Глава 17

1–10. Instructions to students. – 11–19. Ten lepers. – 20–37. About the second coming of the Son of Man. Luke 17:1. Jesus also said to his disciples: it is impossible not to come to temptations, but woe to him through whom they come; The following instructions of Christ to the disciples stand out of connection with the previous parable. Evangelist Luke simply cites here those speeches of Christ that he considered necessary to communicate to his readers, without connecting them with one another. All attempts to establish such a connection seem very unnatural. For the most part, these sayings have already been found in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Thus, the present verse is a repetition of Matthew 18:7. Luke 17:2. It would have been better for him if a millstone had been hung around his neck and thrown into the sea, than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Luke 17:3. Watch yourself. If your brother sins against you, reprimand him; and if he repents, forgive him; Luke 17:4. and if he sins against you seven times a day and turns back seven times a day and says, “I repent,” forgive him. "Watch yourself." The Lord has just spoken about the temptations that may befall His disciples from other people. Now He inspires them that they themselves can give others a reason for temptation if they do not show forgiving love in relation to their sinning brother. “If he sins against you...” (see Matthew 18:15). “And if seven times...” (see Matthew 18:21–22). “Return”, i.e. will come back, having first left you in anger. Luke 17:5. And the Apostles said to the Lord: increase our faith. Luke 17:6. The Lord said: if you had faith the size of a mustard seed and said to this fig tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea, then it would listen to you. The apostles obviously ask for the strengthening of miraculous faith in them, which seemed to them a gift from God (cf. 1 Cor. 13:2). The Lord answers them that this is not a special faith, but the highest development of ordinary faith. If they have such simple faith, they will already be able to perform miracles (see Matthew 17:20). Here, instead of “mountain,” the “fig tree” is mentioned, but this does not change the idea. Luke 17:7. Which of you, having a slave plowing or herding, upon his return from the field, will say to him: go quickly, sit down at the table? Luke 17:8. On the contrary, will he not say to him: prepare my supper and, having girded yourself, serve me while I eat and drink, and then eat and drink yourself? Luke 17:9. Will he thank this servant for carrying out the order? Don't think. Luke 17:10. So you too, when you have fulfilled everything commanded you, say: we are worthless slaves, because we did what we had to do. The parable of the worthless servants is found only in one Evangelist, Luke. It is impossible to establish a connection with the previous one here. The Lord paints here a picture of a slave returning from hard work in the field or from the pasture. The slave's master, not paying attention to the slave's fatigue, orders him to prepare dinner for him, the master, and serve him with his belt on. And then, when the slave fulfills the master’s order, the latter will not even think of thanking him. The Lord immediately explains this parable. Disciples of Christ should also feel like servants of God. When they fulfill their duty before God, they should not expect any reward. A reward may be given, but they themselves, in a sense of humility, must realize that they are slaves, worthless, that is, of course, not worthy of special rewards. However, in some ancient translations, namely the Syriac ones, this expression “worthless” is not present; there is only one word “slaves” 22. AND. Weiss believes that this expression is inserted here on the basis of Matthew 25:26 (or it seems better to assume on the basis of Matthew 25:30, where this very expression occurs). Luke 17:11. Going to Jerusalem, He passed between Samaria and Galilee. Evangelist Luke again repeats that Christ is going to Jerusalem, heading towards Jerusalem, although this procession is very slow. So, in the present case, the Lord passes along the line that demarcated two regions - Samaria and Galilee. The Evangelist mentions Samaria and, moreover, puts it in the foreground in order to explain how one Samaritan ended up among the ten lepers, nine of whom were Jews. Luke 17:12. And as He entered a certain village, ten men who were lepers met Him and stood at a distance Luke 17:13. and with a loud voice they said: Jesus the Mentor! have mercy on us. Luke 17:14. When He saw them, He said to them: Go, show yourself to the priests. And as they walked, they purified themselves. Luke 17:15. One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, Luke 17:16. and fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him; and it was a Samaritan. Luke 17:17. Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed?” where is nine? Luke 17:18. how did they not return to give glory to God, except this foreigner? Luke 17:19. And he said to him: get up, go; your faith has saved you. At the entrance to one village, Christ was met by ten lepers (see Matthew 8:2). They stood at a distance, because the law forbade them to approach healthy people, so as not to infect them (Lev. 13:46), and they loudly spoke to Christ to have mercy on them. It is clear that they had some faith in Christ as a God-sent prophet. The Lord in response commands them to go and show themselves to the priests. Obviously, He thereby made it clear to them that they would now be healed, that the healing process itself had already begun, and that as soon as they reached the priests, they would turn out to be completely healthy. The lepers believed the Lord and went so that the priests would look at them and declare them well (Lev. 14:3-4). It is not said where, to which priest the Samaritan went, but, undoubtedly, to his Samaritan. And then on the road it turned out that everyone was truly freed from leprosy. This was a great miracle, and, of course, all those healed should have quickly returned to Christ in order to thank Him and, through Him, God for the healing received. But only one of those healed soon, apparently, without reaching the priest, returned, and this was a Samaritan. Christ, noting the ingratitude of the healed Jews, turns to the foreigner (ἀλλογενής, cf. Matt. 10:5) with soothing words, pointing out to him what actually saved him. Evangelist Luke reports this fact, obviously, with the aim of showing that the pagans - the Samaritan was close to them, at least in his origin - turned out to be more capable of appreciating the benefits of the revealed Kingdom of God than the Jews, who had long been prepared to accept this Kingdom. Luke 17:20. Having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them: The Kingdom of God will not come in a noticeable way, Luke 17:21. and they will not say: behold, it is here, or: behold, there. For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. To the question of the Pharisees, when, according to Christ, will the Kingdom of God come, i.e. What Christ can say about the signs and conditions of the onset of this Kingdom, the Lord answers that it will not come “in a noticeable way” (μετὰ παρατηρήσεως), i.e. so that his coming can be determined by conspicuous signs. By this the Lord denotes the spiritual character of the Kingdom He founded, the coming of which is therefore beyond human observation and, therefore, cannot be attributed to a specific moment (cf. verse 20, πότε - “when”). “And they won’t say...”