The Grateful Leper
Text: Luke 17:11-19
Core Idea: The gospel reminds us that we have endless reasons to be thankful in all circumstances. Then no matter what kind of situation you may be in today, I invite you to fix your eyes on Christ so that you would learn to cultivate a heart of gratitude for your life. Do this knowing that the feeling of joy begins in our act of thanksgiving.
INTRODUCTION
In light of Thanksgiving and our Tugboat friends joining us, we’ll be taking a break from the Book of James – and we’ll look at the story of ten lepers that’s found in the Gospel of Luke. So, if you have your Bibles, please turn to Luke 17:11-19. And I will invite Adam to the front – and he will read the passage for us.
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.”
Thank you, Adam, for reading the passage for us. And children, I hope you enjoyed the video. Now, to better understand this story, it would be helpful for us to think about the context. In verse 11, Luke begins the story by informing us that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. Now, this may seem like an insignificant detail, but it tells us a lot about what was going on in Jesus’ mind. Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 9:22, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Then just a few verses later, Luke 9:51 said, “As the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” In other words, for Jesus to be on His way to Jerusalem meant that He was moving toward His death. He was fully aware that He would soon give His life as a ransom for many – which meant that Jesus wasn’t just leisurely making this trip to Jerusalem. No, He was moving with purpose and determination. His mind was set on the cross. Now, our story today takes place when Jesus was going through an unnamed village located at the border between Samaria and Galilee – and it says that, here, Jesus was met by ten lepers. Then with this in mind, let me share three things from this passage:
· THE HEALING
· THE LEPERS
· THE NEW LIFE
1) THE HEALING
Verse 12, “As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice.” Leprosy was a skin disease that inhibited one’s ability to feel pain. This was incredibly dangerous because even a small cut on their bodies would leave them vulnerable to serious infections – causing the tissues in organs and limbs to degenerate and literally fall off their bodies. In other words, this disease left them completely disfigured. But what made this disease even more terrifying was the fact that it was extremely contagious – and it had no known cure. No wonder the Israelites regarded leprosy as a living death. Then it’s not surprising to note that the lepers in the ancient times were quickly removed from the community. Leviticus 13:45-46 says, “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease, they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.” By law, they were confined to live away from society, which meant that they were deprived of any kind of human contact or intimacy. In other words, they were familiar with loneliness. Then can you imagine the sorrow, the fear, and the hopelessness that they must have felt as they were banished from their homes? But that wasn’t all. Because of their condition, they were excluded from the Temple which basically meant that they were being excluded from the presence of God. Their privilege to worship God with the people of God was taken away. All this to say, these lepers were nobodies – deserted to be forgotten. And there was absolutely nothing they could’ve done to change any of this. Then considering all this, it makes perfect sense why these ten lepers were standing at a distance – desperately crying out in a loud voice to get Jesus’ attention. In verse 13, they shouted out, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” The word “pity” in Greek literally means “mercy.” In other words, they were boldly and unashamedly begging Jesus to deliver them from this sickness – for Him to mercifully rescue them from this life of darkness and hopelessness.
Verse 14, “When He saw them, He said.” Let’s pause here for a second. Remember that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. His mind was completely occupied with the cross. He knew that this was the most important thing for Him to do because, without His death, the whole humanity would be without hope forever. In one sense, there was no time to waste – and yet, Jesus stopped and saw these ten lepers in their eyes. Others may have looked at them with judgment, but Jesus saw them with compassion. While others ignored them, Jesus said to them, “I see you.” Then brothers and sisters, hear this beautiful truth: no matter how urgent the situation may be, Jesus will always stop for you. Think about that. He’s not annoyed by your prayers and your cries – your needs are not an interruption but a concern to His heart. He cares about everything that you’re thinking about – every single thing that you’re wrestling with. In other words, you have His attention. He’s not distant from you – He is near you. He wants to encourage you, challenge you, comfort you, strengthen you, guide you, provide for you, cry and celebrate with you because He sees you as His child. So, today, come to Him with all of your needs – the pressure from work; the weightiness of parenting; the anxiety that comes from the worries of life that keep you awake at night; the fatigue from your duties and responsibilities; the temptation to give up because you just can’t live up to the expectations of the people around you; feeling lost because you don’t know what to do with the situation you’re in. Cry out to Him about these things. Now, I don’t want to promise that everything will be resolved – but I can promise you this: you will find Jesus. And He will be your peace, strength, and comfort. He will embrace you and love you.
