Commentary on the Four Gospel Books
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
G106 Other Teachings of the Lord Jesus
Luke 17:1–10

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All New Testament verses quoted in this article are from the English Majority Text Version, and Old Testament verses are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

Luke 17:1-10

1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible for offenses not to come, but woe to the one through whom they do come!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were around his neck, and he be cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day he returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come and recline to eat’?

8 But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something that I may dine, and gird yourself and serve me until I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?

9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things having been commanded? I think not.

10 So likewise you, whenever you do all the things having been commanded to you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what we ought to do.’ “

In this lesson, we will study together some other teachings of the Lord Jesus that He spoke to His disciples, following His teaching about Hades. These are His teachings on not becoming a cause of stumbling to others, forgiving those who sin and repent, having faith, and the duty of a servant. Luke 17:1–10 can be seen as the conclusion of what the Lord Jesus had taught, as recorded in Luke 15 and 16.

Luke 17:1-2

1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible for offenses not to come, but woe to the one through whom they do come!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were around his neck, and he be cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

The above saying of the Lord Jesus was also spoken by Him in a similar manner in two other situations that we have studied. The first case was when He taught about greatness in the Heavenly Kingdom, following the disciples’ question: “Who then is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?” That saying was recorded by Matthew:

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone be hanged on his neck, and he be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man through whom the offense comes!” (Matthew 18:6-7).

The second case was after the disciples’ argument about who was the greatest and the matter of some strangers casting out demons in the name of the Lord Jesus. That saying was recorded by Mark:

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were around his neck, and he be cast into the sea.” (Mark 9:42).

We would like to quote below our commentary on Matthew 18:6–7.

[Excerpt:]

Causing a child who believes in the Lord to stumble means leading them into sin; or causing them to lose faith in the Lord; or treating them unjustly, resulting in harm or suffering for them.

Grandparents and parents need to deeply reflect on this saying of the Lord Jesus. For they bear responsibility before the Lord for the souls of their children and grandchildren, who are the inheritance that God has entrusted into their hands. We may cause our children and grandchildren to stumble by allowing them to be influenced by the corrupt things of society; by failing to discipline them strictly with the rod, according to God’s command, thus letting them become unruly.

One of the gravest ways of causing children to stumble is overlooking their disobedience and disrespect. That is a sin worthy of death according to the Word of God. Failing to strictly control their use of phones and computers, allowing them access to networks filled with immorality, violence, superstition, and gang culture, is also causing them to stumble. Moreover, it is likely that one of the most frequent ways children are caused to stumble is through the bad habits and faults of their grandparents and parents.

When children sin and do not repent early, confessing their sins to the Lord and turning away from them, the devil will take the opportunity to tempt and incite them to sin even more.

The day when Christ comes to take the Church out of the world is near. Grandparents and parents must strictly shepherd their children and grandchildren according to the Word of God so that they will not be left behind to suffer in the seven years of great tribulation. Love your children and grandchildren according to the Word of God; do not love them with fleshly emotion by indulging their wrongdoings, causing them to suffer and be lost. Teach your children and grandchildren not to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2). And do not conform to this world yourselves, lest you become a bad example to them.

As those entrusted by the God to watch over the souls of their children and grandchildren, you—brothers and sisters—will have to answer before the God for the loss of your children and grandchildren.

″Woe to the world″ means sorrow and suffering for the world. The reason is that in the world there are things that cause people to sin. God allows these causes of sin to occur so that mankind may exercise their free will—either to choose to live according to the Word of the Lord and enjoy eternal happiness with Him or to choose to live against His Word and suffer eternal sorrow in separation from Him.

From the very beginning of creation, the forefather and foremother of humanity, Adam and Eve, were given the freedom to choose whether to obey the Word of God or not. Satan, through a serpent, lied and tempted them not to obey the Word of God, and they chose disobedience. From that point, sin entered the world. All suffering and death, as the consequences of sin, also entered the world. Since then, mankind has been bound by the power of sin, causing them to continue sinning and bringing about injustice and suffering upon themselves and others.

