Thank You

Text:

Luke 17:11-19:

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

 

Theme:

Thank You

 

Introduction:

• The Gospel According to Saint Luke is the third of the four synoptic Gospels.
  • Written by Luke, the physician, who also wrote the Acts of the Apostles
  • Luke wrote of accounts that he had gathered in his research concerning the life and times of the Master.
  • Luke wrote in a specificity and forthrightness that was typical of his Greek background and education while, at the same time, focusing on more the peculiararities of the Jesus’ life, character, and actions.
• The text is the familiar story of the Ten Lepers:
  • Ten Lepers are healed b Jesus of their Leprosy, BUT there was “The One Who Came Back” to say “Thank you!”

Body:

• Three parts of the text:
  • The Condition
    • “there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:”
      • Leprosy (from Easton’s Commentary)
        • “begins with specks on the eyelids and on the palms, gradually spreading over the body, bleaching the hair white wherever they appear, crusting the affected parts with white scales, and causing terrible sores and swellings. From the skin the disease eats inward to the bones, rotting the whole body piecemeal.”
      • Stood afar off (from Easton’s Commentary)
        • “In Christ’s day no leper could live in a walled town, though he might in an open village. But wherever he was he was required to have his outer garment rent as a sign of deep grief, to go bareheaded, and to cover his beard with his mantle, as if in lamentation at his own virtual death. He had further to warn passers-by to keep away from him, by calling out, ‘Unclean! unclean!’ nor could he speak to any one, or receive or return a salutation, since in the East this involves an embrace.”
    • We in this day suffer from the same type of condition.
      • Because of SIN we are separated from God (standing afar off)
        • Psalms 38:3, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.”
      • Can we be honest with others and say, “UNCLEAN”?
      • Can we be honest with God and say, “UNCLEAN”?
  • The Miracle
    • “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”
      • Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests (customary confirmation of the absence of leprosy)
      • “as they went”
        • When the left Jesus, they still had leprosy.
        • When they got to the priest, they did not have leprosy.
          • What happened???
          • Can’t you see them responding to the question of how Jesus healed them just like the Blind Man said of the miracle of his sight. John 9:25, “…one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
  • The Response
    • Nine of the Ten Lepers are not recorded as having any response to Jesus healing them of their leprosy.
      • Psalms 78:32, “For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.”
    • The ONE of the Lepers, after knowing that he was healed, “turned back” to go to Jesus.
      • He knew who it was that healed him and wanted to give credit where credit was due.
    • How do we respond to God’s goodness à Like the NINE or the ONE?????
• Interesting differences between the beginning and the end of the story
  • The Lepers came together, but they ended up divided.
    • Verses 12-13, “there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices”
    • Verse 16, “And one of them…turned back”
  • The ten were healed through a request; the one was blessed through a statement.
    • The 10 à “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”
    • The 1 à“giving him thanks”.
  • Jesus healed the body of the 10, but he healed the life of the 1.
    • Verse 19, “And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
      • Jesus imparted the UNDERSTANDING that on the action of his faith he was made whole.
        • Psalms 119:34, “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”
        • They acted on faith in Jesus and His power à after that action they were healed.
      • Where he once was broken, incomplete and empty, he was made WHOLE!!!!
        • Healing the body obviously was not enough for the NINE to allow their life to be changed.
        • For the ONE, the healing of the leprosy was nothing but an outward effect of an inward change!!
      • There is the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”
        • All ten were “given a fish”, but the one was “taught how to fish”…unto eternal life.
      • They all had a reason to say THANK YOU, but only 1 DID!
• Do we tell God THANK YOU??

 

Conclusion:

• Four components of THANK YOU:
  • “when he saw that he was healed” à See what God has done!
    • Psalms 98:2, “The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.”
  • “turned back” à There has to be a change!
    • 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
      • Actions speak louder than words!
        • God looks for you to DO what you claim to feel!!
        • James 2:20, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
  • “with a loud voice glorified God” à Tell others the story!
    • “When I think of the goodness of God and ALL that He has done for me, my soul cries out ‘Halleluia’!”
      • As the great commission tells us, we have to (Matthew 28:19) “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
  • “fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks” à Tell GOD “Thank You”!
    • Go to God and tell Him THANK YOU!!!
    • As Paul exemplifies in his love for the Philippian church in Philippians 1:3, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,”
      • We have to tell God THANK YOU!
      • Thank you for the good times
      • Thank you for the bad times
      • Thank you for saving me
      • Thank you for loving me
      • Thank you for healing me

      • THANK YOU!!!!!

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