Where Are the Nine?
Why Men are not Thankful
Luke 17:11-19
November 23, 2008
We see in our text …
I. The Lepers (11-13)
A. The Setting (11)
Luke 17:11-19 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,
• Jesus is walking along the border of Samaria and Galilee.
• Naturally, he enters a village to find food and rest before resuming His journey
• Ultimately, this journey will take Him to Jerusalem for the final Passover and the Cross!
B. The Suffering (12B -13)
12B there met him ten men that were lepers, 12C which stood afar off:
1. Their Sentence (12B)
• The word “leprosy” was a death sentence.
• It is not less true today, but was nearly certain in that day.
• There was nothing to look forward to but death.
• Yet that death did not come quickly.
APPLY: Imagine the new arrivals to the colony being shown those that had been there longest.
2. Their Stigma (12C)
• The leper was an outcast.
• As if death were not sufficient suffering, there is the forced separation from family, friends and all society.
• So low was the leper that it no longer mattered if Jews lived with Samaritans!
Leviticus 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
3. Their Supplication (13)
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
a. The Person
• Certainly there peers offer no help. They cannot help themselves.
• Certainly the society that alienated them offered no help.
• But these men have heard of one man that is different: Jesus!
• And so they cry out for him. Sir, you alone are our hope.
b. The Petition
• Some of these men are under the judgment of God.
• Hebrews tells us that God chastens His people.
• Others may have lived godly lives.
• It would appear from their later actions that such is not the case, but we do not know.
• They do not cry out for justice, or rights, or fairness!
• It is for mercy!
Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;
Lamentations 3:22 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
APPLY! Their only hope lay in God’s mercy.
NOTE: See the many such cries for mercy addressed to the Lord in the gospels.
II. The Lord (14-19)
A. The Command (14)
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests.
• This is according to Leviticus 14:2-7.
• There is no guarantee that the healing will take place.
• The priest would examine the person to make the final determination concerning his cleansing.
• It may be that these men, of different nationalities, would have gone to different priests for their district.
• They were asked to give the Lord their OBEDIENCE.
• No guarantee of healing, but certainly none if they did not OBEY!
B. The Cleansing (14B)
14B And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
• In God’s providence, the men are ALL healed.
• What a day that must have been! DRAMATIZE!
• They may not have know that cleansing would come, but Christ had known.
• They did what they COULD do and God did for them what they COULD NOT do.
C. The Contrast (15-18)
1. The Thankful (15-16)
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.
a. His Attitude
• His first thought is an attitude of gratitude.
• He remembered the person.
b. His Actions
He reminds us of Naaman
2 Kings 5:15 And he [Naaman] returned to the man of God [Elisha], he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
1) Thankful People are Bold in their Proclamation
2) Thankful People are Bowed in their Posture
• Perhaps with knee, perhaps with heart.
3) Thankful People are Bountiful in their Praise
2. The Unthankful (17-18)
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.
• All were cleansed!
• All enjoyed lives freed from the bonds of leprosy!
• One returned!
• Yes, maybe they ran to their family.
• But that should have waited!
D. The Conversion (19)
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
“Your faith has made you well” suggests that whereas the nine were cleansed from leprosy, the tenth was also saved from sin! (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
• God had something special for the one who gave thanks.
• Nine lived longer!
• One lived forever!
APPLICATION (1 Thess. 5:18)
• Jesus was very quick to tell the Jews that the one who came back was a Samaritan.
• Jesus just keeps telling stories where the heroes are women, tax collectors and heathens!
• We often speak of an attitude of gratitude.
• The point of our text is that we must avoid an attitude of ingratitude.
• Why is it that we, who have received so much, forget so quickly!
1. We may forget our Past (We may forget where the sores were)
• We may forget our Sorrow
• We may forget our Suffering
2. We may forget our Provision (Ps. 68:19) (We may forget how nice it is to live without sores)
• We may forget our Supply
• We may forget our Situation (fortune, blessings, prosperity)
• Ungrateful people are never content people.
• We may not realize that we have so much more than most in the world have.
Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
QUOTE: If in his gifts and benefits [God] were more sparing and close-handed, we should learn to be thankful.Y The greater God=s gifts and works, the less they are regarded.Martin Luther
3. We may forget our Provider (We may forget the One Who removed our sores)
• God is the source of all.
• Maybe we are content with what we have.
• But we may forget that these blessings come from God!
4. We may forget our Prospects (1 Sam. 7:12; 1 Thess. 5:18) (We may forget that the sores can return!)
• We must remember our Reliance (our need of the Lord for the future)
• Our situation may be good for now.
• But that can turn on a dime.
• We may face that which is out of our control.
1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
