A FAITH THAT GIVES THANKS

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 9, 2021 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: June 9, 2021 from Luke 17:11-19

Theme: The kind of faith that pleases our Lord is the faith that returns to give thanks.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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One of the most tragic types of people that we find in the Bible is lepers. Their lot in life must have truly been terrible.

The kind of leprosy we find in the Bible may not be exactly the same as the disease we know as leprosy today (which is otherwise known as Hansen’s Disease). But it was nevertheless a terrible disease. It corrupted the flesh of its victims—covering their bodies with painful sores and diseased skin—leaving them weak and sickly and helpless. It was apparently a contagious disease; and as a result, those who contracted it were forced to stay away from social contact with others.

It was not only a defiling disease physically. It also defiled its victims in terms of the ceremonial worship of God. In Numbers 5, God told Moses;

“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell” (Numbers 5:2-3).

In Leviticus 13—when God was giving His people the laws regarding leprosy—He told them this regrading a man who the priests had pronounced leprous:

Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:45-46).

And since it was considered an incurable disease, this meant that a leper would potentially be an outcast from the assembly and society of God’s people for life. They would be separated from home, from work, and from worship. They would wander in the desert regions and often be utterly dependent upon the mercy of others to leave them food or clothing or supplies. To be a leper would be the closest thing we could think of to being the living dead.

And yet, there are stories of healing. In Numbers 12, we’re told the story of how Moses’ own sister Miriam had become leprous as a punishment from God; and of how God mercifully healed her when Moses and Aaron prayed for her. And there was a man who was healed of leprosy in the Old Testament. His name was Naaman; and he was a Syrian. His story is told to us in 2 Kings 7. He was miraculously healed when he obeyed the instructions of the prophet Elisha, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan River. There’s yet another story—this one in the New Testament—of a man who was leprous who was healed by Jesus. Luke tells us about him in Luke 5. He fell on his face before Jesus and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And Jesus put out His hand and touched the unclean man—a very bold act—and said, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the man’s leprosy was gone.

The only stories that we have in the Bible of leprosy being cleansed are stories of the miraculous works of God. And now, as we come to Luke 17:11-19, we find that Luke—who, by the way, was a physician—tells us of yet another. It occurred at the time when Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem; and it’s a remarkable story of several lepers being cleansed by Him at once.

But the real focus of the story is not on the several who were cleansed; but on the one man in particular who returned to give glory to God. It says;

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:11-19).

Now; all ten of those men had leprosy. They all had faith to come to Jesus. And they all received a complete healing. But out of all of the ten, only one was praised by our Lord in a unique way for His faith. And it was the one man who returned to give Him thanks.

And I wonder how often our faith proves to be the kind that truly pleases our Lord and truly honors Him?—that is, the kind that proves its authenticity and sincerity by the fact that it moves us to return to give our Savior and Redeemer thanks?

* * * * * * * * * *

Leprosy often serves in the Bible as a symbol for sin. It was an infectious disease that spread from person to person—just as Adam’s sin has been spread throughout all his offspring. It was also a pervasive sin that spread throughout the whole body—just like the contamination of sin has spread in us personally and has corrupted the whole of our entire life. And it was also a defiling disease that caused someone to be separated from the people of God—just like our sin causes us to be separated from the God who made us for Himself.

Praise God that Jesus has come to heal us of our disease of sin. That He can heal us of our sin is proven to us by the way He could heal every other disease—even the horrible disease of leprosy. He came to this earth as one who bore no sin of His own; and who took the condemnation for the sin of humanity upon Himself and paid the debt for it on the cross. When we come to Him for forgiveness, He is fully qualified to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. And so, when we read of how Jesus healed the lepers who came to Him—and He healed many; and He healed every one of them that sought Him—then we’re being given a picture of how He heals the even greater disease of sin for everyone who places their faith in Him.

But here’s the important question that this passage causes us to ask of ourselves: Is ours the kind of faith that truly shows a sincere trust? Is it the kind of faith that truly pleases Him? Is it the kind of faith that proves itself by the fact that we—like the leper—come back to thank Him?

Consider the demonstrations of faith that we find in this story in Luke 17. First, we find a very fundamental and necessary kind of faith; that is …

1. A FAITH THAT SEEKS JESUS (vv. 11-13).

Luke tells us, in verse 11, “Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.” The place where this story happened is significant to notice. It was between the regions of Galilee—which was on the very border of the Gentile world; and Samaria—which was a place that the Jewish people sought to avoid. The Galileans were considered backward and unsophisticated—not a worthy people; and the Samaritans were considered a half-breed people of mixed race—not a pure people. And yet, Jesus—as He was making His way to the cross—was found in the midst of these two regions. He went to the places where broken and needy people were. He still does.

And in verses 12-13, Luke goes on to tell us, “Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’” They stood afar off because they were required to do so. As unclean men, they didn’t feel that they dare approach Him closely. That didn’t stop the leper we read of in Luke 5, of course. He came and fell before Jesus’ feet to make his appeal to the Lord in an almost face-to-face kind of way. But these ten men kept at a distance—not feeling worthy to come any closer. Nevertheless, they sought Him and cried out to Him for mercy.

