Thanks and No Thanks (Jesus Heals The Ten Lepers)

Message for THE LORD'S DAY EVENING, November 24, 2013 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Thanks and No Thanks (Jesus Heals The Ten Lepers) Luke 17:11-19 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to tonight's scripture text in the Gospel of Luke, chapter seventeen. And let's read vs. 11-19. Luke 17:11-19 (NKJV) 11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priests. And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, 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. 17 So Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner? 19 And He said to him, Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well. P R A Y E R

I N T R O D U C T I O N In this seventeenth chapter of Luke, Jesus is in the final months before His crucifixion. During this period of time Jesus had crissedcrossed Israel preaching the gospel, and performing many miracles, and sternly warning the Jewish people about the judgment to come. Slowly, but surely Jesus is making His way towards Jerusalem where He will keep His divine appointment with the cross of Calvary. As He journeys through between Samaria and Galilee, Jesus comes to a certain un-named village. It is here he meets the ten men who are the focus of this account. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> First of all I would have you to notice these ten men were afflicted with... I. A Tragic CONDITION (vs. 11-13) 11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. en as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men were lepers, who stood afar off. they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have us! 12 Th who 13 And mercy on 1. The Greek word used in verse 12 for leper is the word leprosin, which means scaly. This word was used to describe a number of skin diseases, from minor skin irritations and rashes to full-blown leprosy. Because Luke tells us in verse 12 that these ten men stood afar off indicates these men were likely afflicted with the most severe form of the disease.

2. Because you and I have never seen anyone with leprosy it is hard for us to imagine the devastating effects this disease has on the human body. 3. Leprosy is a bacterial disease that is very communicable from one person to another. This is why lepers were banished from their homes and communities and forced to live in colonies with others who had the disease. Initially the leprosy attacks the nerves and the skin. It begins with a white-pinkish colored patch of skin around an eyebrow or on the nose or an ear. Then it begins to spread outward until the skin loses most if not all of its pigmentation and becomes thick, glossy and scaly. As the disease progresses the skin around the eyes and ears begins to bunch together in deep wrinkles giving the leper's face the appearance of a lion. The eyebrows and eyelashes fall out and eventually all the hair disappears. The fingers and toes start dropping off or are absorbed into the skin. And as the disease takes over more and more of the body, it actually deadens all the feeling in the body. Now that might sound like a good thing, but actually it put the leper in even greater danger. For example, they might reach into a fire to retrieve a morsel of food and not even feel the flame. Or they might spill scalding water on themselves and not even feel it. And it was not uncommon for rats to gnaw on the leper's body and they not even feel it. If they tripped and broke a bone, they wouldn't feel any pain, they would simply adjust their walk to the break and become more and more crippled up.

4. As you might imagine, their physical appearance and the stench coming from their body was absolutely repulsive. One common identifying mark of most lepers in Jesus' day was the sound of their voice. As the disease progressed it would attack the larynx and the leper's voice would have the eerie sound of an animal. If you have ever heard someone speak who has had esophageal cancer, you have a pretty good idea of how the leper must have sounded. 5. Just as a side note: Leprosy does still exist today, but it is more commonly known as Hanson's Disease. While many forms of leprosy today are curable, there's still an estimated 2-4 million people in the world who suffer from the type of incurable, irreversible form of leprosy that afflicted these ten men Jesus met that day. 6. So get the picture here. Jesus is approaching this certain village somewhere between Samaria and Galilee. These ten lepers who have been banished from the village see Jesus approaching, and in their eerie, gravely sounding voices they cry, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 7. Just how or where these ten men had seen or heard of Jesus we don't know. But it is very evident from their desperate cry they knew Jesus had the power and authority to heal them... Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! 8. How did Jesus repond? Just like we would expect Him to respond, with A TREMENDOUS COMPASSION. Look at verse 14

II. A Tremendous COMPASSION (v.14) 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priests. And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 1. How do you respond when you see someone who is severely handicapped or someone who's body is riddled with disease? Doesn't it just get you right here? (heart) ILLUSTRATION There is a man over in our area from Belhaven who rides a bicycle every where he goes. His name is Jimmy Courson. I first saw Jimmy aboard the Bayview Ferry one day back in the early 1990's. I remember he had a wooden model of the Bayview Ferry strapped on to the handlebars of his bicycle, and he was wearing a uniform shirt like the ones worn by the Ferry boat employees. I actually thought he was one of the employees, but he wasn't. Over the years some sort of disease has eaten one half of Jimmy Courson's face off leaving him grossly disfigured, much like how I would picture a leper. Oh how my heart breaks every time I see Jimmy in that pitiful condition. 2. When Jesus heard the cry of these ten men and saw their pitiful condition He felt such a tremendous compassion for them. These men were outcasts. They had nothing and according to the old Mosaic law, they deserved nothing. They were under a death warrant. It is hard telling how long these men had gone without hearing a kind word or feeling the warm embrace of a loved one. They were walking dead men.

