Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Luke Chapter 17
Metaphysically Interpreting Luke 17:1-10
17:1And he said unto his disciples, It is impossible but that occasions of stumbling should come; but woe unto him, through whom they come! 17:2It were well for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. 17:3Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 17:4And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
17:5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 17:6And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea; and it would obey you.
17:7But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit down to meat; 17:8and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 17:9Doth he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded? 17:10Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.
February 16, 1941: Luke 17:1-4
Why must “occasions of stumbling” come? Because the race consciousness, in which the majority of men live, makes such occasions inevitable. Occasions of stumbling will be done away entirely only when the whole race becomes conscious of spiritual reality.
Who is described as “one of these little ones”? A person may be so described who has only a little understanding of Truth but a sincere desire to practice it as faithfully as possible.
What should be our reaction when someone “sins” against us? We should take care that we do not in our turn offend the one who has offended us. We should make sure that our reaction is constructive and in harmony with divine law.
If someone offends us and does not ask forgiveness, should we continue to harbor resentment against him, until he finally comes to see what he has done? The habit of harboring resentment is so hurtful to the mind that consideration of our own welfare, if nothing higher, should cause us to forgive everyone immediately, without waiting to be asked to do so.
Metaphysically Interpreting Luke 17:11-19
17:11And it came to pass, as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. 17:12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off: 17:13and they lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 17:14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed. 17:15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying God; 17:16and he fell upon his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17:17And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 17:18Were there none found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger? 17:19And he said unto him, Arise, and go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
August 17, 1913: Luke 17:11-19
What does leprosy represent? Sin.
What particular phase of sin? That which is based upon the idea of man's separation from God.
What is the truth about man's relation to God? Man is the offspring of God and his being is one with God. God is I am. Man is I am.
What is it that causes the appearance of man's separation from and unlikeness to God? It is ignorance of the truth of Being. In this ignorance a false state of consciousness has been built up. This error consciousness does not know God, neither can it know him.
How does man know God? By the quickening of the Spirit, his spiritual understanding is awakened and he builds a state of spiritual consciousness which does know God and understands oneness with him.
December 16, 1917: Luke 17:11-19
What in consciousness do the cities, Samaria and Galilee, symbolize? Samaria symbolizes the intellectual perception of man. Galilee symbolizes the life activity.
What is the one way to Jerusalem, the “city of peace”? The one way to Jerusalem, the “city of peace,” is the Christ way, perfect expression of all the mental faculties (disciples) under the dominion of the I Am (Jesus).
What in consciousness do the “ten men that were lepers” typify? The “ten men that were lepers” typify the impure relation of life activities, when separated from the One Source of Life.
Through what avenue does the inherent life in man manifest? The inherent life in man finds expression through the avenue of the senses. Unless the senses are redeemed and uplifted, there is a tendency to utilize the pure life of God in sense pleasure. A “leprous” or impure condition in the organism is the result.
What in consciousness is typified by the “priests,” referred to in verse fourteen? The “priests” stand for the connecting link between mortal man and God, that point in consciousness where man exalts his thoughts and makes a union with the healing power of God.
What is symbolized in the “one” giving thanks for healing? Everything resolves itself back to “one” as its starting point. All the avenues of expression in man are unified with the mighty One, when the Divine Law is set into operation in consciousness. Thanksgiving follows in natural sequence.
February 4, 1923: Luke 17:11-19
What is the symbolism of being “on the way to Jerusalem”? We all long for the state or condition in which we shall have peace. Jehu is a shortened form of Jehovah, meaning I AM, and shalem means peace. Hence, Jerusalem means: I AM shall have peace. We are on the way to the attainment of peace, when we identify ourselves with the Christ Idea, originally called Jehovah.
What is the metaphysical meaning of the “borders of Samaria and Galilee”? Samaria means intellectual confusion, and Galilee means life activity.
What is represented by the ten lepers “who stood afar off”? The ten lepers represent the ten avenues of expression of the five senses. Separation from the Christ life has resulted in inertia and disease in these faculties.
What is the meaning of: “And they lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”? When the misery, because of separation from Christ, becomes so acute that there is no other source of help, then there is a call for divine aid. “Man's extremity is God's opportunity.”
