“Jesus Teaches About Thanksgiving”
Luke 17:11-19
INTRODUCTION: We CONTINUE in our series about “What Jesus Taught”. We have already seen what Jesus taught about: The Holy Spirit, the Tongue, Prayer …
Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year (weather, meaning).
The true meaning of CHRISTMAS is often obscured by Santa Claus, gifts, shopping, etc. The world doesn’t even call it CHRISTmas any more. “Xmas” … “HOLIDAY Parades” … “Happy Holidays” … The birth of Jesus is often overlooked.
The true meaning of EASTER is often obscured by the Easter Bunny, Easter Egg hunts, candy eggs & jellybeans. It’s RESURRECTION DAY! The resurrection of Jesus is often overlooked.
BUT … THANKSGIVING has remained relatively PURE. ALTHOUGH, “Thanksgiving” is slowly being replaced by “Turkey Day”! THANKSGIVING is a day set aside, by an act of Congress (the 4th Thursday in November) for the specific purpose of giving THANKS to God. NOT JUST for what He has done … BUT … for who He is … our Savior and Lord.
In our Scripture today, we see a THANKFUL man … 1 of 10. We see a man who stopped to give THANKS to Jesus for what Jesus had done … for who He is. He’s a model for US this Thanksgiving.
WHAT SHOULD WE THANK JESUS FOR?
1.- That Jesus Recognizes Everyone – 17:11-13 (read)
17:11 – Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem … for the LAST TIME before His crucifixion. We don’t know the exact village – 17:12a. Jesus knew there was a need there … SO … He went to meet it. Jesus knows YOUR need here today. YOU are here … you brought your NEED … AND … JESUS is here to MEET your need.
17:12 – “afar off” – They couldn’t approach Jesus. Lepers had to stay 300’ from people … no direct contact. THUS: “lifted up their voices” – 17:13a. (the length of a football field).
17:13 – They knew who Jesus was. MAYBE they had heard of Jesus healing other lepers (Luke Ch. 5). Luke 5:15 – “But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.”
NOTICE: All 10 lepers were in the same boat. They were from different backgrounds … 9 Jewish/1 Samaritan – 17:16b. BEFORE they got leprosy, some may have been rich/poor … educated/ignorant … friends/enemies … Democrats/Republicans … Hatfields/McCoys … Baptist/Catholics/Mormons. It didn’t matter NOW. They were all in the same boat … LEPERS.
People in the world today can be classified into many groups … by race … religion … culture … languages, etc. BUT … God has 2 CLASSIFICATIONS … lost & saved.
When Jesus looks at the LOST, He only sees 1 thing they all have in common … they’re LOST. Without hope, without peace, without Heaven, without Christ … bound for an eternity in the Lake of Fire. He doesn’t take notice if they are good/bad … rich/poor … pro-life/pro-choice … moral/immoral. He takes notice that they are LOST. You have either received God’s forgiveness through Jesus … OR … you haven’t.
The LOST may see THEMSELVES as good … moral … not bad enough to go to Hell … good works, etc. BUT … Jesus sees their sins as being unforgiven … all in the same boat. In need of His “mercy” – 17:13b.
Jesus also sees the SAVED the same way. He sees us as ONE BODY … His family. We all have our differences. BUT … we shouldn’t dwell on our differences. Jesus recognizes us as being ONE … “in Christ”.
WHAT SHOULD WE BE THANKFUL FOR?
1.- That Jesus Recognizes Everybody For What They Really Are.
2.- That Jesus Rewards Obedience – 17:14
“Go show” … “as they went, they were cleansed.”
According to the Law of Moses, they had to receive a blessing from the Priest & declared clean … BEFORE they could mingle with people again. The Priests were the Public Health Officials (Emily Mathis!).
Jesus told them to go and show the Priests that they were clean … BUT THEY WEREN’T … YET!
That would be like Jesus telling you to:
o Withdraw $100 from ATM … and you had no money in the bank.
o Start your car … and you knew your battery was dead.
o Feed 5000 people with 2 biscuits & 2 sardines.
You would have a choice:
o Put your ATM card back in your wallet/purse … and walk away broke …
o Put your keys in your pocket & walk home …
o Eat the 5 biscuits/2 sardines, with 5000 hungry people watching you.
