Luke 17:1-19 "Faith and Its Fruits" As I've suggested throughout this series, Luke's gospel is structured around geography. Luke starts in the temple in Jerusalem, and Luke ends in the temple in Jerusalem. And whenever the narrative is about to change direction, you can be sure that a geographical reference will point us in the right way. The geographical reference in 17:11 suggests that we are wrapping up one subsection of Luke's gospel today. Luke starts his narrative of the ministry of Jesus at the Jordan River "in the wilderness" (ch 3). Then Luke's account of the temptations moves from the wilderness to Jerusalem (4:1-13), prefiguring the whole movement of Jesus' ministry. Luke 4:14-9:50 recounts Jesus' ministry in Galilee, concluding with the Transfiguration, where Moses and Elijah speak with Jesus of the Exodus which he would accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:51-19:48 then tells of the road to Jerusalem, but there are several subsections to this road each with its own theme. Luke 9:51-13:21 started with the disciples wanting to call fire from heaven against the Samaritans, but Jesus makes it clear that judgment is coming rather on Israel, and indeed, that Jesus will take upon himself the fire of God's wrath. But if judgment is coming upon Israel, then the natural question that follows is, Will those who are saved be few? (13:23) That question drives 13:22-17:10, the subsection that we conclude today. Jesus' answer focuses on the theme of the feast of the kingdom of God. This section of the road to Jerusalem is focused on Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees. They had thought that they were the heirs of the kingdom. They were certain that they would be present at the banquet in the kingdom of God. But Jesus says that his banquet will be attended by the most unlikely people! I can't help but point out that this section 13:22-17:10 is loaded with banquet/dinner language: 13:26-29 people who were eating and drinking with Jesus would not sit at table in the kingdom of God 14:1-24 the whole passage is set at a Sabbath dinner at a Pharisee's house, and consists of three parables about feasts 14:34 speaks of salt, the key to fellowship at table 15:1 the Pharisees grumble because Jesus eats with sinners, and the chapter ends with the feast celebrating the return of the prodigal son 16:6-7 speaks of the managers dishonesty with oil and wheat, while 16:19-21 contrasts the feasts of the rich man with the hunger of Lazarus Today we are completing this section. And we come full circle. Because today we find ourselves back in Samaria! (17:11, "On the way to Jerusalem, he was passing between Samaria and Galilee") As we complete the section "will few be saved?" we also come to Luke's conclusion of the "road to Jerusalem." This conclusion (17:11-18:34) is Luke's summary of the main themes of Jesus' teaching, concluding with Jesus foretelling his death for the third time. So here in chapter 17 we are drawing near to the end of the road to Jerusalem. 1. The Heart of Discipleship: Repentance and Forgiveness (17:1-4) And he said to his disciples, 'Temptations to sin' [literally, stumbling blocks] are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come. Jesus has just been talking about how the rich man wished to send someone back from the dead in order to warn his five brothers to repent and turn away from their sin. Now Jesus says that stumbling blocks are going to come. The word for "stumbling block" is skandalon from which we get our word scandal. The idea is that while a person is looking around, you quickly slip something in front of their feet in order to trip them up. Leviticus 19:14 warns not to put a "skandalon" before the feet of the blind. Joshua 23:13 says that if Israel rebels against the LORD, God will leave the nations as a "skandalon" to trap them and destroy them. This comes to pass in Judges 2:3 when God says that he will leave the nations so that their gods would be "a skandalon" for Israel, so that they would fall. The idea of the "skandalon" or stumbling block is something that will make people fall away from worshiping the LORD. A stumbling block or "temptation to sin" in the ESV, is not about something that offends me. This really has nothing to do with the "weaker brother" argument that Paul will make in Romans and 1 Corinthians. A stumbling block is something makes you fall away from worshiping the LORD. To cause someone to stumble is to turn them away from loving the LORD their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind and with all their strength. Rather, a stumbling block is something which directs the heart away from Christ. That is why Jesus says woe to the one through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin [literally, stumble]. The one who causes others to stumble and fall faces a terrible fate-- a fate worse than death. And so Jesus says, Pay attention to yourselves! We are talking about the difference between eternal life and eternal death. If the one who causes others to stumble and fall faces a fate worse than