[Luk 17:11-17] One of them came back (John Lim)

 

John Lim  

Luke 17:11-17

One of  them came back 

11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"  14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." 
 

On this particular day, Jesus was traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee.  Apparently, he was going into a village and came across a group of people.  This group of people was no ordinary group as they were men who had leprosy.  Look at verse 12. 

“As he was going into village, ten men who had leprosy met him.  They stood at a distance” 

From this verse, we can see that there were ten men with leprosy standing at a distance.  We might ask why they stood at a distance.  In that ancient time, leprosy was an incurable disease.  Although they did not have in-depth understanding of the nature of this disease, they knew enough that it was contagious and that those who had leprosy must stay away from those who were not afflicted with such condition.  Therefore, it was customary for those with leprosy to shout warning to people alerting them of their presence.   

As we think about this, it would be good to reflect on their conditions and their predicament.  As we can imagine they were likely not born with this ailment.  Some may have contracted the disease a long time ago and others may have recently been afflicted with this disease.  Regardless, they all came from families and we can safely assume they had family members who loved them and wished they would get well.  And this group of ten men must have felt terrible about their current situation. 

All the family gatherings and social functions they took part in at one time likely were no longer possible as they lived shadow like existence.  They were the scourge of their society.  They lived in the outer perimeter of the towns and villages.  It is also likely that they were on a quest to get better, hoping that someday they would get well.   

As they lived this kind of life, they also must have heard about our Lord Jesus.  It is possible that they heard about our Jesus healing the sick and performing various miracles.  It was a fortuitous occasion when they met Jesus on this fateful day.  As we think of this encounter, should we simply view this as a coincidence or by chance that they happened to meet Jesus?  Our Jesus who is the Son of God, all knowing, all seeing and all powerful knew on this day, he would encounter this group of ten men with leprosy.   

Look at verse 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!"   

It seems as if they were desperately seeking him out and took advantage of this once in a life time opportunity.  They were a band of desperate men who may have tried all kinds of things to get better but to no avail.  They might have been disappointed time and time again after trying all kinds of remedies to get well.  When people are afflicted with incurable disease, they are most vulnerable as they are helpless.  Often times, unscrupulous people will try to take advantage of them with snake oil kind of concoction only to swindle the sick of their last remaining resources.  It is quite probable that they may have been had by some of those who promised them healing but failed to deliver.  So, the disappointment weighed heavily on their hearts but somehow, they must have heard about Jesus who can heal the sick.  So, on this day, perhaps they were determined to bring their cause to his attention.   

They met him, the Scripture says.  They stood at a distance and called out.  What did they say?  “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”  In this short burst of shout, their torment and their helplessness can be felt.  This is a cry from one who is in dire need of mercy. 

These ten men with leprosy represent all of us as we have been afflicted with an incurable disease called sin.  We are the ones with leprosy.  As sinners, we have this incurable disease.  As we live in this world with sin weighing us down, we cannot find rest or peace no matter where we turn and seek help.  Everything this world has to offer only masks our pain and torment but will not bring us true healing.  We seek solace and comfort from all the wrong things in life.  Pleasure, drugs, friends, and money will not take away the deeply seated guilt and misery.  No matter how hard we try to pull ourselves away from that feeling, we find ourselves right back in the middle of that pain and misery.   

Just like the ten men with leprosy, we would shout out to our Lord, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”  For these men, perhaps Jesus was their only hope.  Perhaps, they’ve tried everything else but now, as one last resort, they turned to Jesus.  And what does Jesus do?  Look at verse 14. 

When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 

It was important for the ten men to meet Jesus and cry out to Him for help.  As we come to Christ, it is important for us to meet Jesus and cry out to Him for help.  If ten men simply passed Jesus along the way, nothing could have taken place.  Just like people we pass by everyday either at work or at a local grocery store, nothing remarkable really happens.  So many people pass by one another without significant meaning.   
 
