None have done our duty of forgiving perfectly. We need help, and we do well to ask the One who sent us.
This week’s Gospel reading from Luke 17 reports the first thing the disciples said in Luke’s Gospel since the beginning of chapter 11. There, they asked Jesus to teach them pray. He obliged by giving them the Lord’s Prayer. Now, six chapters later, after Jesus had delivered some of the most difficulty parables and teachings of His ministry, the disciples speak up again. This time they have another request. It is a simple request. It requires only three words, but do not be deceived. In their request is the whole ballgame, even the entire Christian life. Which means you have more than enough in these three words for a single sermon.
Their request comes in response to a particularly difficult command from Jesus:
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (17:3).
Okay, it can be difficult to forgive a brother, especially when he has sinned against you. But this is hardly the only time Jesus called His people to practice forgiveness. His entire message and ministry was about the forgiveness of God for His people and through His people. Jesus did not stop there, however:
“And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (17:4).
Seven times in the day? Are you serious, Jesus? This is even worse than what He said in Matthew 18:22 when He told Peter to forgive his brother seventy-seven times. At least then we could imagine the seventy-seven times spread out over a lifetime, but here it is in a single day. Can you imagine forgiving a brother seven times in one day for the same sin?
No wonder the disciples respond with a request! They realized how difficult, how countercultural, how reckless, and how irresponsible this kind of repeated forgiveness would be. They realized that, to follow this command, they would need help. So, they made their three-word request.
But what exactly did they ask?
In Greek, their request consisted of three words: πρόσθες ἡμῖν πίστιν (prosthes hēmin pistin). While most English versions render these words the same way (“increase our faith”), there are at least three different ways of translating them. All three are not only possible, but also helpful and appropriate. In fact, you may want to organize your sermon around these three possible translations.
Before I get to that, however, let me offer a word of caution about raising translation issues in a sermon. A number of potential problems lurk, especially if you are critical of a translation. Preachers who criticize a translation from the pulpit (even when the translators’ decision is questionable) may unwittingly bring about several negative side-effects. First, it may lead to hearers questioning the accuracy of their Bibles and undermine their confidence in and willingness to read the Scriptures. If you want to encourage people to read the Bible, it is probably not a good idea to make them question how reliable it is. Second, highlighting translation issues may communicate a sort of clerical snobbery that over-insinuates a preacher’s linguistic competency (one of my New Testament professors told my Master of Divinity class that we have permission to criticize a translation publicly only after we had completed a PhD in Greek).
They realized that, to follow this command, they would need help.
For these reasons, I will make two general suggestions for addressing translation issues in a sermon. (1) Do not criticize a translation decision in a sermon. It is fine to add nuance, like “This phrase can also mean...” or “There is more here than we can capture in our language...” These are fine ways to bring in deeper insights. (2) Luther insisted that preachers speak the language of the people (not Latin, not Greek, not Hebrew) when they preach. Rather than dropping Greek or Hebrew words that no one understands but the preacher, simply share the nuance in English. Saying words which are completely unfamiliar to your listeners only shows how well (or how poor) your pronunciation is.
With these thoughts in mind, you might consider three different ways the disciples’ request could be rendered in English[1] (doing this well, by the way, does not require violating the two general rules I just stated).
Translation #1
Most English translations have the disciples saying, “Increase our faith.” This approach renders the imperative πρόσθες (prosthes). According to BDAG (Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gringrich; which is, perhaps, the most respected Greek/English lexicon), there are two ways to render this verb. One option is, “To add something that is already present or exists.” That is, “increase.” This would make the disciples sound like the father of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:24, “I believe, help my unbelief.” This is an appropriate rendering. The disciples were following Jesus because they trusted Him. His command challenged them, however, so they asked for more trust, more faith. We who believe in Jesus can relate. We realize it takes a lot to forgive our brother so many times in one day. Since we struggle with this, it is reasonable to ask for more faith.
Translation #2
But that translation runs into trouble when you take seriously Jesus’ response:
“If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6).
Jesus responded to their request by saying that even a little faith could uproot a tree and plant it in the sea. If that were the case, I would have been thinking if I were a disciple, I must not have even a little faith. A mulberry tree may not be a mountain (see Matthew 17:20), but I cannot do that. Come to think of it, I am not sure I can forgive my brother seven times in the same day, either. So, maybe the disciples’ request is more basic. Perhaps it is more honest. “Give us faith (Period).” This is the other option for translating πρόσθες in BDAG. In fact, this is the option under which BDAG locates Luke 17:5 as its first example! This rendering makes sense to me. It is impossible for me to move a mountain. It is impossible for me to replant a tree in the sea. And it is impossible for me to forgive a brother seven times for the same sin in a single day. If it takes faith to do these things, and we cannot do these things, then it follows that we need more than an increase in faith. We need faith, period.
But be careful here. It is not necessary (and maybe not helpful) to accuse your listeners of not believing. After all, they came to church today because they believe. But because they (like the disciples) are also sinful, you might ask them how well they are doing with Jesus’ command to forgive so generously. If they struggle (to forgive and, therefore, also to believe) they might find comfort knowing they are not alone. None of the disciples believed on Good Friday or Holy Saturday. It was only when the risen Christ appeared before them with a message of peace and forgiveness that they went forward in faith.
Highlighting our need for faith is not the goal of the sermon. It is a means to an end. What is that end? That which creates and strengthens faith! It is through the Word of Christ that faith arises (Romans 10:17). More precisely, it is through the promise of Christ. This is why the gospel promise (of forgiveness, life, and salvation) must be central to every sermon. To those who need more faith (Translation #1) and to those who need faith, period, (Translation #2), there is only one thing needful, and that is the promise of Jesus.
Those who hear the promise and believe have been made right with God. But now we need to turn back to our sinning brother. This leads us to the third translation.
Translation #3
This third translation does not appear in any English versions I have seen, but the commentaries I mentioned in the footnote point out the possibility. This translation makes more sense if we read all the way to the end of the appointed reading. After His statement about the mulberry tree, Jesus tells a story regarding servants doing their job. It seems a little odd, to be honest. The last sentence, however, starts to make some sense. There, Jesus affirms servants who simply do their duty. He commends servants who are faithful.
Which reminds us that πίστιν (pistin) can also be translated as “faithfulness.” Translated this way, the disciples would have said something like this: “Increase in us faithfulness” or “Make us more faithful.” This is probably the biggest translation stretch, exegetically speaking, but it is entirely appropriate as a prayer for those who follow Jesus. None of us are as faithful as we should be. None have done our duty of forgiving perfectly. We need help, and we do well to ask the One who sent us.
“Give us faith.” “Increase our faith.” “Make us more faithful.”
These are appropriate cries for disciples of Jesus in every age, for we all struggle against our sinful inclinations. And Jesus? He is the one who continues to come to us with grace and mercy. He continues to forgive. He continues to shape and mold us. He continues to use us to bring His forgiveness to all people, even our brothers who sin against us (many times) daily.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Luke 17:1-10.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Luke 17:1-10.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
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[1] While most English translations take a similar approach, commentators note how there are actually a variety of possible translations for this phrase. For those who acknowledge the three translations I am sharing in this reflection, see the commentaries by Joel B. Green (NICOT, 1997), John T. Carroll (Westminster John Knox, 2012), and I. Howard Marshall (Paternoster, 1978).