The cause of sin may come from someone’s lie; from someone’s unjust action; from someone’s greed or pride; from someone’s hypocrisy; from difficult and needy circumstances, etc. But perhaps most often, it is due to the irresponsibility of grandparents and parents—those who have the duty to watch over their children and grandchildren as they would the pupil of their own eye.

Whoever causes another to sin will suffer severe punishment from God. We understand that the one who causes another to sin will also be held responsible for that person’s sin.

[End of excerpt.]

Regarding how God’s people can become a cause of sin, we need to understand further that it is not necessarily only when God’s people tempt others to sin or treat others unjustly. It can also be words or actions that seem righteous from God’s people but cause others to sin.

These words or actions are called ″seemingly righteous″ because they are based on the Word of God but are misunderstood and wrongly applied.

A person might misunderstand the commandment to honor father and mother by taking their parents weekly to casinos or gambling establishments for entertainment, at the parents’ request.

A person might misunderstand the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 about separation, and as a result, abandon and fail to support unbelieving parents because they worship idols.

A person may misunderstand that God’s people must submit to one another by thinking that another person is sinful if that person does not do as they wish. Mutual submission means obeying words and decisions that are in accordance with the Word of God. In cases where two people’s differing opinions are both not against the Word of God, the choice should be to follow the opinion that is more beneficial or more convenient.

Additionally, a person may misunderstand that God’s people in the Church must submit to the pastor or elder by obeying decisions or imitating actions that are not according to the Word of God or are unreasonable from the pastor or elder. The story of the Apostle Peter’s hypocritical behavior in the Church at Antioch, which caused Barnabas to stumble, is recorded in Galatians 2:11-14.

In reality, pastors and elders may still speak or act incorrectly. God’s people must always compare everything with the Word of God and seek God’s will. When there is confusion or doubt, God’s people must directly raise their questions with the persons involved, in the name of the Lord, with the purpose of preserving love, holiness, righteousness, and unity in the Church.

″A millstone were around his neck″ refers to a very large and heavy millstone used in the milling industry at that time. If a person had such a large millstone tied around their neck and was thrown into the sea, it would be a terrible, painful, and certain death. However, the Lord Jesus taught that this temporary death of the body is better than the consequence of causing children or those weak in faith to stumble. Although the Lord’s statement is not specific, when combined with His other teachings about final judgment, we understand that the consequence of causing such a stumble is extremely serious. Its punishment will be eternal suffering in the lake of fire.

Luke 17:3-4

3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day he returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

″Take heed to yourselves″ is a brief command that in the original Greek of the Bible is just one word: “προσέχω” (prosechō – G4337) /pros-ekh’-o/. This word, depending on the context, includes the meanings:

• Keep oneself and those one is responsible for. Watch over the spiritual condition of oneself and of those the Lord has entrusted to one’s care.
• Pay attention, be mindful, and carefully meditate on the Word of God and the spiritual truths that are preached.
• Hold fast to the important things learned in the life of faith.
• Be careful, watchful, alert, and vigilant against negative influences or heresies.

The command ″Take heed to yourselves″ links two teachings of the Lord Jesus. First, the Lord Jesus instructs His disciples to keep themselves so that they do not become a cause of stumbling for others. Second, He also commands them to keep themselves so that they do not become without mercy and without forgiveness toward those who sin against them but have repented.

The sinning seven times in one day and also repenting seven times in one day should not be understood literally as seven times. Rather, it should be understood figuratively, with the number seven representing spiritual completeness. Spiritual completeness means without limit. This means that if in one day another person sins against us repeatedly, but each time they repent, we must forgive. Of course, repentance must be sincere, meaning recognizing the wrongdoing, feeling sorrow over the wrong action, and not wanting to repeat it.