OR … do what Jesus told you to do (even though it seems foolish) … AND … withdraw $100 … start your car … see a miracle before your very eyes.
All 10 obeyed Jesus … even though they still had leprosy. The 9 Jewish lepers headed off to Jerusalem. The 1 Samaritan leper headed off to Mt. Gerizim.
THEN … “as they went” (17:14), they were all 10 healed. Sometimes, you just have to OBEY JESUS, TRUST JESUS … even though you can’t see how it could possibly happen. What will happen? Jesus will ALWAYS REWARD obedience. You’ll never live to regret it. NEVER! BUT … it calls for FAITH … TRUST … OBEDIENCE. “Just do it!”
WHAT SHOULD WE BE THANKFUL FOR?
2.- That Jesus Rewards Obedience.
3.- That Jesus Removes Blinders – 17:15-16
17:15 – I wonder HOW FAR he got when he realized that he was cleansed?
“loud voice” – cp. 17:13 NOTICE: He gave THANKS as loudly as he said “gimme”. We have a tendency to make our “gimme” a lot louder than our “Thank You” … DON’T WE? We spend hours, days, weeks, months, years in prayer, ASKING. THEN, when God answers our prayers, we might only spend a couple of minutes THANKING HIM (if we remember at all!).
LESSON: Let your PRAISE equal your PETITION. This leper saw what Jesus had done. The blinders had been removed. He saw Jesus as the Healer … the Christ … the Messiah.
What did he do? 17:16
“one of them” – 17:15a … a Samaritan – 17:16b.
o Were ALL 10 “glad” that they were cleansed? Absolutely!
o Were ALL 10 “grateful”? NO! … only 1.
There’s a DIFFERENCE between “glad” and “grateful”.
o Are you “glad” you’re not in the finest hospital in Gainesville? AMEN?
o Are you “grateful” enough to THANK GOD daily for your health?
o Are you “glad” for the STUFF you have? (clothes, food, roof, car, etc.) AMEN?
o How “grateful” are you? Have you THANKED Jesus for them today?
o Are you “glad” you’re saved & going to Heaven? AMEN?
o How “grateful” are you? How many times this week have you THANKED Jesus for saving you?
Too often, we are “glad” (like the 9 lepers) … but we’re not “grateful” enough (like the 1 leper) to come to Jesus with a heart of THANKSGIVING. We’ve got BLINDERS on … when it comes to being “grateful”.
WHAT IF … this leper had been cleansed of his leprosy … BUT … never SAW it? He would have gone back to living like a leper … when he had been healed of his leprosy … BUT … didn’t know it. He would have had to stay 300’ from everybody. No one would have gotten close enough to see/tell him.
CHRISTIAN … YOU have been CLEANSED by the blood of Christ. Do you LIVE like it?
o You have access to Jesus 24/7 … YET … How often do you pray?
o You are a Child of the King … YET … Are you living in Spiritual poverty?
o You have the promise of His presence … YET … Do you enjoy the fellowship of Jesus?
o You have the promise of His strength/victory/wisdom/peace/hope … YET … Do you live a defeated Christian life?
WHY? Take off your blinders … look at what Jesus has done for you. “He saw that he was healed.” MAYBE, we need to stop and realize all that Jesus has done for us.
WHAT SHOULD WE BE THANKFUL FOR?
3.- That Jesus Removes Our Blinders
4.- That Jesus Requires Thanksgiving – 17:17-18
17:17b – “Where are the 9?” … the silent majority!
Where are they? They went to the Priest in Jerusalem … given their clean bill of health. WHERE THEN? MAYBE they’ll come back later … IF they can find Jesus … IF they think about it.
BUT … first things first! They have a FAMILY that they haven’t seen in months/years. They have friends to see … welcome home parties to attend … a job to see if they can get back. AND … they’ll soon forget all about Jesus.
They were so caught up in the MIRACLE … that they forgot the MASTER! This is the sin of INGRATITUDE … the sin of FORGETFULNESS … the sin of UN-THANKSGIVING.
That’s why a lot of people shed so many tears at a FUNERAL. They failed to express gratitude when they had a chance. NOW … it’s too late. BUMPER STICKER: “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” BUT … we don’t … do we?
