Part One: Thank you, Jesus
Luke 17:11-19
Good morning! Please turn in your copy of God’s Word to Luke 17.
There are two types of people in the world, and in a minute I’m going to ask you to choose a side. First, there are those who fill up their gas tank any time the gauge gets below half a tank. If it gets below a quarter of a tank, they break out in hives, and if that yellow warning light ever comes on, they just go to pieces. On the other side, there are people who believe that the E on the gas gauge stands for “Enough”. Who, if they have one of those cars that tell them exactly how many miles until empty, look at it and say, “challenge accepted.”
So, show of hands: how many of you are in group A?
How many of you are in group B?
How many of you are in one group, but married to someone in he other group? That’s just God’s sense of humor right there.
The thing is, it doesn’t cost any more to keep your tank full. And even those of us who like to push the limits of our gas gauge have to admit that it makes sense to never let the gas get so low that you’re gonna run out if there is an emergency.
Well, gratitude is like that. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “Give thanks in all circumstances.” And if you are someone who regularly tops off your gratitude tank during the good times, then you are less likely to run out of thankfulness during the hard times. So during these two weeks leading up to thanksgiving, I want us to talk about how to keep our “thankful tank full.” This week we are going to look at five things we can thank Jesus for, from Luke 17. And next week, we are going to turn it around and look at five things Jesus gave thanks for. So if you are physically able, please stand to honor the reading of God’s Word.
“On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."”
??Luke? ?17:11-19? ?ESV??????????
Pray…
Five things to thank Jesus for…
1. Thank you, Jesus, that you are never too busy (v. 11).
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
What jumps out to me right away is that Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. Luke makes a big deal of Jesus’ ultimate destination. Beginning all the way back in chapter 9, Luke tells his audience that “when the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set His face to go to Jerusalem” (v. 51). From that point on, pretty much everything Jesus does is put in the context of Jesus being “on the way to Jerusalem.” And we all know what happens in Jerusalem, right? This is where Jesus will be crucified for the sins of the world. We don’t know exactly how much time elapsed between this story and Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, but since that happens just two chapters later, its possible that Jesus is less than a month away from his death,
So we would understand if Jesus was a little preoccupied. We certainly wouldn’t fault Him for just pressing on, and pretending he didn’t even hear these lepers yelling at him from across the street. Think about the last time you were getting ready for a big trip. Maybe it was the cruise you’d been planning for months. Or the big family vacation. Maybe it was your honeymoon. Think about the last big project you had. Or the crucial job interview that you absolutely could not be late for. Think about your state of mind. Who would you allow to interrupt you?
Jesus, on the way to Jerusalem to fulfill the mission for which he came to earth in the first place, allowed himself to be interrupted by ten unclean, impure, lepers. At least one of whom wasn’t even Jewish!
I am so grateful that Jesus is never too busy to listen to me when I call out to Him. Aren’t you? That honestly ought to change our approach to a lot of things. As a pastor, I’ve started to notice how many times someone begins a conversation with me by saying, “Pastor James, I know you’re busy, but…”
And I’m thinking, am I really? Am I more pressed for time than Jesus was? The other day I was at home, getting ready for a counseling appointment that evening. And I really was pretty stressed. And my son Joshua comes into the room where I was studying, and he’s like, “Dad, what are you doing right now?” And I put down my pen, and and I closed my book, and I sent him every signal that I could that I was irritated at being interrupted. “What do you need, son?”
What it was was that he had had a really rough day at school. And he needed his dad to reassure him, and to let him know he was ok. I had to apologize to my son. And I need to apologize to any one of you who has ever felt like I was too busy to talk with you. Sometimes we feel like we have to prove that we are working hard by always rushing from one thing to the next. Always make sure people know that your time is valuable. But that isn’t resting in God’s approval of me, that’s seeking after man’s approval. And it isn’t serving in Jesus name, either, because Jesus was never too busy to listen to us.
I thank Jesus for that. Don’t you?
2. Thank you, Jesus, that you always answer a prayer for mercy (v. 13).
12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[a] who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
If you are a fan of eighties pop music, you already know the Greek word that is translated mercy here. The word is elaison, as in Mr. Mister’s Kyrie Elaison, or “Lord have mercy.” And it means the emotion roused by contact with an affliction which comes undeservedly on someone else.
Now, I want you to mentally highlight that word “undeservedly” because we’re going to come back to that in a minute. But for now, let’s think about these lepers. They hadn’t done anything to get leprosy. And even though the old testament law was clear that those with leprosy were unclean, no one thought they deserved it. So essentially, these lepers are crying out, “Jesus, let your emotions be stirred by this affliction which you don’t have, but we don’t deserve.”
And did you know that throughout the gospels, Jesus always answered a cry for mercy?
• In Matthew 9:27, two blind men cried out to Jesus for mercy, and Jesus healed them.
• In Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman begged for mercy for her demon possessed daughter. Jesus cast out the demon.
• In Matthew 17, Jesus had mercy on a boy with epilepsy.
Jesus wasn’t blind, or demon-posessed, or epileptic. But none of these people deserved their affliction, either. And Jesus healed them.
But stop for a minute and let’s ask ourselves, did Jesus only show mercy to people who were suffering underservedly? What about people who are suffering because of bad choices they made? Do we withhold mercy from the alcoholic or the drug addict? Do we get a pass on mercy for the AIDS patient?
In the very next chapter, Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of a Pharisee and a tax collector who both went to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed, “‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.
You see, Jesus doesn’t just show mercy to people who are suffering undeservedly. In fact, mercy is most obvious when we don’t get the punishment we deserve. All of us are sinners. All of us have offended a holy God. And Jesus comes into contact with sinners who are suffering from an affliction which he does not share. And what does He do? He shows mercy to us.
• Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 30:18 (ESV)
• my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. Daniel 9:18 (ESV)
Every time someone calls out for mercy in the gospels, mercy is given.
With one exception.
In Luke 16. Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Never once did the rich man lift a finger to help Lazarus. In the story, both men died. Lazarus goes to heaven, and the rich man goes to hell. And as he is in torment, he looks up and he sees Lazarus at Abraham’s side. Verse 24 says that…
“he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’”
This is the only time someone begs for mercy, and he doesn’t receive it. Why? Because as long as we are living, it is never too late to turn to Jesus. We recognize our sin. We cry out for God’s mercy. And we will receive mercy. But when this life is over, you are out of chances. There is no mercy on the other side of the grave.
If you are a child of God, aren’t you thankful that Jesus answered your cry for mercy? And if you don’t yet know Jesus, please, cry out to him for mercy now, before its too late.
3. Thank you, Jesus, that you kept the law perfectly (v. 14)
14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.
This seems like a minor detail, but if you look closely, you’ll realize this is actually one of the most important parts of the story. Why did Jesus tell the lepers to show themselves to the priests?
Because that’s what the law required. Leviticus 14:2 was clear that on the day a leper was cleansed, he was to be brought to the priest. Then the priest would command that a sacrifice would be made, and there was a complicated ritual that had to be followed before the leper could be pronounced clean.
And Jesus kept the law of Moses perfectly. He tells us in matthew 5:17-20 that he didn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He said, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of the pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Jesus didn’t take any shortcuts. And this was why he had to die for us. The law requires that there must be an unblemished sacrifice made for sin. Because Jesus kept the law perfectly, He could be that perfect sacrifice. And because there had to be a sacrifice made for sin, Jesus sacrificed himself. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrightous, in order that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
Take just a moment to thank Jesus for keeping every bit of the law, even the part that required Him to be the sacrifice for our sins.
4. Thank you, Jesus, that you show mercy to foreigners (v. 18).
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Again, this seems like kind of a minor detail, but again, I think when we look at it we will see the heart of the gospel. Since God’s word specifies that one of the nine is a Samaritan, we can assume that at least some if not all of the other lepers were Jews. The Jews were God’s chosen people. And the Samaritans… well, the Samaritans weren’t. There was a long history of bad blood between the Jews and the Samaritans. And yet, in this story, mercy was extended to both Jew and Samaritan. All ten were cleansed of their leprosy. But it’s the Samaritan who returns and falls at Jesus feet to thank Him. Jesus asks a question that sounds a little politically incorrect to us today—“Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
I was traveling in Korea several years ago, and when we were going through customs in Korea, there were signs (in Korean) directing Koreans in one direction. And the only sign that was in english was just the word “FOREIGNERS” with an arrow to the left. And I remember thinking, “no, I’m not a foreigner. I’m an international arrival!”
But the fact is, everything about that place was foreign to me. But it wasn’t because the Koreans were foreigners. It was because I was. And when it comes to the gospel, all of us come to Jesus as foreigners. As far as I know, there’s not a single person in here who is culturally Jewish. Jesus came to draw all men to Himself (John 8:44); not just the Jews. But its not just that we are non Jewish. Spiritually , we have a different nature than Jesus. We speak a different language. We are citizens of a different kingdom. He is of the kingdom of heaven, and we are of the kingdom of darkness. So I thank Jesus that He shows mercy to foreigners, because guess what? I was a foreigner who stood in need of mercy. Thank Jesus that he shows mercy to foreigners.
5. Thank you, Jesus, that you both heal and save (v. 19).
I want you to look closely at verse 19: And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Now, compare it to verse 14: “As they went, they were cleansed.”
Now, look at verse 17. Jesus asks, “Were not ten cleansed?”
I want you to notice the different phrase here: “cleansed” in verses 14 and 17; “made well” in verse 19. All the English translations use a different word in 14 and 17 than they do in 19. And the reason for this is that they are different words in Greek. The Greek word translated “cleansed” is katharidzo. It's where we get our word “catharsis.” And it is only ever used for a physical healing or cleansing.
But the word translated “made well” is sozo. And it can also be translated “save.” And get this: sometimes, it is used for physical healing. But more often, it is used for spiritual salvation.
Acts 4:12—Salvation [soteria] is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved [sozo]
You see, nine of ten lepers were cleansed. They went to the priests and did the ritual and made the offerings, and they received physical healing. However, the law doesn’t have any power to save. So all they got was a physical cleansing.
But the tenth leper, this foreigner, didn’t go to the priests. He didn’t follow the law. Instead, he came back to Jesus. And guess what—he wasn’t just healed, he was saved.
You see, Jesus doesn’t always heal us of our physical diseases. Sometimes he does. In fact, I would go so far as to say that often he does. But sometimes he doesn’t.
But Jesus always saves those who cry out to him. Those who cry for mercy. Those who fall at his feet.
And to that I say, “Thank you, Jesus.”
[INVITATION]
