Luke 17:11-19 Don’t Forget To Tell Him Thank You
By Rev. Ashton E. Alexander
There was a man who was well established that had vacationed to Jamaica for the summer. One afternoon after enjoying himself at the beach, he decided to grab a bit to eat from Burger King. After which, a seemingly homeless man had asked him for a meal. The well established man commenced by telling the deprived man that he had already eaten all of the food that he had purchased, but the homeless man assured the welthy gentlemen that the left overs were sufficient for him. Then the man ate all of the food that the wealthy man did not eat from the bag, and he GAVE THANKS TO HEAVEN. What a stirring demonstration of gratitude! The deprived man did not complain; rather, he gave thanks.
Although this might be something seemingly small to most, it reinforces how vitally important it is to be thankful. However, there are some who have received a great deal of considerable blessings from God and still want thank him for his unfailing faithfulness. We ought to thank God for his precious provisions, prevailing power, past performances, profound presence and perpetual promises, but we must avoid thinking that “thank you” exhausts our gratitude for the faithfulness and mercy of the Lord. As a matter of fact, the common employment of the term “thank you” is used as a gesture to express one’s gratitude. The stirring sentiments of the seasoned saints are that 10,000 tongues are not even enough to begin to thank the Lord for his guidance, governance, and goodness to His people.
To magnify the importance of thankfulness, the text shows us one who is gracious of the blessings of Jesus and nine that disregard his goodness. Each time I survey this text it appears to be perpetual pregnancy. Despite one’s familiarity of the text, the need to acquire a spirit of gratitude is always a profound truth the will continue to speak to the hearts of God’s people. Let us explore and examine the activity of the text.
Luke, an associate of Paul and a renowned physician of his time, is presented as the third gospel of the Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Historically, the book was purposefully written to address Theophilus. This writing is aimed at illustrating the complete authority of Jesus over all things and events. Hence, we see the number of miracles that Jesus performed. Being that Luke was a physician, he specifically tries to present Jesus as the Great Physician.
In this particular passage Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee, and as he entered a village, colony, of ten lepers, according to verse 11. Thus, we see the first condition of the next; namely, their constant misery (vs.12). The men were certainly in undesirable circumstances. The law had restricted the men from daily interactions with society. For Leviticus 13: 46 says, “The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothed and let the hair of his head be disheveled.’’ The phrase of verse 12, “And they stood afar” emphasizes the restrictions the lepers endured under the law. It was unlawful for lepers towards there to come near health, according to rabbinic customs. Can imagine living a life independent from the general population?
In addition to experiencing restrictions under the law, the lepers also endured physical agony. Individuals with leprosy were usually identified by the deteriorating skin. Leprosy was an ailment that commenced from the inside and traveled to the outside.
It was essential that I spent time giving a description of leprosy so that you can see their desperation for restoration. Vs. 13 tells us that all 10 lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” All ten lepers suffered together and all 10 now pray with each other. They were all unified their common ailment; namely, leprosy. In a very real sense the lepers had enough! Not only do we see the constant misery of the lepers, we also see the concern of the Master. After crying out to Jesus, he said go show thy selves unto to press, and as they went they were cleansed. Jesus granted the men of their request. What a profound demonstration of our caring Savior! Regardless of what you have experienced and endured throughout the course of your life, he will show compassion on you. In a real sense, the men were asking for compassion from the Lord. Every believer ought to beg God for his compassion because without compassion, we are unable to deal with life’s struggles.
There will come a time in everyone’s life when they request the tender mercy of the Lord. Presently, we say Lord have mercy loosely, without any meaning. For instance, if you are late for work they say, "Lord have Mercy". When you hear a funny joke from one of your friends, you say,"Lord have Mercy." Even when you see a stranger that is dressed horribly,you say,"Lord have mecy." Heaven forbid, but if you are walking around and your heel breaks from your shoe, or your stocking rips, you say,"Lord have mercy." However, when you have sinned against God, you say things such as: Lord you know I am just human, Lord you know I really did not mean to do it, Lord you know my flesh is weak,Lord you are God and you knew I was going to sin anyhow. I know that we currently ignore the true necessity of mercy, but one day you will seriously have to request the mercy of the Lord. Dr. Ralph West defines Mercy as simply,"God’s active pity." Accepting that defintion, I am extremely thankful for God’s active pity. When we were undeserving of any type of divine favor, Gods grants it to us anyhow. What a merciful God!