Now, for these ten lepers, when they cried out to Jesus, they did receive healing – but not in the way that I expected. Verse 14, “When He saw them, He said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.” That’s all Jesus said. I don’t know about you but when I read this, I was left with so many questions, “Why didn’t He say, ‘Be healed’ so that everyone would see His power and authority and be amazed? Why didn’t Jesus go closer to the lepers? Why didn’t He touch them just the way He did with the leper in Chapter 5 to show them His love and care?” So, I went to the commentaries. And they explained that Jesus gave this strange command because He wanted to restore them not just physically but relationally as well. You see, the priests functioned as health inspectors for the Israelites back then. They would diagnose the sick – and if they were found to have leprosy, the priests would order them to be banished for the sake of others. But if the leper was somehow miraculously healed, it was the responsibility of the priests to examine and allow them to return to the community. In fact, without a medical clearance from the priest, no leper would be welcomed back to their homes. No matter how smooth their skin may appear to be, they had to be cleared by the priest. This was the command of God (Lev. 14:1-32). So, when Jesus said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests,” it was actually revealing the depth of love that He had for them. It showed that He wanted to see them made whole again – not just physically but in every way possible. Now, this sounds wonderful, but the problem was that they weren’t healed yet. So, if they went to the priest in their current state, they would be punished, humiliated, and banished again. Then they had to make a choice. They could ignore Jesus’ commands and go back to their hiding places or obey Jesus’ commands and go see the priest – trusting that He will make a way.
Verse 14, “And as they went, they were cleansed.” Not just one but all ten of them obeyed and received healing. Now, Luke doesn’t tell us what happened – but can you imagine the joy that these lepers must have felt when they realized that their shriveled and disfigured skin was suddenly made clean? There must have been a wild celebration because this meant that they didn’t have to cover up anymore. This meant that they didn’t have to live in shame and guilt anymore. This meant that they didn’t have to be alone anymore – they would be able to see and embrace their family members again. This meant that they didn’t have to be scared anymore but be filled with hope – knowing that there’s now a good reason for them to look forward to the days to come. It must have felt like they were born again.
Then what does this mean? Not, “What does this mean for us?” but “What does this mean?” The first thing we must point out is the fact that Jesus has the power and authority to heal, that Jesus is compassionate and merciful, that Jesus is more loving and generous than we could ever imagine. In other words, this story is ultimately written to remind us of the glory and beauty of Christ so that we would respond in passionate worship to Him. You see, when we read passages like this, it’s so easy for us to quickly focus our attention on the one who gave thanks or the nine who did not give thanks. But let me be really clear – this story is not about the one or the nine. This story is about the One – Jesus Christ. Then for us to miss Him would be to miss the whole point. Then, brothers and sisters, I pray that we won’t be so quick to dismiss Jesus’ power displayed through this healing just because we’re so familiar with it. Instead, I pray that it’ll leave us in awe of Him – to find Him irresistible and unforgettable so that we would respond in praise. So, before we even talk about thanksgiving, I invite you to reflect on Christ today. And as you think about who He is and all that He has done for you, lift up your voice and sing to Him. Tell Him how great He is – because when you do, thanksgiving will naturally flow out of you.
2) THE LEPERS
Verse 15, “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him.” Before going to the priest, before returning to his wife and children, family and friends, this one leper immediately turned back to give thanks to Jesus. For this leper, returning to thank the One who was responsible for his healing was more important than anything else. Why? Because he saw that he was healed. Now, I’m not saying that the other nine didn’t see that they were healed – no, I simply mean that this one leper saw that he was healed and realized that he was a recipient of undeserved mercy. He understood that Jesus didn’t have to do this, but He did it out of compassion and mercy. In other words, he knew that he now owed everything to Jesus.
