THE ONE THANKFUL LEPER

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on November 20, 2022 under 2022 |

Bethany Bible Church Thanksgiving Sunday Sermon Message; November 20, 2022 from Luke 17:11-19

Theme: Our salvation demonstrates itself in sincere thankfulness to the Savior.

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

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About two thousand years ago—most likely in the temple in Jerusalem—there was a cluster of Jewish priests who were in a state of utter astonishment. They were seeing something they had never seen before. It was very possibly something the likes of which no priest, in all of Israel’s long history up to that point, had ever seen at all.

What’s more, as soon as they saw it, they most likely began to search the Scriptures—and to immediately consult with the scribes and scholars—in a hurried effort to find out what it was that God wanted them to do about this remarkable situation that they were witnessing.

And if that’s true, they were probably searching in the Book of Leviticus. In that book, God had given the people of Israel instructions—through Moses—on what to do in situations in which someone had a disease called leprosy. In ancient times, leprosy was something like a flesh-eating disease that caused its victims to be covered with blotches and blisters and wounds—making them sick, weak, and miserable. And whenever anyone that they may have contracted this terrible disease, they were required to go to the priests—who served, at that time, as ‘health-inspectors’—in order to be examined and to be officially pronounced ‘unclean’.

In Leviticus 13:45-46, it says;

“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).

In those days, there was no known medical cure for this fearsome disease; and so, in most cases, the pronouncement from the priest would have been something like a ‘death sentence’. A sufferer would be isolated from family, friends, society, and the religious life of Israel. He or she would have wandered around in need of food and care; completely at the mercy of anyone who would leave something along the way for them to eat or wear. Their bodies, their health, and their very lives would have slowly wasted away.

But the particular priests that we’re talking about today were not having to pronounce anyone “unclean”. Instead, they were being called upon to do the opposite. They were most likely looking through Leviticus 14; because that chapter of the Bible explains what was to be done for someone who had—somehow—been cured of leprosy. It tells of how they were to show themselves again to the priests; and if they were examined and found to have—indeed—become cleansed of their leprosy, there was a set of ceremonial washings and sacrifices and rituals that the priests were to administer to them. And after it all, they were to be officially pronounced clean by the priests and were to be welcomed back into the life of Jewish society.

In all of the history of Israel, as it’s recorded in the Old Testament, there had only been two people who had been miraculously cleansed of leprosy. One was Miriam, the sister of Moses. Her story was told in Numbers 12. Miriam was pronounced clean by God without having gone to the priests. The other was a foreigner from Syria—a commander in the Syrian army named Naaman. His story was told in 1 Kings 5. And as a foreigner, Naaman had no need to receive a pronouncement of cleanness from the Jewish priests. Beyond that, there isn’t any record in the Old Testament of anyone who had ever been cleansed of leprosy, or who needed to go to the priests in obedience to Leviticus 14 for the ritual prescribed by God for cleansing.

For most of Israel’s history—as far as we can tell—those instructions in Leviticus 14 remained written down, known about, read, studied, reverenced … but never used. And yet suddenly, a group of priests in the temple was frantically searching through that passage—reviewing what was required of them. Because just a few miles northwest of the city, ten men who were confirmed lepers had been suddenly cleansed of their leprosy all at once. And there, before them, stood nine of them—all Jewish men—all showing themselves to the priests—all rejoicing—all healed—and all seeking to be officially pronounced clean.

None of the priests had ever seen a miracle like this before!—and certainly not in such numbers all at once!

But there were only nine. Where was the tenth? As it turns out, he was not a Jewish man. He was a foreigner from Samaria. He had been on his way with the other men to go to the priests. But he had suddenly felt compelled to around and run back to the Miracle-worker who had just healed them all. While the others were making their way to the priests, he was on his face before the feet of the Lord Jesus, worshiping Him, and giving glory to God.

This tenth leper’s story is told to us in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus Himself had been on His way to Jerusalem; and we’re told;

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).

As we’re preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving later this week, this is a very good passage for us to consider together. None of us have suffered from leprosy—praise God! But we have all suffered from an even more dreadful and deadly disease. It’s the disease of sin. It’s a disease that made us, spiritually speaking, ‘the walking dead’ before God our Creator. Because He is holy, and cannot have sin in His presence, this disease made it necessary for a separation to occur between Him and us. We were ‘unclean’ before Him. It’s a disease for which there was no human cure. And it’s a disease that, if not taken away from us, would have led to our eternal death. Jesus has healed us of the dreadful disease of sin by His own death for us on the cross.