However, these ten men had a purpose on this day to meet with Jesus.  They were not aimlessly wandering around hoping something good will happen but they acted on their intelligence report.  They heard about Jesus and they collectively made a decision to encounter Jesus on that day.  So, they met Jesus and cried out for help.  And Jesus accordingly saw them.  The Bible tells us that he saw them.   

As we come to our Lord Jesus Christ begging for mercy, Jesus sees us.  So many people today in this world live aimlessly, wandering around without understanding that they are in need of Jesus.  When we come to realize just how desperately we need Jesus and turn to Him, shouting for help, Jesus sees us.  He places his loving eyes on us and acknowledges us as he acknowledged the plea from the ten men with leprosy.  

When we turn to Jesus and beg for mercy, He does not refuse us but acknowledges us.  Jesus simply told them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”   

According to Leviticus 14, we see very elaborate procedures to follow when someone had skin infection such as leprosy.  If a person with leprosy thought his leprosy was gone, he was supposed to show himself to a priest who would examine him and declare him clean.   

So, as they went, they were cleansed. We don’t know how far they had been on their way to the priest, when they suddenly discovered themselves that they were cleansed.  Obviously, the implication is that this condition of leprosy was so obvious, they would know immediately if their condition had improved.  When Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests, they were likely not healed.  There is a lag time between what Jesus said and when they realized they were actually healed.  We don’t have the exact time differential but we know it wasn’t immediate.  The Scriptures says, “And as they went, they were cleansed.” 

Can you imagine as they were on their way to the priest, they sensed they had been cleansed of this scourge of an incurable disease which separated them from their loved ones and the rest of society?  Of all the days and perhaps years they had been aching in their hearts and soul, they were finally cleansed on this day.  Countless days and nights when they felt dejected and lived like a corpse, they were finally well again to rejoin the living.  They must have been elated that they were now completely healed.  They hastened their steps to the priest now that they were filled with excitement and joy.  They couldn’t wait till they get a declaration or clean bill of health from the priest and go to their respective homes and communities from where they came.   

They probably couldn’t hide their happiness of imagining how their lives could resume and how their families would celebrate their great fortune.  As we are also healed from our condition of sin and misery, our hearts would be filled with that sense of joy.  As we are bubbling with joy and happiness that we have been saved from our sin by God’s grace, what would be our response?  Look at verse 15. 

“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.” 

So there were ten men with leprosy in the beginning, and they were healed.  One of the ten men after seeing he was healed turned around from his way to the priest and came back.  He stopped dead in his track and came back.  He stopped everything at this point and turned back.  Suppressing all his excitement to go home as soon as possible, he went back to the One who healed him of his incurable disease.   

This man came back and threw himself at Jesus’ feet.  We can almost see him in our imagination as he came rushing back, and praising God, and prostrating himself at Jesus’ feet.  We don’t know if he was clutching Jesus’ feet but we know that he fell at Jesus feet and thanked him.  But before he came and thanked Jesus, he did something very remarkable.  As he was coming back to Jesus, he was praising God in a loud voice.  

He was so happy and elated he was praising God in a loud voice.  Praising God and giving thanks to God for the great mercy and grace He has shown us is the only response from us.   
 
What a beautiful picture of a sinner who has been forgiven of his sins.  As we have been forgiven of our sins, we prostrate ourselves at Jesus’ feet and offer our thanks while we praise God. What a tremendous blessing it is to be forgiven and granted eternal life through Jesus Christ!  As we begged for God’s mercy and grace, we were desperate.  When God forgives us because of what Christ has done on our behalf, what is our response?   
 
Do we fall at Jesus’ feet and offer our heartfelt thanksgiving to God and praise Him?  As we dare to contemplate what blessing this forgiveness of sins truly means do we express our gratitude to Him for this eternal salvation?  Praise God! Thank you, Jesus for saving me from my state of sin and misery! 

And the Scripture says, “and he was a Samaritan.” 

