Where are the Nine?
Luke 17: 11/13-17
“And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, [speaking of Jesus] that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off; and lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus master, Have mercy on us.”
Verse seventeen, Jesus answering said, “Was there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”
There were ten men who stood afar off. They were lepers. They had been separated from society by the priest and because of their leprosy, were considered unclean. Have you ever felt that for one reason or another that you had been overlooked and no one seemed to notice or care? I have…while growing up, as a youngster I was short. When I finished High School I was only five feet three inches tall and weighed 115 pounds.
They called me pee-wee through my school years, and when the guys would gather to play basketball I was always the last one chosen. Not because of my skills, but because I was short. Height made a difference. There were times that I felt like an outcast.
Can you imagine how these men must have felt? In the book of Leviticus, chapter thirteen, verses forty-four and forty-five we have these words. “He is a leprous man, he is unclean; the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, unclean, unclean.”
This dreaded disease slowly ate away at the tissues, to the bones and joints, and even to the marrow, rotting away the whole body piece meal at a time. Destroying the flesh and the inner organs, the hearing, speech and the eyes were affected until at last consumption or dropsy brought a welcome death.
These men came from different backgrounds but yet they belonged to the same society, they were lepers. They were forbidden by law to approach others. “They shall dwell alone; without the camp shall their habitation be.” Perhaps the saddest thing about leprosy is the necessity for separation from the healthy and clean.
Think about it, if they approached someone in society, they did it with a cloth over their lips, a sign of mourning and humiliation and would cry unclean, unclean, acknowledging they were lepers, they had been placed outside the city b the priest, they were unclean.
Sin is like a deadly leprosy which has involved the whole human race in one common ruin. With the visible effect that leprosy has on the body, it illustrates the effects of sin upon the soul of man. In a despicable, dreadful, disgraceful and degrading disease that destroys human life.
Sin is in its early stages like leprosy, has only a few symptoms and discomfort that are noticeable. As for the leprosy, there is no cure. But the sins that we commit there is a cure, through the blood of Jesus Christ. “For if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive or sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.”
These lepers lived outside the walls of the city, because they were considered unclean. Separated from the pure and clean because their disease was contagious by intimate contact. I suggest to you that many Christians have become affected because they failed to stay separated from the things of this world.
These ten lepers saw Jesus, “And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus Master, have mercy on us.” They saw in this man who had fed the multitudes. Gave sight to blind and had raised a man from the dead; one who may be able to help them. Usually lepers have no hope, and ask not for medical aid, but only for charity.
These lepers saw hope in the man Christ Jesus, and said, “Jesus Master have mercy of us.”
Many times, men who are deep in sin and out of fellowship with God will go to the wrong sources for deliverance. But these men came to the source of life, the only cure for their leprosy. There is only one cure for the sins of this world and it is found in the person of Jesus Christ.
Now when Jesus saw the lepers He said unto them, “Go show yourselves unto the priests: For these men, this was going to be an act of courage an act of faith. “And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed.” This was not a gradual healing, but a miraculous work of God’s healing power.
They had not gone very far until one of them noticed that he was healed, that his leprosy was gone, and turning back and with loud voice glorified God. “And fell down on his face at the feet of Jesus, giving thanks; and he was a Samaritan.”
It’s not necessary to have a full revelation of truth in order to believe, be saved and delivered. Someone once said,
“The faith of the head is the faith that is dead,
But the faith of the heart is better in part.
Sill the faith at hand is the faith that will stand,
And a faith that will do must include the middle two.”
Jesus asked, “Were there not ten, but where are the nine?” Many times it’s the outcast who are forgiven that show their love and appreciation, when the respected and socially refined fail to do so. It’s not only the down and out that need God, but also the up and out, the high society who think they can make it without God.
Perhaps we could learn a lesson from this Samaritan. Take a look at what God has done and take time to give Him praise? Sometimes we take for granted the blessing that we have received from the hand of the All Mighty God.
We should take time in our daily devotions to offer up a praise of thanksgiving, for He has been so good to us. Let us remember that we were outcast, considered dogs according to the scripture. Then Jesus came and set the captive free, and to whom the Son set free, he is free indeed.
These men had been in bondage to their leprosy. Freedom for them was a thing of the past; they walked each day in fear of tomorrow, not knowing when their end might be.
My friend you may be in bondage to some sin in your life. It could be an unruly tongue, a sharp tongue, a critical tongue, a lustful spirit, a judgmental spirit, a lying spirit, drinking, smoking, cheating or some other thing that would drag you down.
Just remember there is hope for the hopeless, rest for the restless and deliverance for those who are bound. We can be free from the fear of tomorrow, free from the guilt of the past and we can trace our desolation for sweet liberation that only comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
I challenge you to look to the Master as the lepers did and simply call out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.”
