Seeing Is Believing

Sermon Luke 17:11-19 Seeing is Believing 10/14/01

Verses 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.

1. Galilee is a jewish country

2. Samaria is Gentile.

3. Significant Jesus on border between religious and not religious.

4. He walked the edge of faith so he could see the lost and those in need.

5. How hard it would be to reach out and touch the lost from deep inside.

6. Couldn’t reach that afar

7. So it was Jesus practice to be in the area where he could see the lost

8. On his way to the cross

Verses 12 - 13 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master , have pity on us!”

1. Torah regulated the treatment of Leprosy.

2. Numbers 5:2-3 commands Israelites “To put out of the camp everyone who is leprous.”

3. Lev 13:45 requires a leper to shout “Unclean, unclean!” to warn uninfected peole to keep their distance

4. Isolated from everyone and everything

5. People regard leprosy not just as a medical condition but also as God’s judgement.

6. That made people less compassionate toward them because they regarded leprosy as punishment for sin.

7. They were ignored

8. Confined together in camps on the fringes of society often on the city trash heap because they had no other means of food

9. Wrapped in cloths

10. Just sat their and waited to get better.

11. Must have heard stories about Jesus

12. AND THEN From a distance they SAW him - hey isn’t that Jesus

13. The one who can perform miracles, the one who can heal, the one who brings new life and they began to call out to him

14. as they hoped against all hope that perhaps today they could return home to their families

15. I image - Keeping their distance - them running across the tops of the garbage hills slightly ahead and parallel to Jesus.

16. Waving their arms, trying to get his attention - can’t you hear their desperation - Jesus, louder Jesus Master have pity on us.

But they didn’t have to worry because Jesus SAW them Verses 14 When he saw them …

1. Jesus saw them because he was looking for them

2. Most people ignored them - pretended they didn’t exist - would walk past with their eyes half closed - hooded from the truth of their pain and suffering

3. like we walk past the homeless the beggar the child who is abused…

4. with eyes that don’t see

(And) When he saw them, he said “Go show yourselves to the priests.”

1. Law requires that lepers be examined by a priest to determine if they had been cured

2. It was a 50 miles journey to the nearest priest

3. Whoa, wait a minute Jesus we want to be healed

4. GO SHOW yourselves to the priests

5. What? but Jesus, Jesus - how their spirits must have fallen - for a moment they had dared to look up - dared to hope that they could be healed but now…

6. Now, Jesus was sending them away

7. Okay, look, maybe if we do what he says when we come back he will heal us

8. Jesus will you wait here, wait for us to come back - and then you heal us right?!

9. GO SHOW YOURSELVES TO THE PRIEST

10. I believe the lepers were already healed at that moment - that the scars, the sores were gone but in their doubt they couldn’t see it

11. But Jesus did and he wanted the priest to SEE

12. See that no matter what they sin had been, no matter how bad, they were cured of their leprosy that their illness, their disease, their suffering wasn’t because of their sin

13. AND so they walk away

1. I image as they walked their heads must have been down, depressed had restored - their eyes were focused down ward as they walked on as they shout - (pause sigh) “Unclean”

2. we don’t know how far they went one mile, five, ten or perhaps even 50 before one or two began to realize they felt different, they felt stronger, wait a minutes, look look their hand it was healed, look their body was healed the lesions were gone, they were gone

1. We don’t know if they ever even got to the priest but can you image the celebrating that was going on - jumping up and down hugging each other, crying…running, shouting not unclean but Hallelujah look, look I am healed….

2. I imagine their was one - sitting looking, staring at his hands his arms, his legs, seeing them for the first time in years soft, smooth, clean and in his wonder, in his amazement he began to really SEE