What is the meaning of Luke 17:35? Setting the Scene • Jesus is describing His return (Luke 17:24) and warns that life will look ordinary—people at work, meals being cooked, business as usual. • “Two women will be grinding grain together” pictures the hum of daily labor. In biblical times this was a routine, side-by-side task done at dawn (Ecclesiastes 9:10 shows the value of such everyday work). • The ordinariness underscores that the decisive moment comes when most feel least prepared—just as in the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26-29). Selective Separation • “One will be taken and the other left.” – Taken: removed by the Lord’s action. Whether one sees this as deliverance (as in John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) or as judgment (as in Matthew 13:41-42), the point is God chooses. – Left: the person remains, facing the aftermath—either blessing in Christ’s kingdom or the tribulation of judgment. • Jesus gives parallel illustrations: “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left” (Matthew 24:40). Both passages stress a divine, discriminating intervention. Suddenness and Finality • No advance notice. Like lightning (Luke 17:24) or a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2), the event is instantaneous—“in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52). • Final. The separation is irrevocable, echoing the closed door of the ark (Genesis 7:16) and Jesus’ own teaching on the sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46). Call to Readiness • Because the moment is unpredictable, Jesus urges constant vigilance: “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). Divided loyalties prove fatal when the Lord appears. • Readiness is personal. Family, proximity, or shared tasks cannot substitute for individual faith (Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 14:12). • Practical steps: – Walk daily with Christ (Colossians 2:6-7). – Live in holiness and godliness “as you look forward to the day of God” (2 Peter 3:11-12). – Encourage one another “and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). summary Luke 17:35 shows Jesus interrupting an average workday with a decisive act that separates people forever. The verse highlights ordinary life, divine selection, suddenness, and the urgent need for personal readiness. Knowing this, believers live alert, assured that the Lord’s promise of rescue and judgment will be fulfilled exactly as spoken. |
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