Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 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!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (NIV)
Why the difference in response?
Put yourself in the place of the lepers. They are hopelessly outcast from their family, friends, and society, they are ignored and avoided by all… accused of being in their physical condition because of a perceived spiritual problem. It was believed by many that the leprosy problem was a curse from God. How would you have responded?
Our level of thankfulness is not just dependent on the magnitude of the need that was met by the gift. But is dependent upon a heart that is grateful for all things.
This was a huge miracle in their lives and God's touch upon them would change everything about them forever. So how did the lepers respond? Nine of them moved as most do - with a sense of ingratitude.
"Ingratitude is the essence of vileness" -Immanuel Kant
One of ten lepers came back and gave thanks to Jesus. You’d think ALL of them would be so thankful for their healing… for the magnitude of the gift given by Jesus… that they’d all return to praise and worship Him.
But think… do we not do the same? Are we like the one leper, or the nine? Do we give adequate praise, worship, and thanks to Jesus for the gift He’s given ? For our salvation, ongoing forgiveness, our family, our country, our community, our church, our pastor (come on now!). Do we live life as if the gift of salvation were nothing more than a simple gift or a meal we are about to devour? Do we thank God for the presence of His Holy Spirit like we do for a sandwich or for a Hallmark Card, or do we treasure our salvation, God's presence and ongoing mercy far above anything else?
If you’re like me, you fall short in expressing gratitude to God. Even knowing the life-transforming power of the gift, so many of us just go on with our lives as the nine lepers did and we miss the grace and forget about the pain Jesus endured on the cross on our behalf. We cannot grow cold in our appreciation and gratitude.
This story is not just about Jesus demonstrating that He is powerful to save, cleanse and heal. He is powerful for all those things; He DOES have mercy on the unclean and those who are down and weak and hurting but the healing is really not the emphasis of the story. The emphasis in the story is on the response of the one, Samaritan leper. This part of the story underscores that Jesus now provides all that we need. It is a shift from what once was. It was the priests who determined if someone was clean enough to return to mainstream society or needed to leave it due to disease. If you wanted cleansing from leprosy in the OT, you had to go to the priest and the temple; BUT now, you come to Jesus. If you wanted to glorify and worship God, you went to the temple; now, you go to Jesus (as seen in the one leper who returned.) If you wanted to fall on your face in the presence of God, you went to the temple; now you go to Jesus. Everything that the OT attributes to the temple is now true of Jesus: Jesus is where the glory of God rests; Jesus is the place where heaven and earth connect; Jesus is the place of healing and worship and joy. As I read these verses my heart begins to sing:
Jesus, You're my Master and my King
Jesus, You're my Lord, my everything.
Jesus, it's you're blood that makes me clean.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
(from I'm Not Ashamed - by Tommy Walker)
May our hearts be moved to worship and adore the Lord. May we be like the Will you be the one of ten to return and give praise? Will you allow yourself to see the wonder of God’s grace and mercy in your life, and be blown away with thanks and gratitude?
I am Grateful for you!
1 comment:
Dear Paster B,
I noticed in your weekly message (1-17-06) you wrote, "I found God's hand in my selection of this Sundays theme many weeks ago and how it coincides with today's bible reading." I can't count the number of times I've been dealing with some issue, I open the Bible to my daily reading, and find it is right on point. It is as if God selected that chapter for me that day. For example, over the last couple of days I've been worrying about my budget and financial decisions. Today I find my daily Bible reading was Proverbs 11:24-25. "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." While I'm not likely to be carefree with my money, this verse sure helped me remember that it is not my money. If I use it for God's glory, He will provide all that I need. Thanks God, I guess I can stop worrying now.
Post a Comment