Ten Lepers
November 21, 2004
Luke 17:11-19
Thanksgiving Sunday
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
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Luke 17:11-19
11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria
and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have
pity on us!"
14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they
went, they were cleansed.
15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud
voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a
Samaritan.
17Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no
one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19Then he
said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
Here is an historical account about
Jesus healing ten people
all at the same time.
Leprosy was a terrible incurable disease,
as frightening as AIDS is to us today.
To give us a feeling for how wonderful that was,
let's ask ten men to stand.
You don't have to come up front.
Just stand where you are.
Of the men/women who are standing,
how many of you are married?
How many of you have children?
Let's ask the wives and children
of these men to stand.
That's a lot of people isn't it?
That's a lot of very important people.
Thank you everyone. Please sit down.
Jesus healed ten men all at once,
but here is something you might overlook.
He healed them
even though he knew
that 9 out of 10
were never going to say “thank you”.
People forget to be grateful,
but God never forgets to be merciful and kind.
Luke 17:11
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along
the border between Samaria and Galilee.
Jesus walked into a border zone,
between Jewish and Samaritan territory.
It was a no man's land,
because Jews and Samaritans
hated each other.
Can you imagine what that must have been like?
This was a territory of hatred and fear.
It was the only place the people with leprosy could go.
Jesus went there on purpose.
He knew every single person there.
The lepers were not allowed to enter
a Jewish town, or a Samaritan town.
They were not allowed to get close enough to touch someone.
If they were ever going to be healed,
it was going to be
because Jesus went to them.
Dear ones,
did you know
that Jesus Christ went out of his way to find you?
You didn’t find him.
He purposely found you.
He had to track you down
in the “no man’s land” where you live.
He knows your struggles.
He knows your heartaches.
He had to get you ready.
He had to prepare your heart
so that you would say, “Lord, I accept you as my Savior.”
Do you remember who told you about Jesus?
You didn’t find that person. God sent them to you.
Dear ones,
we serve a God
who always takes the initiative.
In Luke 19:10
Jesus said,
“the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost”.
Jesus didn’t just travel to the borderlands in Palestine.
He is in our borderlands too,
and he has a plan to find you.
Luke 17:12
As he was going into a village, ten men who had
leprosy met him. They stood at a distance
The lepers had to stand at a distance. That was the law.
Why did the law require these men to stay away from everyone?
They had a contagious skin disease called leprosy.
Today we know what leprosy is.
As a matter of fact,
leprosy will probably be
completely destroyed in our lifetime.
Today, leprosy is still terrible,
but two thousand years ago, it was devastating.
Not only was the physical condition horrible,
the social isolation was just as bad.
People with this disease
were not allowed to go home,
go to church,
go to the market place.
It was like being in a prison without bars.
Luke 17:13
and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master,
have pity on us!"
Little did the men know,
that was exactly why he was there.
It was mercy, kindness, and love
that brought Jesus to that place.
In John 3:16
the Bible says,
"For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish
but have eternal life."
They didn't have to yell out.
Jesus already knew them by name.
And Jesus already had a plan to help them.
Luke 17:14
When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves
to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
Jesus told the men to do something practical.
He said "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
That was a pretty easy assignment.
He could have told them to wash seven times
in the Jordan River.
That’s what the prophet Elisha told Naaman the Syrian general.
( see 2 Kings 5 )
Jesus kept it simple.
He just said "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
And when they turned to go, they were healed!
I love this little fact.
When the men heard Jesus,
the words sunk in,
and they each had a split second to decide what to do.
They could just stand there.
They could start arguing with Jesus about how silly his statement was.
What probably happened was
one or two of the men figured
that they had nothing to lose
and everything to gain by simply doing what Jesus said.
So they immediately turned to go.
When the other men saw this,
they probably just followed the crowd,
and they left too.
It was right then, when obedience took place
that the miracle happened.
Each one of those ten men became completely well.
Just think of what we pass up
when we don't obey the Lord!
If Jesus says "Go" and you stay put,
just think of what you are passing up!
Has the Lord ever told you to do something,
and you just stood there
pretending you didn’t hear?
You know what?
It’s a good thing you don’t know what you missed!
You would get depressed.
This is what happens when we obey Jesus Christ:
We don’t lose anything.
We gain everything.
It is at the moment of obedience
that our lives change.
Luke 17:15
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came
back, praising God in a loud voice.
Luke 17:16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--
and he was a Samaritan.
Ten men received a miracle.
Ten families were put together again.
Ten wives were able to kiss their husbands again.
Ten sets of children could sit on their daddy's knees.
Ten households went from poverty to provision.
But only one man came back to say thank you.
Just one.
Dear ones, I WANT TO BE THAT ONE, DON’T YOU?????
I want to be the guy
who was not only healed
but was saved.
It’s great to see God answer prayer.
I love miracles.
I love health.
But there is something even better.
There is a relationship with Jesus Christ
and eternal life.
They guy who stopped and came back,
is the model for our ministry.
It isn’t enough to go to church.
It isn’t enough to get healed.
We want something outstanding
something excellent
something wonderful.
We want a church that is characterized by gratitude.
Luke 17:17
Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where
are the other nine?
Luke 17:18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God
except this foreigner?"
Those were rhetorical questions.
He knew in advance what was going to happen.
He knew that only one man would return.
BUT JESUS STILL TRAVELED TO THAT PLACE
AND HE STILL HEALED ALL TEN.
If you want a Scripture to show that God is merciful,
here it is.
It's the story of the ten lepers.
Nine out of ten didn't even stop to say thank you,
but God healed them anyway.
Jesus said that God, "causes his sun to rise
on the evil and the good,
and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous."
( Matthew 5.45 )
That is mercy.
Paul said, "But God demonstrates his own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us." ( Romans 5.8 )
That is grace
Just look at 1 John 2.2. It says that Jesus
"is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world."
Not everyone in this world is going to accept Jesus Christ,
but he paid for their sins on the cross
anyway.
He didn't just suffer
for those who would receive him.
He died for the sins of the whole world.
How do you measure God’s mercy?
You measure lumber with a tape measure.
You measure God’s mercy
by the cross.
Dear ones,
if we want a ministry
that follows the model of this scripture
we are going to have to start doing what Jesus does,
GOING OUT
SEEKING THE LAST, THE LOST, AND THE LEAST.
Luke 17:19
Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has
made you well."
God wants you and me to practice mercy
WHICH IS NOT BASED ON OUR PERCEPTION
OF POTENTIAL GRATITUDE OR REPAYMENT
BY THOSE WHO BENEFIT.
Those who are truly thankful for God's mercy,
become merciful.
1 John 4.19 "We love because he first loved us."
The man who came back
was healed twice.
His leprosy went away,
plus he put his faith in Jesus.
Every time we do something for Jesus
and not because we expect to be rewarded
and not because we hope to be congratulated
and not because we would like to be recognized
our character grows
we become more like Jesus.
That's how we become mature disciples.
That is when miracles start to happen.