Do you notice the name they used for Jesus? In most translations, it’s “Master”. But in the original language, it’s an unusual word that means ‘one who stands over’ or ‘one who is set over’. It’s the word epistatās—a word that’s found only in Luke’s Gospel; and a name that is only uttered by the apostles of our Lord … except in this one case. And it means something close to “superintendent” or “chief”. It was as if these ten lepers were speaking to Him as His apostles would speak to Him; that is, calling Him ‘Boss’—one who was in charge—one who had authority. And they pleaded with Him for mercy—clearly meaning that they wanted Him to heal them of their leprosy. Why would they think that He could do such a thing for them? Perhaps it was because they knew the story of the man that Jesus had healed of leprosy in Luke 5. After all, Jesus had healed him in nearby Capernaum—and the man then went out and declared the news to everyone.

So, here, we see in these ten men a very basic and fundamental kind of faith. It’s a faith that hears about Jesus, knows that He is Someone unique—Someone with authority and power. We all have to start there. It’s a faith that seeks Him and comes to Him with the great needs of the soul.

Have you come to Jesus with that kind of faith? I hope so. I have too. But we find that to be pleasing to the Lord, it needs to be more. It needs also to be …

2. A FAITH THAT OBEYS (v. 14).

Luke tells us in verse 14, “So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’” Jesus didn’t call them to Himself to heal them. He didn’t have to. He had the power to simply give the command.

He commanded them to go show themselves to the priests; and this was in keeping with the law of God according to Moses in the case of all who were healed of leprosy. In Leviticus 13-14, God gave many commandments concerning leprosy. It was the priests’ responsibility to assess the condition of someone suspected to have leprosy and—if found infected—to pronounce them unclean. But if they were somehow healed of their leprosy, the priests were also to examine them and pronounce them cleansed. When Jesus healed the man of leprosy in Luke 5, He told him to tell no one;

“But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded” (Luke 5:14).

It was for ‘a testimony’ to the priests that a work of God had been accomplished. And that’s why Jesus commanded these ten men to go to the priests. But you’ll notice that he hadn’t healed them yet. In fact, He didn’t even say outright that He would heal them; but simply commanded them to go to the priests and obey the law of Moses. The implication was that they were to obey Him—trusting Him to heal as He saw fit.

And look at what happened. We’re told in verse 14; “And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.” Can you imagine their joy? Perhaps as they were on their way to the temple to show themselves to the priests—as they journeyed on the path—one of them just happened to glance down at his own hands and saw that the leprosy was gone. And then, he looked over to his traveling partner and saw that he was cleansed also. Then they all stopped and looked at themselves with joy and saw that—along the way—they were healed.

What a lesson this teaches us, by the way. How often is it that we ask the Lord to do something for us … only to find that He answers by asking us to do something for Him. And it’s along the path of our obedience to Him that He gives us what we need.

Now; that too is a kind of faith with which we need to come to Jesus. It needs to be the kind of faith that not only seeks Him but that also obeys Him. But for it to be the kind of faith that He is truly looking for from us, it still needs to be more. It also needs to be …

3. A FAITH THAT RETURNS IN GRATITUDE (vv. 15-16).

It may be that all the others did as Jesus said, and went immediately to the priests. And what a remarkable day that must have been for the priests! In 15 centuries of the Scriptures since Moses, there had been no record of anyone coming to the priests to be pronounced clean in accordance with the command of God to Moses. But now, the prophet Jesus has come along; and people were coming to the priests because they had been healed by Him. And on this remarkable day, nine of them showed up! What a testimony this must have been to the priests!

But what about the tenth? While the others were making their way to Jerusalem, it seems that this one man had an experience of faith in Jesus that placed an inescapable burden of gratitude upon him. No doubt, he too eventually went to the priests. But before he could go another step further, he had to go back to Jesus. Luke tells us in verses 15-16; “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.” He made a great commotion about it. Everyone would have seen him running to Jesus; and they would have perhaps pointed and said, “Wasn’t that man a leper just a short while ago?” What has happened to him? And do you notice that he wasn’t simply giving thanks to Jesus ‘the Boss’. He was glorifying God—knowing that that’s who Jesus is in human flesh. And notice one more important thing. As Luke tells us, “And he was a Samaritan.” He was one of the unworthy ones. And yet, his faith was the kind that returned to give thanks.

Have you come to Jesus for the burden of your soul? Have you responded to Him by obeying Him—and in doing so, found that He poured His grace upon you? Well; have you also done as this man did?—running back to Jesus, and falling before Him with profound gratitude?

As we read on we find that this kind of faith is …

4. A FAITH THAT IS BLESSED (vv. 17-19).

We’re told, “So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’” These words suggest that Jesus had a right to expect those others—who apparently were Jewish men—to come back to Him and give Him thanks. That would have shown forth the kind of faith that truly pleased Him. And I even wonder if Jesus didn’t ask this question clearly and intentionally—so that all who were watching could hear it.

It was then that we read in verse 19, “And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Our faith certainly shows itself in seeking Jesus for the relief of whatever burdens our souls. And it should also show itself by our readiness to obey Him and do as He says. But when we discover that He has answered the need of our soul, and washed away our sin, and cleansed and healed us, do we return to give Him thanks? In fact, do we yield ourselves completely to Him in gratitude?—and all to the glory of God?

There’s another story in the Gospel of Luke. It’s about someone who was grateful for what Jesus had done for them. But in this case, it wasn’t a leper. It was a sinner. In Luke 7, we’re told;

Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luk3 7:36-50).

Jesus said almost the same thing to this woman that He said to the leper—that her faith has saved her. And it was a faith that demonstrated itself by the giving of thanks. May God help us to be like this woman—and also like the leper. May our faith be the kind that causes us to return to Jesus with grateful thanks.

That kind of faith pleases Him greatly.

EA