This is significant as Samaritans were not considered very noble by Jewish people.  They were considered half-breeds.  Samaritans were merely second class citizens and treated as such.  But somehow, their common destiny of being lepers in a sense broke down that man made barrier.  So the nine Jewish men with leprosy didn’t exclude this one Samaritan man with leprosy from their group.  They were in a same boat.  But that changed when they were healed.  Perhaps when they were healed, they reverted back to their old ways of regarding themselves better than the Samaritan.  We don’t know for sure but when they were healed, they went on their separate ways.  

Now, we get to see what assessment Jesus makes regarding this.  Look at verses 17-18. 

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?" 

This is not a speculation but Jesus aptly draws a conclusion for us.  Jesus asks three questions. 

1. Were not all ten cleansed?
2. Where are the other nine?
3. Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?

 

By Jesus asking these three questions, we know that Jesus healed all ten men with leprosy.  Jesus did not discriminate against any of these ten men with leprosy.  He did not distinguish between the Jews and Samaritan.  They were all in need of healing.   

Also, we know the other nine men did not come back.  Regardless of any excuses they may have had, Jesus points out simply that other nine for whatever the reason, did not come back to give thanks to Jesus.  That is the bottom line.   

And finally only the foreigner, a Samaritan returned and gave praise to God.  Jesus observes that only the foreigner, the one who normally is treated poorly by the Jews was the only one who not only returned but gave praise to God.   

By praising God and showing his heart felt gratitude to Jesus while recognizing Jesus as one worthy to receive his adoration, this healed Samaritan from his ailment of leprosy at least accomplishes two things.  First, this Samaritan truly met the Lord Jesus Christ.  People do not throw themselves at someone’s feet to express appreciation.  What this Samaritan did was much more significant.  There is almost a sense of worship.  Jesus was not an ordinary man, He is the God incarnate.  Although this Samaritan may not full knowledge of who Jesus truly is, he realized that Jesus is more than a teacher and a healer.  By the grace of God, this Samaritan acknowledged Jesus as one who is worthy to receive his utmost expression of thanksgiving and praise.  

Second thing this Samaritan accomplished is that he receives from Jesus the word of assurance that he acted in faith.  Jesus does not make assumptions.  Because he is the God-Man, he simply knows all things.  When Jesus says something, it is definitive and final.  Therefore when Jesus makes a comment in verse 19, it is final.  Look at verse 19. 

      Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." 

The Son of God acknowledges this Samaritan’s worship and offers him word of assurance.  He tells him to rise and go.  Jesus has accepted this man’s worship and now grants him a joyful dismissal.  And Jesus sends him on his way with an added acknowledgement regarding this man’s faith.   

When all ten men with leprosy begged for healing from Jesus, it is possible that not all ten had same faith in Jesus.  It is only after the healing took place, we come to find out that one man had faith in Jesus which Jesus acknowledged.  Is it possible that the other nine had faith also?   Perhaps they did have faith but they did not get the added blessing to hear the word of assurance from Jesus Christ.   

In our world today, we vie for recognition and acknowledgement from those whom we respect such as teachers and various institutions.  People are recognized and acknowledged for their achievements and accomplishments.  Awards are given and honors rendered for such things.  What is the worth of acknowledgement from our Lord Jesus Christ? 

To hear the word, “Your faith has made you well,” from Jesus would be priceless.  Of all other forms of recognition would seem pale by comparison when the Son of God says to us, “Your faith has made you well.”   

There is a physical healing for this Samaritan but he received an added bonus or even greater blessing in hearing the word of confirmation that Jesus recognized his faith.  Of all the things we would want to accomplish in this world, the affirmation of our faith from Jesus would trump everything else.   

This encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan who was healed of his leprosy shows man who has faith in God not only worships God but gives thanks to God when grace is shown.  Although ten men with leprosy cried out to Jesus to heal them of their disease, only one man seemed to have faith that was recognized by Jesus. 

As sinners when we are forgiven of our sins, how we respond is a testament to faith that God has given us.  Praising God and giving thanks to God is natural response from a believer who has faith in Jesus Christ.   

As we ponder our own salvation and how God has saved us from our sins, may we lift up our voices and hearts to Him in praise and thanksgiving.