Have you ever thanked the one who led you to the Lord? Your Sunday School Teacher? The Choir … Musicians … Singers? Mr. Roy for being our Treasurer for the past 100 years (!) Mike Sanders for cleaning the church? We’re “glad” they do it. We “appreciate” what they do. BUT … being “grateful” means letting them know!
“Where are the 9?” Maybe some of them are here at Priscilla Baptist Church this morning.
WHAT SHOULD WE BE THANKFUL FOR?
4.- That Jesus Requires Thanksgiving.
5.- That Jesus Rejoices In Surrender – 17:19
“Arise, go thy way”. The leper had his PRIORITIES right. NOW … he can go to the Priest. FIRST … he spent time at the feet of Jesus (17:16). NOW … he can get on with his life.
“whole” – All 10 were “cleansed” … BUT … only 1 was made “whole”. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? “whole” = ‘complete, no pieces missing’. The 9 missed out on the JOY of being with Jesus. The closest they ever got was 300’. They didn’t have a personal relationship with Him (like the 1 who returned). They had to YELL to speak to Jesus. They only heard Jesus YELLING back to them.
LATER, someone must have asked them: “What was Jesus like?” “I really don’t know!”
Do you ever feel like Jesus is 300’ away? That you have to YELL at Him? There are some Christians who are only “cleansed”. There are other Christians who are “whole”. BOTH are saved … Heaven-bound … in Church … sing the songs … pray the prayers. BUT … there are Christians who ENJOY being in the presence of Jesus. Their emptiness is filled … their lives are satisfied … their joy is over-flowing. WHY? BECAUSE they are “whole” … ‘complete, no pieces missing’.
CONCLUSION: Is there something missing in YOUR life .. in your relationship with Jesus? MAYBE … it’s because your one of the 9 … you haven’t returned often enough to THANK Jesus … you haven’t spent enough time at the feet of Jesus.
Do you have an empty spot in your Christian life? The FURTHER you MOVE AWAY from Jesus, the more miserable you’ll be. The CLOSER you are to Jesus, the more “whole” you will be.
THANKSGIVING is right around the corner … just a few days away. Don’t wait until then to THANK HIM for meeting YOUR NEEDS.
If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord … let Him meet your needs this Morning.
STAND – PRAY
HYMN - #67 – “Praise Him! Praise Him!”
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“Jesus Teaches About Thanksgiving”
Luke 17:11-19
INTRODUCTION: What should we thank Jesus for?
1.- That Jesus Recognizes Everyone – 17:11-13
- 17:11 – Jesus recognizes your need here today.
- 17:12 – “afar off” – By law, they had to stay 300’ away.
- 17:13 – They knew who Jesus was – Luke 5:15
- They were all in the same boat … LEPERS!
- God only recognizes 2 classes … LOST and SAVED.
- All are in need of His “mercy” – 17:13b
2.- That Jesus Rewards Obedience – 17:14
- They had to show the Priests that they were clean.
- BUT … they were not clean … yet.
- “as they went” they were healed … Jesus always rewards obedience.
3.- That Jesus Removes Blinders – 17:15-16
- 17:15 – He gave “thanks” as loudly as he said “gimme”.
- Let your praise equal your petition.
- 17:16 – There’s a difference between “glad” and “grateful”.
- Do you live like you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus?
- We need to stop & realize what Jesus has done for us.
4.- That Jesus Requires Thanksgiving – 17:17-18
- 17:17 – They were so caught up in the miracle that they forgot the Master.
- How thankful are we for those whom we appreciate?
- Being “grateful” means letting them KNOW.
5.- That Jesus Rejoices In Surrender – 17:19
- He spent time at the feet of Jesus … a personal relationship.
- There is a difference between “cleansed” and ‘whole”.
- “whole” = ‘complete, no pieces missing’.
- Are you just “saved” … or are you “whole”?
- Do you enjoy being at the feet of Jesus?
CONCLUSION:
- Are you one of the 9?
- Is there an empty spot in your Christian life?
- The closer you are to Jesus, the more “whole” you will be.
- Let Jesus meet your needs this morning.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
.
