Luke 17:11-19 Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between

Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy

met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus,

Master, have pity on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they

went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud

voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a

Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no

one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to

him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

One came back to thankLiving in gratitude

Luke 17: 11-19

What messages are there?

The passage reveals: A fundamental principle for our life in Christ ……. What

difference a characteristic of thankfulness and praise makes

Insight into the human culture of our Lord Jesus An eye-opening to the outreaching mission of the

Gospel

Consider the depth of despair in Leprosy

The pain is all social

Rejection, separation from family and all human contact ……. Unclean and Untouchable

Mother Theresa’s Sisters of Charity: “We have drugs for people with diseases like leprosy, but these cannot treat the main problem of not being wanted or loved”

Jesus touched one leper on the occasion he asked for healing (Matt 8 and Luke 5)

On this occasion, all ten were asking for healing and were “cleansed” while only one returned to offer thanks and praise to God

We are not sure what happened to the nine who did not come back to acknowledge Jesus

….. but we shall dwell on the one who did return because Jesus also touched more of his life that he came to offer

Who are the Samaritans? Why did Jesus call them foreigners?

Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel

Israelite descendants of the Northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who survived destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BC.

Racially mixed – The Assyrians actively settled other conquered peoples into Samaria

Those with Jewish background were still monotheists, but there was strong animosity between the two.

Their temple was on Mount Gerizim, as opposed to Mount Zion in Jerusalem

Mount Gerizim considered Holy from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan

Now they were considered unclean and contact was avoided

What did Jesus think? V. 18 Samaritans were “foreigners”

His ministry and miracles heavily weighted towards Galilee & Judea

He did not visit Samaria very much. He usually would have taken the longer route along the Jordan valley

But on one occasion he purposely went through and stopped in Sychar, Jacob’s well, meeting the woman at the well and then stopped to live & teach in a Samaritan village (John 4:1-42)

When he left Galilee for the last time & headed for Jerusalem he traveled by Samaria (Lk 9:51)

He healed the ten lepers near the border (Lk

17:11-17)

Samaria

Key lessons 1)

The grace of God through Jesus is given indiscriminately to all, but wholeness is granted to the person who turns in faith and thankfulness to the giver

No evidence that the nine weren’t thoroughly healed if they went to the priest and were declared clean. They all reached out for Christ to heal them

But the Samaritan who responded with thanks and praise to God received the blessing: ”Arise and go . Your faith has made you well”

Turning in gratitude and living a life that continues to recognize his role in our life’s events and unfolding story is the Bible’s to us

For what should we be thankful?

Often biblical texts simply call on us to thank and praise God.

A "fill in the blank" exercise ……… Reflect on how God has been good recently to us, our family and community.

The perspective to look for the sun in our lives; to look for God’s hand and leadership

Focus on God and the people he has brought into our lives

Pause at all times for thanks, but especially when we enter key events and times

Don't focus on things (possessions), Many Psalms reflect this, also see David’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:10-13….. Thanking God for his powerful presence and availability

Scripture examples of thanksgiving & praise

Thank and praise for who God is, and that he is our maker (Ps 95; 100),

For his enduring love and faithfulness (Ps 118),

For His deliverance in tough circumstances (Ps 35:18),

Meeting friends after a long, arduous journey (Acts 28:15),

Other believers and for the testimony of their faith (Rom 1:8),

The gift of salvation that enables us not to sin (Rom 6:17), for delivering us from our tendency to sin (Rom 7:25),

For resurrection hope (1 Cor 15:57),

For testimony, deliverance and victory in the midst of persecution (2 Cor 2:14),

For the support of a colleague in ministry (2 Cor 8:16),

For other believers (Phil 1:3; Col 1:3; 2 Tim 1:3; Philemon 4),

For those who respond to God's Word (1 Thess 2:13),

For being able to serve God (1 Tim 1:12)

Key Lessons 2) Recognize evidence of faith in unlikely places and people

and give grace and shalom to them ……..Pause to think of cases

Jesus did not go far beyond his Galilean home and Judean religious establishment in his ministry but he gave enough hints and illustrations that the Gospel is:

Inclusive of all – race, gender, status, rich or poor, respected and despised,

“Outside the box” of the common religious observance

Global – Matthew 28

…………. How can we apply this in our individual and church life?

Passages that illustrate Jesus’ and the Holy Spirit’s attitude to the “foreigner”

Samaritan opposition because Jesus was headed for Jerusalem – Like 9: 51-54

Disciples wanted to punish them, but Jesus ignored that

Woman at the well ….. He went “well beyond” and into the open Samaritan village – John 4: 1-42

The Good Samaritan parable – Luke 10: 25-37

The centurion “I have not found such great faith even in Israel” – Luke 7: 1-10 & Matt. 8: 5-13

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth – Act 1: 8

Through Philip, the Samaritans soon became the first non-Jewish community to accept the gospel and receive the Holy Spirit – Acts 8:1-25.

Paul converted on the Damascus Road and appointed as an Apostle to the Gentile World

God’s plan for salvation to the non-Jewish world confirmed to Peter in a vision and the visit to the home of Cornelius

Final thoughts

An attitude of thanks and praise should characterize us.

The quality and breadth of our minds for mission should reflect that of Christ

….. The openness and compassion of our hearts to touch others ….. Willingness to spread the shalom of the gospel

indiscriminately, specifically and globally