death, then, If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. Notice that now we are not talking about skandala (stumbling blocks). Now we are talking about the ordinary Greek word for sin. In other words, if you don't want sin to become a stumbling block, then repent and forgive. We all sin. The question is what do we do about our sin? And what do we do when others sin? If your brother sins, rebuke him. This requires wisdom on both sides. You need wisdom to effectively receive a rebuke. We don't like it when people tell us that we're wrong. But Proverbs 9:8-9 says, rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man, and will be still wiser; Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. Do you love those who rebuke you? We all need wisdom and humility to accept a rebuke. And even if the person doesn't come in a useful way. Maybe they are being selfish and rude, but they are also right! You need the wisdom to love the one who rebukes you and shows you the path of life (no matter how poorly!) But we especially need wisdom to know how to rebuke effectively. Because I'm sure we've all seen it done poorly! What does a wise rebuke look like? 1) a wise rebuker is not worried about himself (If you are trying to "get your own way" it inevitably comes off poorly!) Rather, the reason for bringing the rebuke is for the sake of the person who is sinning. You don't want this person to stumble and fall and you certainly don't want this person's sin to cause someone else to stumble. But the key is that you are not doing this for your own benefit. You are doing this because you love the person who has sinned. 2) a wise rebuker understands the one being rebuked The first question to ask yourself when you are preparing to rebuke someone is: "How can I say this in a way that this person will be able to appreciate?" After all, if you are doing this for their good, then your chief concern should be that they get the point! Sarcasm and cynicism are usually counter-productive, but then again, the key is to know the person and understand what will communicate best. But if you understand that you are there for the good of the person you are rebuking, and if you seek to communicate your rebuke in the manner that will be most effective, then hopefully you will frequently encounter part two of Jesus's admonition: and if he repents, forgive him (v3) Of course you need to be prepared for this! Any time you rebuke or confront someone, you need to be ready to forgive. Because if they do repent, then you are required to forgive. Jesus even adds, if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, "I repent," you must forgive him. Our children are quite used to this! They are constantly repenting and forgiving. We adults should have the same principles. Sure, we hope that as we grow in age we will also grow in grace, and thus we rightly expect to see greater maturity over time. But the principle doesn't change. Even as God has forgiven us, so must we forgive others. If you want to put limits on it, and say that you will only forgive three times, and then you are done! That's fine. You can do that. But let me warn you, if you decide to only forgive sometimes, then God will only forgive you "sometimes." Jesus says in Matthew 6 and Luke 6 that God will forgive us based on how we forgive others. And the reason is because we will forgive others based on how God has forgiven us! If we are truly grateful for God's bountiful forgiveness, then we will respond by forgiving others. You might say, 'but Pastor, you don't understand how difficult it is to forgive this person!' I probably don't. But God does. After all, he has to keep forgiving you! You keep coming back, over and over again! And for the same sin, no less! If God forgave you the way you forgive others, how would fare? Therefore, if he repents, forgive him. (Incidentally, this doesn't mean that if your employee steals from you, and then repents that you can't fire him. If you have someone who is plainly "playing the system" and mocking your forgiveness, you still forgive them, but you don't have to be stupid about it!) 2. The Heart of Faith: We Have Only Done Our Duty (17:5-10) Notice that while Jesus said these things to his "disciples" (the larger body of those who followed him), it is the apostles (the twelve) who reply: Increase our faith! They realize that what Jesus is commanding is difficult. It is hard to forgive. And so they respond, increase our faith! We need faith in order to forgive the way that Jesus commands. And the Lord said, If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'be uprooted and planted in the sea' and it would obey you. (v6) Don't get caught up in the literal here. Jesus is not talking about telekinetics. He has just told his disciples to forgive those who repent. He has told his disciples to forgive those who repent even if they keep doing it! In other words, he has commanded a very difficult thing. Jesus compares two very different things here: 1) forgiving everyone who sins against you 2) getting trees to throw themselves into the sea Indeed, these two things are equally difficult! I tried getting the cherry tree in our back yard to disassemble itself and resolve itself into a neatly split wood pile in our backyard! Obviously I don't have faith like a grain of mustard seed! Jesus is teaching his disciples about the necessity of grace. They are saying, we are miserable failures at forgiveness. And Jesus is saying, of course you are! You are as likely to succeed at forgiving everyone as you are of getting a tree to throw itself in the sea! And even if you did everything right, you don't get any brownie points for it, because you only did what you were commanded! Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you are commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.' (v7-10) You can't go "above and beyond" what God commands. If you succeed at forgiving your brother every time, there is no room for boasting. You merely did what you were supposed to do! Lord, increase our faith! 3. The Heart of Gratitude: Your Faith Has Made You Well (17:11-19) Verses 11-19 functions as the bridge between 13:22-17:10 and the conclusion (17:11-18:34). In fact, it ties together the whole road to Jerusalem. The reference to Samaria places us in the same geographical location where we started in 9:51, showing us that this is still part of the same section. But also the fact that only 1 of the 10 lepers demonstrates faith hearkens back to 13:23 "will those who are saved be few?" (the theme of this section that is now concluding). Indeed, the fact that the only leper who responded with gratitude was a Samaritan is especially damning to Israel. Were there no Jewish lepers who would respond in faith, that Jesus had to cleanse a Samaritan?! The message is clear: God's judgment is coming against Israel, and indeed, against all ungrateful people who by their actions repudiate the grace of God. Jesus was passing by a village on the border between Samaria and Galilee. We are back in the north of Israel, suggesting again that Luke is not following a chronological format, but more of a topical format. But Jesus is most certainly on the way to Jerusalem. He is headed toward the cross, and the cross must be held in the foreground if we are to understand Luke's point here. And ten lepers cried out from a distance, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And Jesus replied, Go and show yourselves to the priests. In this instance he did not touch them. Rather, his word went forth and accomplished the purpose for which he sent it, and they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. (v15-16) This is the response of gratitude. We don't know the ethnicity of the others, but Jesus' response makes it sound like they were Jews: Was there no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? (17:18) The Samaritans were the half-breeds who did not accept the whole Old Testament. They believed Moses, but they did not accept David or the Prophets. And yet this Samaritan repents, falls at the feet of the Son of David and praises God, giving thanks to Jesus for healing him. This is the answer to the question, "will those who are saved be few?" It is not a yes or no answer. The answer is, whoever will give praise to God! Because the heart of saving faith is gratitude. We give thanks to God for his great mercy. That is the response of faith! Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well. [literally, your faith has saved you] Weren't the other nine healed? Sure. In one sense. Their leprosy was gone, and they could be restored to the worshiping community. But there is a certain ambiguity about their status. They are restored to Israel, but Israel is coming under judgment. Only this Samaritan gives praise to God. Only he shows the fruits of faith by coming back to give thanks to Jesus. The healing of the lepers is a sign of the coming of the kingdom. Jesus has come in order to establish the kingdom of God. In the coming of Jesus we see the coming of the kingdom, and all those who believe in him become partakers of his kingdom. Jesus has come in order to establish a new way of being Israel one that includes the unclean, the Samaritans, even Gentiles. Conclusion We are those unclean Gentiles whom Jesus has cleansed and brought into his kingdom. We are called to respond to Jesus' saving power by faith and repentance, and with humility to admit that even when we obey, we have only done what was our duty. But we must remember that we are to take the love of Christ to the unlovable. We are to forgive the unforgivable. And if you think that Jesus' commands are too difficult, then you are to respond with the apostles, Lord, increase our faith! If we are the kingdom and household of God, then we are to put into practice what our Lord and Master has taught us. As Jesus says in Matthew 28:20, the call of discipleship is to "teach them to observe all that I have commanded you." It is not enough simply to instruct. Education is not the answer. Discipleship requires us to teach them to observe (to obey) all that Jesus has commanded. And we can only do this if we, ourselves, are first disciples. We need to be obeying all that Jesus commanded!