What Does Luke 17:37 Mean?

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 (καὶ ἀποκριθέντες λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Ποῦ, κύριε; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὅπου τὸ σῶμα, ἐκεῖ καὶ οἱ ἀετοὶ ἐπισυναχθήσονται)—the disciples ask pou (where?) regarding the separation. Jesus responds proverbially: hopou to sōma, ekei kai hoi aetoi (where the body/corpse, there the eagles/vultures). Aetos can mean eagles or vultures; given the corpse context, vultures are likely. Episunachthēsontai (gathered together) describes inevitable congregation.

Jesus's answer is cryptic but suggests judgment's inevitability and obviousness. As vultures instinctively gather where death occurs, so judgment congregates where spiritual death exists. The comparison may indicate Jerusalem's destruction (AD 70) when Roman 'eagles' (their military standards) gathered to devour the spiritually dead city. Or more generally: judgment is as certain and conspicuous as vultures on a carcass.