. Those. It is impossible to prove the advent of this Kingdom by individual phenomena. “There is something inside you”, i.e. among you, in your circle, it already exists (ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν), but you,” the Lord mentally adds, “don’t even notice it. In saying this, the Lord could have meant the miracles He performed and especially the casting out of demons, which testified, as He said before, that the Kingdom of God had already reached the Jews (see Matthew 12:28). Some interpreters (from the ancients - St. John Chrysostom and Blessed Theophylact) gave this saying a different meaning. In their opinion, Christ was saying here that the Kingdom of God is “in your souls.” But this interpretation is strongly opposed by the fact that Christ’s speech was addressed to the Pharisees, in whose souls the Lord could least of all find signs of the onset and results of this new order of life, which He designated by the name of the Kingdom of God. Luke 17:22. He also said to the disciples: the days will come when you will wish to see even one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see; Luke 17:23. and they will say to you: here, here, or: here, there - do not go and do not chase, Luke 17:24. For as lightning that flashes from one end of the sky shines to the other end of the sky, so will the Son of Man be on His day. Christ, perhaps, after the removal of the Pharisees, turns to His disciples with some explanations regarding the question raised by the Pharisees about the advent of the Kingdom of God. He speaks of the opening of this Kingdom in its glorious form, which will coincide with the second coming of the Son of Man (this “Son of Man” must therefore first depart - an allusion to the death of Christ). "As you wish." This desire will probably be aroused in the disciples by the tribulations of recent times. “To see at least one of the days...” (“although” is a superfluous word), i.e. see (in the sense of experiencing, taking advantage of, cf. 1 Peter 3:10) one of the days of the Messianic time in order to rest from sorrows, but since the time of the coming of the Messiah should not yet come, you will not see this day. “And they will tell you...” (see Matt. 24:23, 26). “Like lightning” (see Matthew 24:27). The coming of the Messiah will be immediately visible to everyone, and there will be no need to learn about this coming from others. The lightning that Christ speaks about is extraordinary - it can be seen from one end of the sky to the other (the vault of heaven, according to the Babylonian-Jewish idea, rested its two ends on the ground). “On His day”, i.e. on the day of His coming to judge the world (this expression is reminiscent of the expression of the prophets “the day of Jehovah” - see Joel.1:15). Luke 17:25. But first He must suffer much and be rejected by this generation. Luke 17:26. And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: Luke 17:27. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:28. Just as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; Luke 17:29. but on the day that Lot came out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from the sky and destroyed everyone; Luke 17:30. so it will be on the day when the Son of Man appears. This comparison is found only in one evangelist, Luke. For the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, see comments on Gen. 19. “Shed” – more correctly: “shed” (ἔβρεξε – cf. Matthew 5:45). The subject implied here is God. “He will appear” – more precisely: “he will reveal himself (ἀποκαλύπτεται) in all His greatness.” Until then He will be hidden in heaven (cf. Col. 3:3 et seq.; 2 Thess. 1:7). Luke 17:31. On that day, whoever is on the housetop and his belongings are in the house, do not go down to take them; and whoever is on the field, also do not turn back. This instruction from the Evangelist Luke has the meaning that one must leave everything earthly in order to be ready to meet the returning Messiah. Obviously, the Evangelist Luke gives this instruction in view of the carefree life depicted above (verses 26–30), which humanity will lead before the second coming of Christ. Luke 17:32. Remember Lot's wife. Lot's wife is cited as an example of attachment to earthly acquisitions, because of which she died (see Gen. 19:26). Luke 17:33. Whoever saves his soul will destroy it; and whoever destroys her will bring her to life. In all likelihood, this saying here relates to the previous mention of Lot's wife. She thought about the property she had left behind and, turning towards her home, died. Thus, those who will take great care of their physical life will perish – mentally – when the Lord calls His followers to self-sacrifice. Luke 17:34. I tell you: on that night there will be two in one bed: one will be taken, and the other will be left; Luke 17:35. two will grind together: one will be taken, and the other will be left; Luke 17:36. two will be on the field: one will be taken, and the other will be left. Verse 36 is recognized by Western publishers of the Gospels as an interpolation from Matthew 24:40. In the New Testament, St. Alexy does not have this verse either. Luke 17:37. To this they said to Him: Where, Lord? He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the eagles will also gather.” The disciples ask: where exactly will this separation of some people from others take place? The Lord answers that this will be done wherever there are people who deserve punishment. For an explanation of the comparison itself, see the comments on Matthew 24:28. in fact, in the Peshitta text this expression appears in the form of the word “batile”. – Approx. ed. You might be interested in: