45. Ten Healed of Leprosy

Luke: A Walk Through the Life of Jesus

Luke 17:1-19

After talking about the reality of Hell in His warning to the Pharisees and religious elite in the previous passage, Jesus then turned his attention to the disciples to train them ahead of his departure and His ascension to the Father. In verses 1-10, the Lord Jesus gave four instructions to them. First, He warned them to be careful with the influence they have, reminding them and all in responsible positions of authority that there will be a calling to account for all that is said and done on our walk through this world (vv. 1-2). Secondly, Jesus talked about disciples being those who readily forgive and harbor no bad attitudes toward one another (vv. 3-4).  Thirdly, He taught them how to increase their faith (vv. 5-6). Lastly, He focused on serving God with no expectations (vv. 7-10). Luke then highlighted for us Jesus’ noticing the grateful attitude of only one of ten leprous men that returned to give thanks (vv. 11-19).

Sin and Accountability (vv. 1-2).

1Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin (Luke” 17:1-2).

When Luke wrote his Gospel, he didn’t write it with chapter divisions. Chapter divisions were added much later by a man named Stephen Langton in the year A.D. 1227. Luke wrote that Jesus continued His journey toward Jerusalem after He spoke these ten verses we are now studying (Luke 17:11). We can logically conclude that verses 1-10 carry on from the talk in chapter 16 about the Rich Man and Lazarus.

The rich man had been quite concerned about his five brothers (Luke 16:28) for a perfect reason; he had been a bad influence in their lives. He was confident that they were headed for the same eternal destination in which he was. The rich man had an impact on the lives of his brothers, and he knew that they looked up to him and emulated his lifestyle. An eternity in hell with his brothers’ blaming him would be worse than the situation he was presently experiencing. The more influence a person has, the greater the responsibility and accountability he has. Perhaps, Jesus had the rich man in mind when He said, “but woe to that person through whom they come” (v. 1).

Leadership is an often-used word today, but what does it mean? How do we define leadership? When is a person a leader? The obvious answer is that a leader is a person who, through his influence, has followers. Adolf Hitler was a leader, a very influential leader for evil, leading his people along a destructive path. Winston Churchill also was a great leader for the British during the Second World War. Through his stirring speeches, the British people were inspired to stand firm at their lowest hour before America came into the Second World War. If one works backward from the point of obtaining followers, leadership would be the ability to influence others. Jesus is saying that, when we are dealing with eternity, the ability to influence others, if improperly used, can be damning to a person’s soul.

We live in a world where the temptation to sin bombards us every day. Jesus told them that “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come” (v. 1). He used the Greek word skandalon to describe the temptation to sin. It was used to describe the bait in a trap; we get the phrase scandal from it. Later, the word came to mean any stumbling block placed in a person’s way to trip him. Jesus warns us to be careful with the influence we exert. We are not to put stumbling blocks in the way of others that might cause “little ones,” i.e., those who are young in the faith, to fall from the grace of Christ. The Lord says that it would be better if a millstone were to be tied around scandal–givers’ necks and for them to be thrown in the sea rather than hinder the relationship between a person and God.

(Below: Upper and Lower Millstone)