Matthew records the dialogue between Peter and the Lord Jesus about forgiveness that we have learned, as follows:

“Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22).

We would like to excerpt our commentary on Matthew 18:21-22 below.

[Excerpt:]

Because the Lord Jesus was teaching the disciples how to deal with sin in the Church, the Apostle Peter asked Him a very practical question. That is, how many times should he forgive a brother or sister who sins against him—was it up to seven times? Peter understood the number seven literally. If the number seven is understood figuratively, meaning spiritual completeness, then forgiving someone up to seven times means forgiving completely and without limit.

The Lord Jesus’ answer should also not be understood literally as 490 times. Rather, it should be understood figuratively, meaning absolute forgiveness without limit to the number of times. Seventy is ten times seven. The figurative meaning of the number ten is completeness in quantity. “Seventy times seven” is an ancient idiom implying absolutely no limit to the number of times. In Genesis 4:24, the words of Lamech, the fifth-generation descendant of Cain, are recorded: if Cain is to be avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy times seven.

For God’s people to forgive someone ″seventy times seven″ means that they are always willing to forgive. Being willing to forgive means having the intention to forgive even before the sin occurs. This is how the God is toward humanity, and those who have been born again are like the God in their willingness to forgive. In reality, when we truly love our brothers and sisters in the faith more than ourselves, we are always willing to forgive them. However, forgiveness is only granted when the offender truly repents.

When considering how the God forgives us for our sins, it is clear that He has forgiven and continues to forgive us more than 490 times. The God’s forgiveness is unlimited if we sincerely repent and confess our sins to Him. Isaiah 1:16-18 speaks about the God’s boundless kindness and mercy toward those who truly repent.

[End of excerpt.]

The noun term “brothers” should be understood as brothers and sisters sharing the same faith in Christ.

Later, the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, taught the Church:

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as also *God in Christ forgave us.” (Ephesians 4:32).

“Forbearing one another and forgiving yourselves, if anyone should have a complaint against any; just as Christ forgave you, so you also do.” (Colossians 3:13).

Through the teaching of the Lord Jesus, we are also comforted that on the path of following the Lord, even if we stumble many times in one day and break God’s commandments, as long as we truly repent, the God will forgive us. The following promise from the Holy Spirit needs to be memorized by us:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).

However, that does not mean that God’s people can abuse the God’s mercy and casually continue to sin. For the Lord Jesus Himself said:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me which does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch which bears fruit He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2).

“Therefore, since you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16).

The God is the One who knows the heart of every person, so He clearly knows who truly repents of sin and who does not truly repent. Similarly, the God knows clearly who truly believes in the Lord and who does not truly believe. He will deal with each person according to their heart toward Him.

When it comes to repentance and forgiveness, we must understand that:

• We need to clearly tell those who sin how they have violated the Word of God and call them to repentance.
• We need to pray for those who sin.
• We need to be willing to forgive sinners before they repent.
• We must accept the repentance of sinners if they recognize their sin and show no words or actions indicating they are not repentant.
• Forgiveness must be declared immediately upon receiving their repentance.
• The past sins of the repentant person must not be mentioned.
• There must be no prejudice, assuming the repentant person is not sincere because they have sinned repeatedly. Remember the two statements: ″seven times in one day″ and ″seventy times seven.″
• Those who have repented and been forgiven must be immediately restored to their position in the Church.
• If a repentant person sins again or commits another sin, the Church has the duty to point out that sin so the person may repent.
• The Church must not show discrimination or contempt toward a sinner who has repented, for that would mean not truly forgiving. Remember, we must forgive one another as the God has forgiven us in Christ.

We would like to excerpt our commentary on Ephesians 4:32 below.

[Excerpt:]

As God’s people, we reflect the glory of God; that is, we reflect God’s love, righteousness, and holiness through our way of life. We behave with kindness, gentleness, and compassion toward everyone, including our enemies.

