Ever wondered what the disciples were wondering about when they asked Jesus, "Where Lord?" in Luke 17:37? @Naomi25 and I had been discussing this question on another thread recently, and I think I finally have the proper answer now.
But let me first quote the passage in full from Luke's gospel:
22 And 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. 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 Noah, 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 Noah 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 vultures be gathered together."
The answer comes from comparing the above text with a parallel passage found in Matthew 24, where he has Jesus saying:
"Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather" (Matthew 24:23–28)
When they were asking "Where Lord?" in Luke 17:37, what they actually wanted to know is "Where will these false christs manifest themselves, Lord?" This is evident by comparing the texts. But if you'll notice, in Luke's account Jesus never says anything about "the wilderness" or "the secret chambers" yet; only that some will say, "Lo, He is here," or "Lo, He is there." He instead skips straight to talking about how they will know the real Christ has come:
"And they will say to you, 'Lo, here,' or 'Lo, there.' Do not go forth nor follow. For as the lightning which lights up the sky shines from under [one side of] the heaven to under [the other side of] heaven, so also will be the Son of man [do so] in His day." (Luke 17:23)
It is by comparing both accounts that we see more of the full progression of how the conversation originally went. He originally told them merely that some would say "He is here," or "He is there," to which they asked, "Where, Lord?" (i.e. "Where will they say the Christ is?"). After they asked this, Jesus apparently then gave more specifics as recored in Matthew's account: In the wilderness or in the secret chambers. But none of it would be true, for the Son of Man would appear in the sky like lightning shining from East to West, and gather His elect unto Himself in the air. Any "christ" that manifested himself as a mere mortal man on the earth would be a false one, and would only gather unto himself vultures (i.e. those who feed on the dead) around him.
Just thought I would share this with anyone who was likewise curious about the question.
Blessings in Christ,
Hidden In Him
But let me first quote the passage in full from Luke's gospel:
22 And 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. 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 Noah, 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 Noah 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 vultures be gathered together."
The answer comes from comparing the above text with a parallel passage found in Matthew 24, where he has Jesus saying:
"Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather" (Matthew 24:23–28)
When they were asking "Where Lord?" in Luke 17:37, what they actually wanted to know is "Where will these false christs manifest themselves, Lord?" This is evident by comparing the texts. But if you'll notice, in Luke's account Jesus never says anything about "the wilderness" or "the secret chambers" yet; only that some will say, "Lo, He is here," or "Lo, He is there." He instead skips straight to talking about how they will know the real Christ has come:
"And they will say to you, 'Lo, here,' or 'Lo, there.' Do not go forth nor follow. For as the lightning which lights up the sky shines from under [one side of] the heaven to under [the other side of] heaven, so also will be the Son of man [do so] in His day." (Luke 17:23)
It is by comparing both accounts that we see more of the full progression of how the conversation originally went. He originally told them merely that some would say "He is here," or "He is there," to which they asked, "Where, Lord?" (i.e. "Where will they say the Christ is?"). After they asked this, Jesus apparently then gave more specifics as recored in Matthew's account: In the wilderness or in the secret chambers. But none of it would be true, for the Son of Man would appear in the sky like lightning shining from East to West, and gather His elect unto Himself in the air. Any "christ" that manifested himself as a mere mortal man on the earth would be a false one, and would only gather unto himself vultures (i.e. those who feed on the dead) around him.
Just thought I would share this with anyone who was likewise curious about the question.
Blessings in Christ,
Hidden In Him
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