And as this wonderful story teaches us—and as the example of this one healed leper shows us—our salvation demonstrates itself in sincere thankfulness to the Savior.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; this story begins by telling us about Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem. At this point in the Gospel of Luke, the Lord Jesus had already made it clear that He was going to Jerusalem in order to lay down His life for us on the cross. He was on His way to bring about our healing from the terrible disease of sin. Luke tells us in verse 11;

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee (v. 11).

Luke made special mention of this, because this was a region that—ordinarily—a Jewish man would not go through. The Samaritans descended from the northern tribes of Israel that had become mixed with Gentile people groups. The Bible tells us that the Jews despised the Samaritans and had no dealings with them. In fact, if a Jewish person wanted to insult someone, they’d call him ‘a Samaritan’. And yet, it was through this part of the land that Jesus traveled. He loved the Samaritans and came to die for their sins too.

As He and His disciples traveled, they came to a certain village. We’re not told the name of it; but it would have been in the regions of Galilee and Samaria along the well-traveled road that led to Jerusalem. Verse 12 tells us;

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off (v. 12).

As we already know, this group of lepers was most likely composed of mostly Jewish men—but at least one of them was Samaritan. And isn’t it interesting that the social and cultural differences were set aside in their desperate situation? The Jewish men were with the Samaritan; and the Samaritan was with the Jewish men. They were all infected by a horrible disease; and that disease broke down all the barriers between them and made the differences seem unimportant.

The situation is the same for all people today. The common bond between all people—who were born of Adam and Eve—is that we’ve all been infected by the disease of sin. Because of that disease, we are all born into this world equally separated from God and equally in need of a Savior. One people group is not born into the world “less lost” and “less separated from God” than another. Our sin is truly the great leveler before a holy God. These lepers ‘stood afar off’ because they dared not to draw any closer. Their leprosy made it necessary for them to keep at a distance. And the same is true of you and me. So long as we are infected by the disease of sin—and are unredeemed from it—we dare not draw near to our holy Creator God.

Now; perhaps they had heard that Jesus was passing their way. Or it may be that they were all together and they saw Him coming. No doubt, they had already heard much about Him. But however it happened, they saw Him. They heard that He has the power to heal. They even heard of how He had healed the leprosy of others. And as it tells us in verse 13—standing afar off—

… they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (v. 13).

And the actions of these ten desperate lepers leads us to ask an important question:

1. DO WE CRY OUT TO HIM IN OUR UNWORTHINESS?

It’s one thing to be aware of your desperate situation. It’s one thing to know that you are infected by the horrible disease of sin. It’s one thing to know that your sin separates you from a holy God, and dooms you to judgment before Him. But it’s another thing altogether to, in the midst of that awareness, cry out to Him for the mercy God provides through faith in Jesus.

We should never let our sinful condition keep us from crying out to Him; because God the Father sent Him to save us and set us free from our disease. No leper was ever so diseased that Jesus could not heal them if he or she only asked. And none of us sinners are so corrupt in sin today that Jesus cannot save us if we will sincerely cry out to Him.

* * * * * * * * * *

So; in their desperate need, they lifted up their voices together and cried out to Him. And look at what it tells us in verse 14;

So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests” (v. 14a).

Wouldn’t that have seemed like a strange thing to tell them? Shouldn’t they only make their way to the priest after they had already been healed? It was a long trip to Jerusalem. If they were covered with leprosy, they wouldn’t even have been allowed in. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for Jesus to call them near; and—as He had done on another occasion with another leper—reach out His hand, touch them, heal them then and there, and then tell them to go show themselves to the priests?

But no. Jesus was calling them to take a step of faith. They needed to obey Him. And they did. And as the rest of verse 14 tells us;

And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed (v. 14b).

