Luke 17 - December 26, 2022

Read Here: https://www.bible.com/en-GB/bible/111/LUK.17.NIV

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Luke 17:11-19, 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[b] 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? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

This is a wonderful text.  Here are just a few reflections:

First, Jesus told the men to show themselves to a priest while they still had leprosy. It was as they went that they were cured. If the priest examined them and they were no longer sick, then they were able to behave like normal people again, socialize, and live normal lives. Walking to the priests while they still had leprosy meant trusting God even when they didn't really have grounds to do so.  They really didn’t know what was going to happen. They could have gotten to the priests and still been sick and been yelled out or banned or worse.  But they had faith and trusted Jesus. That's a definition of faith – trusting in what we cannot prove. In Hebrews 11:1 it's described as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  If we want everything plain and clear before we take a step of faith, it's not really faith. Faith is trust, even when we don't understand and even when the evidence is against us.

It’s interesting that the one who comes back is a Samaritan. Samaritans were enemies of Jews; they hated each other. So why was he the one to come back, rather than the Jews? Maybe he had a deeper sense of what had been done for him. Maybe the Jewish men felt entitled, like they deserved a healing and the Samaritan didn’t. 

Regardless, it speaks of God's grace to everyone. The men's healing doesn't depend on them coming back to say thanks. Jesus heals them anyway; it's not as if the healing of the other nine would be miraculously withdrawn because they didn't return.  God does lots of good things for everyone, whether they acknowledge it or not. He makes the sun shine on the righteous and unrighteous and the rain fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). There are many people who are not Christians, but who are still blessed. At one level, Christians ought just to be the people who acknowledge what God's done for them, and turn back to say "Thank you."

What do you need to thank God for?  Even when circumstances are hard, we are called to spend time rejoicing in what God has blessed us with.  It’s so easy to fall into an attitude of negativity and complaining.  But God wants us to have an attitude of gratitude, spending more time recognizing how he has healed us, blessed us, saved us, taken care of us, and loved us rather than focus on all the crummy stuff.

Let’s pray from God’s Word today, the words of I Thess. 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Thank you, Jesus! Amen.

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