His cryptic answer, taken from Job 39:26-30, "And where the slain are, there [the eagle] is." There are interpreters who equate this verse with the Roman Eagle which is a symbol of the Roman Army, appearing on their standards. The corpse would be representative of the Jewish dead in the war with Rome. We will read of this possibility later in Luke.

It is tempting to analyze this passage for clues about Jesus' return and the coming end times. It would seem more profitable to leave that to the hucksters, speculators and religious prognosticators while we go about the business of living in and for the Kingdom of God that has already come among us. How will we be the more faithful in the use of our efforts: stewing over times and seasons, signs and wonders or taking on the disciples' mantle, busying ourselves with the work of God knowing the Kingdom is already among us and needing our attention?