Because Jesus is serious about this, he urgently addresses his disciples, I tell you,
so pay attention to what I say. Listen well! To underline this, Jesus uses two examples which show the same message.
On the great day of his return, there will be a decisive separation between people who are very close. Two people lying in the same bed wake up quite differently. The one may come along with Jesus, but the other one is left behind. Also, with the two women who are working hard in the field, a fundamental difference appears. The one may come along with Jesus, but the other person is left behind. The two were inseparable, and yet, there was a decisive difference between them.
What that difference is exactly is not explicitly explained here, but from the whole of Jesus’ teachings, this is completely clear. For every person it matters if (s)he acknowledges Jesus as Lord and Saviour. We can think of what Jesus once said to Nicodemus and what we find written in John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Whoever can say Amen
to this, will not be left behind when the Son of Man returns, but will be taken with him (see John 14:1–3).
Note: In many Bibles, Luke 17:36 does not appear. That is appropriate because this verse is missing in most old manuscripts. In a small number of manuscripts this is probably taken over from Matthew 24:40.
34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left.