Then here’s something that we should reflect on. You see, the truth is that we’re not often aware of the grace that we receive every single day. Did you sleep last night? Did you have food to eat yesterday? Were you sick but got better? Did you get married or finish school? Have you enjoyed laughter and sympathy with friends? Has someone shown you an act of kindness recently? Have you enjoyed the encouragement and support of others in this church? Were there open doors or unexpected blessings in your life? If so, are you regularly thanking God for these things? You see, there’s so much that God has done for us and given us that we often take for granted. The air that we breathe, the people we have in our lives, the jobs that we have, the fact that we have a safe place to worship, the fact that we can have a Bible in our hands, the fact that God has orchestrated our lives so that the gospel can come to us, the fact that we’ve been adopted as children of God not because of anything that we’ve done but solely because of what Christ has done, the fact that the Spirit is constantly teaching us, guiding us, and shaping us to be more like Christ – these are all evidence of God’s grace in our lives that we ought to be grateful for. Then considering all this, take your eyes off of yourselves and the things that you’ve been desperately pursuing after so that you may see the countless blessings that you receive every single day because when you do, you’ll realize that you have endless reasons to give thanks to Him. Fix your eyes on God and your heart will overflow with gratitude.
Then what does this mean practically? How can we better cultivate a heart of gratitude? Two things. First, make it your daily habit to count your blessings. For example, as part of your quiet time with God, write down just one way God has been faithful to you that day. Or every night, take five minutes to replay the day, asking yourself, “How did God meet my needs today?” It’s not complicated but the reality is that too often, we don’t spend enough time counting our blessings – and as a result, we spend too much time counting other people’s blessings. No wonder we’re often so discontent, discouraged, and distressed. Brothers and sisters, I invite you to take your eyes off of others, off of your circumstances – and fix them on God as you count your blessings one by one. Pastor Paul Tripp said, “The more you commit yourself to counting your blessings, the more you will have eyes to see specific blessings in your life. The more you require yourself to rehearse the many gifts God has given you in the past, the more you will have eyes to recognize His gifts in the present. Take time to think through all the good things you have in the midst of hard things. Get a journal and every few days write down things for which you can be thankful, that you could never produce on your own. The more your heart is filled with gratitude, the less room there is for complaint. I have learned that no matter how hard a day is, there are beautiful things in that day that I should be thankful for, and there are reasons to celebrate the One who gives them to me.”
Second, practice thanksgiving in your relationships with others. For example, express gratitude to your family members. If you’re married, constantly affirm and show your appreciation for the things that your spouse does around the house. Parents, daily remind your children how grateful you are for them. Children and youths, tell your parents how much you appreciate them and how much you love them. Show your friends how thankful you are for them through words, gifts, or simply spending time with them. Send an email to your co-workers – thanking them for what they did that went unnoticed. Send a note to your Community Group leaders – thanking them for the way they’ve been serving your group. And most importantly, regularly pray a prayer of thanksgiving – thanking God for these people who have blessed you, guided you, helped you, and shaped you in many ways.
Now, let’s go back to the text so I can point out just one more thing before we move to our last point. Verse 17, “Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’” You see, Jesus didn’t forget about the nine – He intentionally pointed out that they weren’t there when they should’ve been. Why? Because He wants us to know that He isn’t indifferent to ingratitude but that He is grieved by it. In other words, it matters to God whether we give thanks or not. And He cares about this because He knows that thanklessness is extremely detrimental to our souls. Think with me: a thankless heart creates discontentment which then produces complaints toward God. A thankless heart creates bitterness which then produces resentment toward God. A thankless heart creates anxiety which then produces distrust toward God. In contrast, a thankful heart creates humility because you understand that everything you have is a gift from God. A thankful heart creates joy because you’re learning to be content with all that you have. A thankful heart creates faith because you’re learning to trust that God is going to take care of you. So, considering this, when the nine didn’t return, Jesus looked for them because He cared about their souls.
