Luke 17:33-37 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will save it. 34 I say to you, on that night, two will be on one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. 36 [Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.] 37And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
The proverb in verse 33 links the previous verses about not looking back to the urgency of the verses that follow. This verse echoes 9:24 that was given in the context of the cost of following Jesus. In the presence context, the message is about priorities and trust. Life (psychēn) can mean soul or one’s existence. It is used in two ways in this verse. The first use has the sense of earthly life, and the second use implies one’s spiritual existence. The word for save (peripoiēsasthai) also has the sense of preserving or trying to gain more by going about doing more. It gives the picture of a busy body hoping to grab as much as possible, like the illustration of verse 31. By seeking to preserve what one has, that person actually might be losing out on the most important aspect of life, which is implied in the second use. There is a deeper meaning to life than the material things around us. These things entice and deceive us into thinking that they will bring happiness, but in the end, they only distract bus from the most important aspect of our existence.
The next three illustrations have the same basic message. They echo the daily living described in verse 31, thus forming a simple chiasm of ABA’: A is verse 31, B is the proverb of verse 33, and A’ are verses 34-36. Verse 36 poses a textual problem with the verse missing in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. It appears that at some point, a scribe copied in Matthew 24:40. The theme is common among the three illustrations about two people going about his or her daily activities of sleeping, grinding grain, or working in the field. One of these persons is taken away (paralēmphthēsetai) In what fashion someone is taken away is unseated in this passage. The context of Noah and Lot suggests that this taking is a form of rescue away from coming destruction and God’s judgment. Those who are left behind will face the great suffering of those who reject the light and life of the Son of Man.
The disciples were as confused as we are today in trying to decipher the meaning of this obscure illustration. They were more interested in knowing where the people will be taken than what will happen to those left behind. Jesus’ proverbial response is even more unclear. A vulture knows where a dead body is. The implication may be that the world will know when the Son of Man comes. It will be obvious because of the people who will be taken. These verses could offer support to the popular idea of a “rapture” of believers, although that is not a necessary or conclusive interpretation. The biggest concern in this section of teaching seems to be as a warning to the disciples not to be deceived by false claims because when Jesus comes again, it will be obvious. They did not need to live in fear but remain righteous like Noah. God would save them from destruction and judgment if they keep their focus on Jesus and the mission to which he called them.
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