Did Jesus heal the lepers? Not directly. He saw their lack and told them to show themselves unto the priests. The priest in man is the spirit of devotion, and it is through this spirit of devotion that man makes connection with the healing principle. Our prayers and our affirmations of truth are essential to permanent healing.
What is represented by the Samaritan who gave thanks for his healing? The acknowledgment and glorification of Jesus by the Samaritan who was healed, represent the clearing of the confused thought, which was the primal cause of the leprosy. But the work is not fully completed, until there is a change of thought in all the other senses (the nine). Christian metaphysicians recognize a difference between curing and healing. Curing is temporary. Mere curing is often done by a practitioner, who fails to impart the understanding of the law to his patients.
May 3, 1936: Luke 17:1-19
Since the way of the Christ is plain, why are those who follow it subject to stumbling? The way of the Christ is plain to those whose powers are unified in understanding, but until our understanding is perfected, we must walk by faith rather than sight, and until our faith is fully developed we may stumble.
What are “these little ones” that man is to guard from stumbling? The “little ones” symbolize the new-born faculties of the Christ mind in man, which, because they are not completely developed, may be turned aside to give place to old error thought habits.
When some one sins against us, what is it our duty to do? We should immediately forgive the wrong, thus destroying its reality, and we should behold only the Christ in the one who has apparently offended us.
To enable a person to forgive fully and freely, what faculty must be called into action? To make forgiving easy and natural, the faculty of faith must become active in his consciousness.
Why is the one who keeps the whole law only from a sense of duty an unprofitable servant? Because the ideal of service springing from love, the highest plane one can reach, is far above service from a sense of duty. The unprofitable servant is moved only by a sense of duty, not by love. Service rendered from love benefits the one who serves as well as the one who is served.
Name another signpost on the way of the Christ. Gratitude, a lively appreciation of benefits received or to be received, points the way to the Christ life.
What lesson is contained in the healing by Jesus of the ten lepers, only one of whom returned to thank Him? Leprosy, a disease of the skin, represents substance separated in mind from, its source and thus become unclean. The I AM (Christ) brings about in man a union of faith with the substance idea, and healing follows observance of the law. Faith was active in all ten lepers, gratitude in only one. Gratitude is thus shown to be less generally developed than faith.
February 16, 1941: Luke 17:11-19
What form of healing word did Jesus speak to the ten lepers? He commanded them to obey the Mosaic law. “Go and show yourselves unto the priests.” His high consciousness of divine law, as He spoke to them, and the willing obedience of the lepers and their expectation of healing combined to restore them to health.
What is the significance of the Samaritan's gratitude for healing in contrast with the ingratitude of the nine Children of Israel? The Samaritan represents a state of consciousness that gives recognition to both good and “evil.” In this case the consciousness of good prevailed over the evil, giving a quickened appreciation of benefits received and an awareness of the divine source from which the healing came. The nine Children of Israel represent formal religious thoughts, which means that they reckoned themselves the chosen of God and took their healing as a matter of course, without troubling to show what they felt.
What does the Christ Spirit indicate as the proper course for man to take when his prayer is answered? It inspires him to feel and express gratitude for all that he receives or expects to receive and to acknowledge God as the source of all his good.
To what does the Christ give credit for the work of healing? To faith. “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” Healing rests largely with the one who lacks health. If he keeps his vision fixed on health and steadily claims health instead of disease, in full faith that his words are heard, he will realize healing.
Metaphysically Interpreting Luke 17:20-37
17:20And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 17:21neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.
17:22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 17:23And they shall say to you, Lo, there! Lo, here! go not away, nor follow after them: 17:24for as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son of man be in his day. 17:25But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. 17:26And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 17:27They 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. 17:28Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 17:29but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: 17:30after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. 17:31In that day, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and let him that is in the field likewise not return back. 17:32Remember Lot's wife. 17:33Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 17:34I say unto you, In that night there shall be two men on one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 17:35There shall be two women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 17:36There shall be two men in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.17:37And they answering say unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Where the body is, thither will the eagles also be gathered together.
June 16, 1946: Luke 17:20-21
Why is the coming of the kingdom of heaven “not with observation”? Because it is entered into consciously through right feeling, right thinking, and right acting. Only the last of these is visual, and since right feeling and right thinking precede right acting, the initial coming of the kingdom is unobserved by the senses.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 01-20-2014