Kindness is goodness that brings benefit to others. Gentleness and compassion express empathy for the suffering, lack, misfortune, and faults of others in a gentle and tender manner.

To forgive others as the God has forgiven us in Christ means being willing to pay the price to give the one who offends or harms us the opportunity to repent. This forgiveness is extended before the offender repents. Everything necessary to help the offender repent must be initiated by us. The offender only needs to sincerely accept our forgiveness and repent. If the offender still refuses to repent, then we cut off the relationship with that person and entrust them to the judgment of the Lord.

If the offender causes us material damage and is able to make restitution, we may accept the restitution. However, we do not require restitution as a condition for forgiveness. Our duty is to forgive so that the offender has the opportunity to repent. Forgiveness comes before repentance.

[End of excerpt.]

Let us remember the parable of the prodigal son. Let us learn from the father and avoid imitating the older son.

Luke 17:5

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

Before the Lord Jesus’ teaching about keeping oneself from becoming a cause of stumbling to others and forgiving others completely, the apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith. Luke does not record ″the disciples″ but rather ″the apostles,″ perhaps because at that time the apostles were closest to the Lord and were the ones who spoke to Him.

The apostles’ prayer shows humility, not relying on their own strength. They recognized that they did not yet have enough faith to keep themselves from becoming causes of stumbling to others. They also realized how difficult it is to forgive others completely and without limit. Only wisdom, love, and power from God can enable a person to live according to the teachings of the Lord Jesus. And to have these in abundance requires faith in God. This is faith in the reality of God; faith in the Bible as the Living Word of God; faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in each of His teachings, and in His sacrificial death for atonement.

The God gives each person different measures of faith:

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself too highly, beyond what you should think, but to think soberly, as *God has imparted to each one a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3).

We would like to excerpt our commentary on Romans 12:3 below.

[Excerpt:]

Besides the faith for salvation, which is the God’s common gift to each person (Ephesians 2:8, 2 Peter 1:1), the God also gives different measures of faith to each person in the Church, along with spiritual gifts, so that everyone participates in building up the Church. For example, a person entrusted by the Lord with the office of shepherding is also given the faith to recognize that the Lord wants them to do the work of shepherding, along with the necessary gifts to carry out that office. That person must perform the pastoral ministry in faith. If someone is not entrusted by the Lord with the office of shepherding but thinks they deserve to be a shepherd, then they have thought of themselves more highly than they ought to.

Each person in the Church is given spiritual gifts by God to participate in the work of building up the Church and serving the Lord. The God also gives each person a measure of faith sufficient for them to recognize God’s gifting, confidently accept the work assigned by God, and carry out the work in faith.

[End of excerpt.]

1 Corinthians 12:9 shows that faith is a gift from God in the person of the Spirit.

The life of God’s people must grow in faith, starting from the measure of faith that the God has given to each person through the Spirit. Growth in faith is necessary so that God’s people may increasingly understand the Word of God more deeply and be able to take on the pastoral and spiritual ministries that Christ adds to them. Therefore, the apostles’ request for the Lord Jesus to increase their faith was a rightful prayer.

Today, every child of God still needs to ask the Lord Jesus to increase their faith so they can live according to each of His teachings and fulfill the good works that the God has prepared for them.

Luke 17:6

6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

The comparison of faith to a mustard seed had been mentioned earlier by the Lord, but at that time He used the image of faith being able to move mountains. That instance was recorded by Matthew.

“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Be moved from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible for you.″” (Matthew 17:20).

We would like to excerpt our commentary on Matthew 17:20 below.

[Excerpt:]

The Lord Jesus also affirmed that if they had faith—even very little, as small as a mustard seed, which is one of the smallest seeds among vegetables—they would still be able to accomplish great things. We believe that the Lord Jesus was speaking literally about moving mountains, although we can also understand it figuratively as referring to great problems in our lives. This means that if there were a case where a mountain truly needed to be moved, the Lord’s disciples with faith would cause it to be moved.