3. But I believe Jesus wasn't just moved by their outward condition. Their outward appearance was a very vivid reminder of the deeper need of their soul. They were helpless and hopeless. Like leprosy had ravaged their bodies, sin had ravaged their souls. Not only did they need a physical healing, they were in need of a spiritual healing. And so Jesus said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priests. 4. Now that seems like a rather strange request to us doesn't it? Why didn't Jesus just say, Be healed? Why did He say, Go and show yourselves to the priests? He was doing a couple of things here. (a) For one thing, Jesus was testing their faith. (b) And for another, Jesus was acting in obedience to the Law of Moses. According to Leviticus 13 and 14 one with any kind of skin disease, including leprosy, was to go show himself to the priest if he thought the disease had left his body. The priests were not only the religious leaders, they were like the health inspectors in the Jewish community. Only the priests could officially declare someone clean and whole.

5. So get the picture here: Jesus has commanded these ten lepers to go show themselves to the priest. They wouldn't want to go anywhere near the priests if they still had leprosy. So Jesus' command required these ten men to act completely on faith. And notice what happened. The latter part of vs.14 says, And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 6. As soon as they turned and started walking in the direction of the priests they were completely healed. There wasn't one solitary scar, sore, or disfigurement left. Their cleansing was so thorough, it was as though they had never even had the disease. 7. How did these ten cleansed lepers react when they realized they were completely healed? That becomes the focal point of this account. As we move on to VERSES 15-19 we notice... III. A Thankful CONVERT (vs. 15-19) 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, 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. 17 So Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner? 19 And He said to him, Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.

1. Have you ever done a favor for someone or given someone a gift and they never said thank you or expressed any sort of gratitude for what you had done? How did that make you feel? ANGRY?...HURT?...UN-APPRECIATED? 2. If you were one of these ten men who had been completely healed of this awful, incurable, deadly disease, don't you think the very first thing you would want to do would be to go back and thank the One who healed you? But notice those sad words in the first part of VERSE 15... v. 15a And one of them...and ONE OF THEM, when he saw he was healed, returned... 3. Notice the three things this grateful man did... (A) First of all, he GLORIFIED God with a loud voice! (v.15b) Moments earlier he couldn't have done this. It had probably been a long, long time since he had been able to speak with anything but a raspy, gravely voice. But now he glorifies God with a clear, loud voice! The idea here is that he expressed an exuberant, joyful emotion. Wouldn't you do the same if you had just been cured of an incurable disease? (B) The second thing he did was he fell down at Jesus' feet and WORSHIPED.. (v.16a) Now why is that significant? Well we learn in the latter part of VERSE 16 that this man was a Samaritan. We know of the hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. They were so hostile towards each other they wouldn't even speak. In fact if a Jew and a Samaritan met each other on the street, one would cross to the other side so as not to even touch the shadow of the other. And yet, here is this Samaritan at the feet of Jesus worshiping Him and adoring Him.

(C) And then the third thing he did was he THANKED Jesus. (16b) He knew that it was Christ, and Christ alone who had cleansed him and made him whole. But I believe there is something more going on here. This man realized that Jesus could give him more than just a physical healing. He recognized Jesus had the power and authority to cleanse His soul and set him free, which is evidenced by what Jesus said to him in VERSE 19, Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well. 4. But we can't overlook those two penetrating questions Jesus asked this man in VERSE 17... V. 17 Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 5. Do those questions pierce your heart like they do mine? How could those nine men be so insensitive and so ungrateful as to not turn around and go back and thank JESUS for what He had done? Their ingratitude reveals the ugly, hideous condition of their souls that was far worse than the ugly, hideous disease that ravaged their bodies. They got what they wanted from Jesus. They didn't need Him any more. They had no desire to glorify Him...or worship Him...or thank Him. They were only concerned with the physical, but not the spiritual. Their attitude reflected the attitudes of most of the people Jesus met during His earthly ministry. They were concerned with the physical, but not the spiritual.

C O N C L U S I O N This account has more to do with you and me than we might think. What you have here is a beautiful portrait of God's grace. None of these men deserved to be saved. They were deserving of suffering and death. But out of His marvelous grace and mercy towards them, Jesus cleansed them and made them whole. When you and I were helplessly and hopelessly lost in our sins we cried out to JESUS to have mercy upon us, realizing He was the only One who could cleanse us and make us whole. Sadly, many have come to Jesus for cleansing only to forget what Jesus did for them. After they were baptized for the remission of their sins, they went on their merry way. They got what they wanted from Jesus. They didn't need him any more. Oh brothers and sisters, DON'T EVER FORGET YOUR CLEANSING! DON'T EVER FORGET YOUR CLEANSING! Marvelous grace of our loving LORD, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, Yonder on Calvary's mount out-poured, There's where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within, Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Have you ever done a favor for someone or given someone a gift and they never said thank you or expressed any sort of gratitude? How did that make you feel? Angry? Hurt? Unappreciated? Scriptural background for this passage. (see MacArthur notes)