Structure of Luke 17:23-37

Study:

²³ And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. ²⁴ For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. ²⁵ But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. ²⁶ And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. ²⁷ They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; ²⁹ But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. ³⁰ Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. ³¹ In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife. ³³ Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. ³⁴ I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. ³⁵ Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ³⁶ Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ³⁷ And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. Luke 17:23-37

Notice that the above text parallels Matthew 24, but it does it in a unique way.

First, notice that verses 23,24 and 37 parallel Matthew 24:26-28:

"And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. ... And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." Luke 17:23,24,37

"Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Matthew 24:26-28

Here Luke's "here" and "there" parallel Matthew's "the desert" and "the secret chambers" and Luke's "the one part under heaven" and "the other part under heaven" parallel Matthew's "the east" and "the west."

Second, notice that verses 26,27 and 34-36 parallel Matthew 24:37-41:

"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. ... I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Luke 17:26,27,34-36

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Matthew 24:37-41

Notice that according to Matthew, both Mathew and Luke's "the one shall be taken away" means "the one shall be destroyed" as, Matthew's "the flood came, and took them all away" parallels Luke's "the flood came, and destroyed them all."

Thirdly, notice that verses 28-30 and 32 all talk about Lot and Sodom and thus go together:

"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. ... Remember Lot’s wife." vss. 28-30,32

Verse 30 goes with the story of Lot for verses 28 and 30 parallel verse 26 of the story of Noe:

"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; ... Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."   vss. 28,30

"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man." vs. 26

Lastly, verse 31... It stands alone according to Matthew 24.

"In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back." vs. 31

"Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes." Matthew 24:17,18

Perhaps this is a poor proof, but verse 31 parallels Matthew 24:17,18 which is distinct from the other two passages Luke references from Matthew (vss. 26-28 and vss. 37-41).

All these noted parallels between Luke 17 and Matthew 24 result in the following structure.

Structure:

And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. vss. 23,24

But first must he suffer many things [ending with the crucifiction], and be rejected of this generation. vs. 25

And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. vss. 26,27

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. vss. 28-30

In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. vs. 31

Remember Lot’s wife. vs. 32

Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. vs. 33

I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. vss. 34-36

And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. vs. 37

Layer 2:

Apparently, verses 25 and 33 belong to this layer as they both mention death. Christ "suffered many things" culminating in the death of the cross and we must not "seek to save this life" or, in other words, try to hold onto this life. We must die to this carnal life! If we die to this life then we will preserve our life by gaining eternal life.

To be continued...