An important spiritual lesson is being taught to us in the story of these ten lepers. The sort of half-baked faith in Jesus that says, “Let Him prove Himself to me first, and then I’ll obey Him”, is not a saving faith. It’s nothing more than an effort to try to get God to prove Himself before we will obey. Instead—as these ten men illustrate to us—a saving faith in Jesus is one that goes hand-in-hand with obedience to Jesus’ commands. This forces us to ask the question: If we will cry out to Jesus in our need; then …

2. WILL WE TRUST HIM BY FAITH ENOUGH TO OBEY INSTRUCTIONS TO US?

I love the words of that great old hymn;

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.¹

There is profound truth to those words. I’ve sometimes heard people say, “I tried trusting in Jesus; and it didn’t work for me.” And I’ve always felt that the real problem was found in them—rather than in Him—because they wouldn’t do what He said. They wanted results first—before they would obey.

As sinners deeply infected with the disease of sin, will we trust Jesus enough to obey Him—even if we don’t appear to see the immediate answers to all our prayers for deliverance? That’s a true test of saving faith.

* * * * * * * * * *

So; these ten men went; and they were healed along the way.

What might that have looked like? As they walked along the road, did one of them look at the other and say, “Look at you! Your skin is healed! Your leprosy is gone!” And then, did another look back at him and said the same thing? And then, did they all look at one another in amazement? Did they all stand there astonished, and begin to praise God, and leap for joy, and begin to run faster to the priests to show themselves? However it happened, they became a very excited group of former lepers as they made their way to Jerusalem.

But one of the nine didn’t proceed further. Verse 15 tells us;

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God …” (v. 15).

Can you imagine what a sight he must have been? Perhaps many people who heard Jesus command the lepers to go to the priests were still there when this one man returned. And they would have seen him running, and shouting, and praising God with a loud voice … completely healed! And do you notice that—immediately after he was said to be praising God—we’re told,

… and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks (v. 16a).

And again, this man in particular leads us to ask another question. If we will cry out to Jesus for mercy in our need for salvation from sin; and if we will show trust in Him by obeying Him, then—as a demonstration of the reality of our salvation …

3. WILL WE RETURN TO GIVE HIM OUR THANKS FOR HIS GRACE TO US?

This leper—the one in ten—will forever be an example to us. He had already begun to make his way to Jerusalem. Perhaps he and the others had already traveled some distance. And I’m sure that he eventually obeyed Jesus and went to the priests. But he made his trip to Jerusalem even longer by turning around to give thanks to Jesus first.

Do we go out of our way to express our thanks to Him for all His blessings to us?—especially the blessing of healing us from the fatal disease of sin?

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; it’s particularly striking that Luke makes a point of saying,

And he was a Samaritan (v. 16b).

That was to highlight that the other men were—most likely—all Jewish men. Jesus looked down in love on this man at His feet, who was doing what the others should have done. Verses 17-18 say;

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?” (vv. 17-18).

Jesus had a right to expect all of them to come back and thank Him. But only this Samaritan man did so. And then, Jesus said something truly wonderful to him. In verse 19 we read;

And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well” (v. 19).

The word that’s translated “well” is actually the word for ‘salvation’. It’s the same word that would be used for someone who had been delivered from their sins. Jesus said much more than simply that the man’s faith made him well. He literally said, “Your faith”, which had been demonstrated by returning to give thanks, “has saved you”.

And this leads us to a final principle. It’s really the main lesson of this wonderful story. It’s that …

* * * * * * * * * *

4. OUR SALVATION DEMONSTRATES ITSELF IN SINCERE THANKFULNESS TO THE SAVIOR.

I have often wondered if that passage in Leviticus 14—about the ritual for the healing of lepers—wasn’t put in the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit just to reveal to them the identity of Jesus. He truly is the Son of God; and only He could heal the lepers. But I’m also sure that the story of this one thankful leper is put in the Scriptures to teach you and me about thankfulness.

You see, dear brothers and sisters; you and I have far more in common with that Samaritan leper than we may realize. We are foreigners to His covenant promises. We have no right to expect anything from Him. We can only ask for mercy. But we have been rescued from the terrible disease of sin through faith in Jesus Christ. If we have placed our faith in Him, then we are pronounced ‘clean’. Just as the nine did to the priests, we ought to give proof of our salvation to the world.

But let’s also do as this one thankful leper did. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s make sure that we—as it were—run to Jesus, fall before Him, and thank Him for His amazing grace. That kind of thankfulness truly shows the reality of our salvation.

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¹ © 1953, renewed 1981, S.K. Hine, assigned to Manna Music, Inc; CCLI #1440010

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