INTERSECT: Are YOU the One in Ten?

When my former pastor Tom Scott retired, the church hosted a special service to honor him. Over the years, he had led many people to Christ, including me and my family. During the service, the song “Thank You” was played, which includes the phrase, “Thank you for giving to the Lord, for I am a life that was changed.” When we came to that line in the song, everyone saved under Pastor Scott’s ministry quietly stood to their feet. It was moving to see people across the room stand and express appreciation for his part in their salvation story.

The sad truth is, we don’t always stop to thank the people who help us along the way. Since we have fallen, imperfect hearts, we are prone to accept blessings from others without pausing to say thanks. In chapter 17 of his Gospel, Luke contrasts the differing responses from people who had been blessed by Jesus. He begins by introducing ten men and ends with one. Along the way, he provides a helpful example for the proper attitude of thanksgiving.

Healing Experienced (verses 11-14)

Two passages in the Gospel of Luke tell the story of lepers being cleansed. In Bible times, the term leprosy was used to indicate many skin diseases. The Jews considered leprosy synonymous with God’s displeasure. Practically speaking, the law demanded lepers be separated from the rest of society. In public, lepers were required to signal their disease to passersby with the declaration, “Unclean, unclean!” We find this reflected in the text with Luke’s description of men “who stood at a distance.”

We are far more understanding of this problem since social distancing has become part of our lives over the past two years. Keep your distance! Stay away! Be safe! The messaging has been everywhere and affected us all.

This isn’t the only encounter in the Gospels between Jesus and lepers. On another occasion, Jesus ministered to a leper who came, knelt before him, and declared in faith, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Immediately, Jesus touched him and healed him.

The common denominator between the healing in that account and the one here in Luke 17 is the authority of Jesus. In one story, He touched and pronounced healing; in the other, He commanded the ten lepers to go, and the healing took place as they were going. Both stories demonstrate the compassion Jesus had for lepers and their difficult situation and His power to do something about their problem.

These men had been identified as lepers by the priests, but human priests had no power to heal. Only Jesus, our great high priest, had both the compassion and the power to do something about their condition. Once they had been healed by Jesus, human priests could pronounce them clean once again, but neither the human priests nor the leprous men could do anything to heal themselves.

Leprosy was a dreaded disease of that day, and it has become symbolic of the problem we all face as humans. We are all, apart from Jesus, unclean. Sin affects our entire being, rendering us totally depraved. Sin impacts every aspect of our lives and shapes our thoughts, our affections, and our choices. We can do nothing to heal ourselves. We all stand in need of healing from Jesus.

Gratitude Expressed (verses 14-19)

I find it intriguing the only leper who returned to thank Jesus was a Samaritan. Today, we hear the word Samaritan and associate it with the word good, as in The Good Samaritan. But the Jews of Jesus’ day would not have even used the word good and Samaritan in the same sentence. They viewed Samaritans as physical and spiritual half-breeds—people who did not worship according to God’s revealed will. Therefore, it is ironic the only grateful leper Jesus healed was a Samaritan. How did he express his gratitude?

He turned back. He received the healing he wanted, but so did the other lepers. The priests confirmed they had been cleansed and healed from this dreadful disease. But nine simply kept going. Not the Samaritan. The most pressing thing on his personal calendar was to return to the source of his healing, his transformation.

He glorified God with a loud voice. To be sure, we have individual personalities. Some are quiet and reserved. Others…well, let’s say they do not fit that category. Not only do individuals have specific temperaments, tendencies, and personalities, but churches do as well. Some congregations aren’t expressive when it comes to singing or public worship. I’m so glad God accepts loud voices, soft voices, and all other kinds of voices between, no matter how they express praise.

While all the lepers had loudly cried for Jesus to have mercy on them and to heal them (and He did), only one voice continued with praise for Jesus—the voice of the Samaritan. I pray that we all have this Samaritan’s desire to express praise and thanksgiving to the One who changed our lives. As the old hymn says,

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy praise
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise.

He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet. His posture was an expression of humility. When people encounter God in the Bible, their response was to fall in worship, faces to the ground. When people are fully conscious of themselves and fully conscious of who Jesus is, humility is the natural response.

Finally, he gave Him thanks.

• “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34).
  “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17).
  

• “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
  

Ask yourself: Am I like the nine? Do I receive the blessings of God without taking time to turn back and give thanks? Do I have a sense of entitlement that says I deserve whatever I want? Do I have a worldview where the whole world revolves around me rather than God and the needs of others?

I hope we can all be more like the grateful leper who returned to the source of his healing to give thanks, and expressed that gratitude with the utmost humility. This word translated giving thanks indicates it was ongoing, continual. This is the way it should be for us. If the Lord demonstrates tender mercies for us each day, and He does, each day we have reasons to give thanks. We must learn to carve out time each day to thank God for His blessings, big and small. This is an important lifestyle to establish and maintain in our lives.

Conclusion

Jesus asked, “Where are the nine?”

Who was this question for? It certainly wasn’t for Jesus. He knew where the other men were. Perhaps others were in the crowd. Or perhaps he asked for the benefit of His disciples. But the question also benefited the Samaritan.

While we aren’t given tone and inflection, I can’t imagine Jesus asked the question with outrage or snarkiness: “Was no one willing to return except this despised foreigner?” Of course not!

Surely Jesus was not labeling the Samaritan as an outsider but signaling to His disciples an outcast had been welcomed into His family. His last phrase might also have been translated, “Your faith has saved you.”

All of the men received physical healing. But only this man heard Jesus speak about salvation. Sure, he was a Samaritan, but it makes no difference who you are, what you have done, how other people view you, or even how you perceive yourself. Jesus can and will save you, make you clean, and give you a place of personal and close fellowship with Him. He makes you family.

This man had two strikes against him—leprosy and nationality. But through the compassion and power of Christ, he was brought into fellowship with God, an adopted son in the family.
Sinclair Ferguson once pointed out that, in this story, ten men cried out from a distance and, as they went away, they were cleansed. But this man, who started from a distance, returned cleansed and became close to Jesus.

And that is the best place to be. When you are clean and close to Jesus, you have all the reasons you need to be thankful.

About the Columnist: Dr. Barry Raper pastors Bethel FWB Church near Ashland City, TN. He is associate dean of Welch Divinity School.

About the Columnist: Dr. Barry Raper pastors Bethel FWB Church near Ashland City, Tennessee. He also serves as program coordinator for ministry studies at Welch College. Barry and his wife Amanda have five children.