Illustration: A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
"But I don’t ask for justice, the mother explained.”I plead for mercy.
"But your son does not deserve mercy, Napoleon replied.
"Sir, the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.
"Well, then, the emperor said, "I will have mercy. And he spared the woman’s son.
The actions of the emperor depict how the mercy of God works with man. We don’t deserve the protection and the presence of the Provider, but he stills shows us mercy. Comparatively, despite their miserable conditions, Jesus still had mercy on the Lepers.
Not only do we see the condition of the men, and the compassion of the Master, but wee see the consideration of the man and the careless mistake of the nine.
Vs. 15 and 16 says, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. One of the men realized that on his way to the priest, he had received healing from Jesus. Thus, he had to turn and express his gratitude to the Master. The text lets us know in vs.15 that he glorified God with a loud voice, and in vs.13 he went to Jesus and lifted up his voice. Initially he came to Jesus in agony, but now he comes to Jesus in admiration. Jesus specializes in turning your sinking situation around. The lyrical geniuses asserted that one can come to Jesus weary wounded in sad and find in Him a sweet resting place. However, after receiving the blessings from the Lord, you should glorify Him because of his supreme sovereignty. Not only did the man come back to Jesus in admiration, but he came to Jesus with humility. Vs.16 says that he fell down on his feet, which signified the magnitude of Jesus. In addition to the man’s spirit of gratitude, he is also noted in the text that he is a Samaritan. Historically, Samaritans were considered strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, but this man still comes to Jesus. Likewise,anyone can come to Jesus, regardless of the circumstances.
Then we see the careless mistake of the nine. In vs. 17 Jesus asked, “Were there not the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Jesus notes the ingratitude of the nine. Initially there were ten that came to Jesus, but only one came back to show recognition.
Illustration: Many years ago, as the story is told, a devout king was disturbed by the ingratitude of his royal court. He prepared a large banquet for them. When the king and his royal guests were seated, by prearrangement, a beggar shuffled into the hall, sat down at the king’s table, and gorged himself with food. Without saying a word, he then left the room. The guests were furious and asked permission to seize the tramp and tear him limb from limb for his ingratitude. The king replied, “That beggar has done only once to an earthly king what each of you does three times each day to God. You sit there at the table and eat until you are satisfied. Then you walk away without recognizing God, or expressing one word of thanks to Him.”
Well in a very real sense, this is the type of attitude the nine held. They were not willing to thank Christ for their healing. The nine men represent those who chose to ignore the blessings of the Lord, those who progress on the social latter, those who receive the big promotions on their jobs, those who move into the suburbs and purchase big houses, those who attend college and find wealthy job, those who live their lives in luxury, those who excel in their ministry. Now keep in mind that nothing is wrong with all of these things, but we must always remember who gave the things to us, the Lord.
Lastly, not only do wee the constant misery of the lepers, the concern of the master, the consideration of the man, and the careless mistake of the nine, but wee see the continuous mercy. Vs. 19 says, “and he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Not only does the man that expressed his gratitude to Jesus receive healing, he also receives wholeness. The other nine men were only healed by Jesus, but this made had been granted wholeness.
There is a clear distinction between healing and wholeness. Healing refers to deliverance from physical ailments, and wholeness signifies a change on a higher spiritual level. This man was change both physical and spiritually because of his grateful sentiments.
In conclusion, a spirit of gratitude can allow you to reach spiritual wholeness in Christ; your spirit of gratitude and thankfulness should influence others around you to th ank the Lord as well!
