BE THANKFUL!
Luke 17:11-19
Introduction: This past Wednesday I was at the Inter-Faith Clergy gathering. In the course of a conversation, my Rabbi friend told me that he was going to do a Webinar on gratitude. I asked him why gratitude and why now, this is not the season of thanksgiving? He said, nowadays young people want everything and, in most cases, they get what they want, yet they are seldom happy, due to this lack of attitude called gratitude. They take so many things for granted. It is important that we teach them to appreciate what they receive and to be grateful.”
This Rabbi further said, “We are grateful for our freedom, during this Passover season. That made a lot of sense. One pastor notes, “If there is one sin that is most prevalent today, it is the sin of ingratitude. God does so much for us. Our indebtedness to Him is enormous and yet we rarely or at least infrequently offer thanks for what He has done.
We are much like the little boy who was given an orange by a man. The boy’s mother asked, “What do you say to the nice man?” The little boy thought and handed the orange back and said, “Peel it.” Michael Belcher Sermon Central. How are we teaching our children to be grateful for all that they receive from us? You may be wondering what does gratitude have to do with the lent season, Good Friday and leading up to Easter?
Before Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem only to be rejected by all and handed over to the Pharisees to be crucified, he used a foreigner, a Samaritan, to expose and address the “entitlement attitude of the Jews and their ungratefulness. Whereby teaching them and us all, how not to take things for granted, but quickly to return to God in giving Him praise and thanks for all that he has done, is doing and will continue to do in our lives. Let’s look at the conversation between the greatest Rabbi of all time and the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19.
In chapter nine we read, “When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face towards Jerusalem. This begins a major section of Luke’s gospel. From here to chapter 19:27, Christ’s face was set towards Jerusalem, on his way he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered the village he was met by “Ten lepers.”
What do all these Ten lepers have in common? All these ten lepers had a common affliction, a common cry, all of them received a common cure, however, one leper distinguished himself from the rest of the pack. What can we learn from this leper? Let’s unpack this passage.
I A COMMON AFFLICTION Vs 11
According to the OT Leprosy was a horrible disease, Leviticus 13:45-46, “45 “Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean! ’As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp.” This explains why these ten lepers were standing at a distance from Jesus.
All these ten lepers had a common affliction called leprosy. According to the Old Testament, it was the most feared illness at that time. The term “leprosy” as used in the Bible, referred to a wide variety of infectious skin rashes, scales, sores, or eruptions, not just clinical leprosy as we know it today. Leprosy was incurable, disgusting, and revolting.
I saw how leprosy could affect people of their physical and social lives in India.
The ten lepers in the story had a common affliction, we too have one common affliction called, “SIN.” Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Leprosy in the story didn’t show any distinction it affected both Jews and Gentiles alike, similarly, sin shows no distinction, it affects all people all over the world.
Leprosy or any other disease may physically kill us, whereas SIN destroys our joy, relationships, peace, and if it remains unconfessed and unrepented it can eternally separate us from God in hell. What is the remedy for Sin? Who can deliver us from the effects of Sin?
II A COMMON CRY (Vs 13)
Vs 12b-13, “ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” We often read in the Gospels several people crying out for mercy. For instance, “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity.” Luke 16:24; “The blind beggar began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke 18:38, “two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” Matt. 9:27;
It was a common cry of those who were desiring to be healed. It was also the cry of the heart of those who were desiring to be forgiven of their sins. For instance, we hear this heart’s cry of a tax collector. Luke 18:13, “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” How did Jesus respond to the cry of the Ten Lepers?
III. A COMMON CURE: (Vs14)
Vs 14, “He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.” The healing was sudden and immediately visible but occurred after they obeyed his command. Why were they to show themselves to their priests? According to Lev 14, to be declared clean and to reenter society as cleansed and healed people.
Similarly, our sins have robbed us of the Joy of relationships, crippled us whereby rendering us less productive. The ten lepers were ostracized by society, rejected by the family, living in absolute isolation until they met Jesus at the entrance of the village. Jesus heard their cry for mercy and healed all of them. How did they respond to this unmerited favor?
IV. AN UNCOMMON RESPONSE (Vs 15-16)
Vs 15-16, One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.” All ten of them had a common affliction, they all cried out for mercy, and they all received the same miracle of healing, but all ten of them did not respond the same way.
While nine of them went on their way, one of them responded in an unusual way, which caught Jesus’ attention. Unlike the nine this one saw his healing and recognized where the healing came from, without wasting a moment he returned to Jesus with these three actions: “Shouting praise God, falling at the feet of Jesus and thanking Jesus for what he had done.”
What a powerful demonstration of gratitude by someone who was considered by the majority of Jewish people as an outsider? By falling at the feet of Jesus, this man recognized and submitted to Jesus’ authority to heal and forgive sins. At this point in the story, Luke identifies this man, as a Samaritan. By doing so Luke makes it clear that healing and salvation were not exclusive prerogatives of Israelites but for all who would cry out for mercy and seek forgiveness.
IV BE THANKFUL (Vs 17-19)
Jesus wanted to teach his disciples a lesson on giving thanks so he asked, Vs 17-19 “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.” It must have been a frustrating moment for Jesus, he healed ten, while nine went on their own way, only a Samaritan, a foreigner returned to give glory to God. This uncommon response of the Samaritan made him a recipient of God’s forgiveness. Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you, it can also be read as “your faith has saved you.” This Samaritan may have returned to his home rejoicing not only as a healed but also a forgiven man.
We see this irony playing out even in our times. Jesus heals so many people because they cry out to God for his mercy and beg him to heal them, but when they do receive healing how many will return to God to give Him the glory. Where do you belong among these ten lepers? Are you like those ungrateful nine who had received a miracle yet walked away from Jesus? Or are you like the one undeserving Samaritan, who recognized Jesus as the source of his healing, worshipped Him by falling at his feet and giving Him thanks? Which one are you?
If Jesus were to pass through our town of Sharon and walks into our Hope Church what would he ask us in regards to our thankfulness? The central essence of this passage is, don’t take your miracle for granted, but be quick to return to God and Be Thankful.
We all need to examine our hearts this morning and ask ourselves, how thankful I am for all what God has done for me? When last time did I fall at His feet and thank Him not for all what he has done for me but for who He really is? Why is it hard to be thankful? We take thankfulness as an obligation and take things for granted. We don’t realize that thankfulness actually makes us free people. Thankful people are often the happiest people.
What else thankfulness can do to us? Thankfulness keeps our hearts tender and responsive, while ungratefulness is a state of an inattentive and hardening heart. There is a Hebrew word for thanks, Hodaah which means acknowledgment. Understanding this word gives us a better understanding of thankfulness.
A thankful heart acknowledges God’s glorious gifts all around us and I am not talking about stuff you order on Amazon. I am talking about being attentive enough to notice a glorious evening sky and breathe a thank you to the Lord. An attuned heart takes note of budding trees, the twinkle in the eyes of your child.
A grateful heart acknowledges and appreciates a place to return to after work, a table to sit down and eat a meal at, a warm shower the list goes on and on but I encourage you to practice gratefulness towards God and people. It is pleasant to be around grateful people. Being thankful is God’s will for us. I Thessalonians, 5:18 “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Much can be said about, “Being Thankful,”
But you get the point. This morning let’s check our barometer of thanksgiving. Are our hearts filled with thanksgiving or filled with grumbling and complaining? Let’s practice being thankful for big and small and in everything, then we will experience the peace of God.
Let me close with this advice of Paul to the Philippian believers: Philippians 4:4-7, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Amen!