The question is: when we face a physical problem, do we have enough faith to, in the name of the Lord, command the mountain to move? The unbelief we may have is that we do not believe the Lord would permit us to do such a thing. It is hard to understand and believe that we could, in the name of the Lord, cause a mountain to move. That very difficulty in understanding and believing is what the Lord called “because of your unbelief.”

From this lesson, we should draw a lesson about faith: that if we simply believe our prayer is pleasing to the Lord and offered in His name, we may be granted authority by Him to proclaim things beyond the laws of physics, and He will accomplish them for us.

[End of excerpt.]

Many commentators believe that when the Lord Jesus used the image of faith as small as a mustard seed being able to cause a mulberry tree to ″be uprooted and be planted in the sea″ or a mountain to ″be moved from here to there,″ He was using hyperbolic language, not implying that such things could literally happen in the physical world. Therefore, according to them, these two statements of the Lord should not be understood literally.

However, based on Matthew 21:21, we believe that the Lord’s words include the idea that faith can move trees and mountains in the physical world. For the Lord Jesus compared the faith that can move a mountain with the faith that caused the fig tree to wither.

“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you should say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.″” (Matthew 21:21).

The issue is whether human beings have faith.

Through the teaching of the Lord Jesus, we can also understand that, in reality, the faith of human beings—even of those who obey the Lord—is often not as great as a mustard seed. The size of a mustard seed is only about 1–2 mm, like a chia seed or basil seed. We truly need to ask the Lord to increase our faith.

Luke 17:7-8

7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come and recline to eat’?

8 But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something that I may dine, and gird yourself and serve me until I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?

The Lord Jesus concluded His teaching to the disciples with a parable about the duty of a servant, implying that His disciples are servants of God.

A servant is one who serves the master—not a friend or a guest of the master. Ordinarily, a servant serves the master his meal first and only eats afterward. The servant’s food is usually cheap or leftover from the master’s meal.

In addition to serving the master at meals, a servant must also serve the master in other matters. It is not uncommon for a servant to serve the master with great diligence, even at the expense of his own mealtime and rest.

Luke 17:9-10

9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things having been commanded? I think not.

10 So likewise you, whenever you do all the things having been commanded to you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what we ought to do.’ “

A servant—especially in ancient times when servants were often slaves—had the duty to serve the master wholeheartedly. That service was compensated by the price the master paid to purchase the slave or by wages. Therefore, the master was not expected to feel gratitude toward the servant. If there was any gratitude from the master toward the servant, it would be for the servant’s loyalty, not for the service itself.

The words of the Lord Jesus imply that His disciples are servants who serve the God and Him. Their faithful service will be justly rewarded by the God and by Him. He Himself declared:

“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will render to each according to his works.” (Matthew 16:27).

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to each one according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12).

The reward and the ″wages″ that the Lord Jesus will bring with Him on the day He comes to take the Church out of the world are the gifts from the God and the authority to reign in the Heavenly Kingdom. Each person will receive reward and payment according to their faithfulness in serving the Lord during this present life.

The teaching of the Lord Jesus in verse 10 also implies that God’s people should not boast about their service to the Lord with the intent of seeking praise from humans. All boasting must be boasting in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17)—that is, boasting about what one has done for the Lord, what one has done in obedience to God’s Word, or the blessings one has received from the Lord must all be for the purpose of glorifying Him. Even singing and praising the Lord should be solely for the purpose of glorifying Him, expressing gratitude, trusting in Him, and loving Him—not for receiving praise from others.

We conclude this lesson here.

May the Holy Spirit guide us into all the truths of God’s Word (John 16:13). May the Word of God sanctify us (John 17:17). May the Faithful *God of Peace Himself sanctify our spirit, soul, and body entirely, without blame (1 Thessalonians 5:23), at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved Savior. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
05/17/2025

Note:

About Using “*God”, “the God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible use a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as *God or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.