Then we can’t help but ask, “Why didn’t they come back with this one leper to express their gratitude to Jesus? Were they not thankful?” Personally, I do believe that all of them were grateful because there’s no evidence of them being selfish or entitled anywhere in this text – they were all desperate, and they were all humbly asking for mercy. Then why did only one return to thank Jesus? Why is it that they all had the exact same experience but only one responded differently? It’s because the nine lepers were so consumed by the blessings that Jesus was lost from their minds. For them, being healed of leprosy was all that mattered – which meant that Jesus was just a means to an end. Again, it’s not that they’re not thankful for Jesus. In fact, if you met these nine lepers, I’m sure they would’ve said to you, “I’m so glad that I met Jesus because He healed me from my leprosy.” But what made this one leper different was that he would’ve said to you, “I’m so glad that I had leprosy because it brought me to Jesus.” Do you see the difference? All ten of them came to Jesus to get something from Him but only one of them realized that his true hope is found not in being cleansed from leprosy but in Christ Himself. The nine were satisfied with physical healing but the one wanted more – he wanted a relationship with the Healer Himself. He wanted to get to know Him, be with Him, and enjoy Him more than anything else. Christ had become his treasure.
Now, I don’t want to give off the impression that it’s wrong to go to God when we’re in trouble. No, it’s perfectly fine to pray out of desperation. In fact, we shouldn’t hesitate to turn to God when we’re in need. But what I want to point out is the fact that our misery, our pain, our troubles, our trials should cause us to look to Him – not just to the things that He offers. Then let me ask you, “Is Jesus truly all that you desire or is He just a means to an end? Do you view Jesus as absolutely beautiful or conveniently useful?” Brothers and sisters, I pray that all of you would have the faith to say, “I’m so glad that I’m going through this because it’s bringing me closer to Christ.” I pray that He will continue to be your greatest heart’s desire.
3) THE NEW LIFE
Verse 16. Did you notice that the leper who came back was no longer standing at a distance but thanking Jesus at His feet? Do you see the closeness and intimacy that this leper had with Jesus all because of mercy? In contrast, the nine were further away from Jesus – they were nowhere to be found. This detail is so important because Luke wants to show us that this leper now received a new life in Christ. No wonder Jesus said in verse 19, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” The word for “made you well” in Greek literally says, “Saved you.” In other words, this leper thought he was just coming back to give thanks but he left being confident of his salvation. He wasn’t just freed from his leprosy but his sins as well.
Now, I want to make this clear – Jesus wasn’t saying that this leper received salvation because he gave thanks. No, Jesus was saying that the leper can be sure of his salvation because he gave thanks. In other words, thanksgiving wasn’t a requirement for salvation but a sign of his salvation. I love what Pastor Voddie Baucham said, “All the gospel requires is repentance and faith. Nothing else. I emphasize this because some of you hearing this will say, ‘Well, what about obedience?’ But that’s not what the gospel requires – it’s what the gospel produces. If the gospel were to require obedience from us, then that would mean that we could be obedient apart from the person and work of Christ – and that would mean that Jesus died for nothing. The gospel produces obedience in us – joyful obedience. Again, if we get these things mixed up, that’s where we end up in legalism and moralism and works righteousness. And that’s when the good news is really not good news at all. It becomes burdensome.” Brothers and sisters, let us give thanks not because we want to somehow make God love us more. No, let us give thanks because we are the recipients of this extravagant, radical, and unconditional love of God. The Bible tells us that “because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,” sent His one and only Son so that “whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16). Though He is the King of the universe, He entered our world as a humble servant. Though He is holy, completely without sin, He became sin for us. Though He is the only One deserving of praise and worship, He was humiliated and rejected by all. Though He is the Creator and the Giver of life, He gave up His life so that we may be forgiven and go free. This is our God. Then I invite you to throw yourself at His mercy today. Rest in the power of His blood. And receive His grace, His forgiveness, and this new life that only he can offer. Our hope is found in Christ alone. And of course, give thanks for the new life that you have in Jesus Christ. Our gratitude will be a sign that our salvation is secure in Christ.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, the gospel reminds us that we have endless reasons to be thankful in all circumstances. Then no matter what kind of situation you may be in today, I invite you to fix your eyes on Christ so that you would learn to cultivate a heart of gratitude for your life. Do this knowing that the feeling of joy will begin in our act of thanksgiving.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) What does this healing story tell us about Jesus? How does this impact us today?
2) Why did the one return to thank Jesus? Why didn’t the other nine turn back to thank Jesus? Why is it important to give thanks to God? Then how can we better cultivate a heart of gratitude in our lives?
3) The gospel prepares and leads us to true thanksgiving. How?