Ten Lepers Luke 17:11-19
After our detour into the Old Testament last week I want to return to Luke and his accounts of Jesus life. We’re in the middle of Luke’s Gospel and chapters 11-21 are almost entirely Jesus talking and teaching; many of Jesus parables are recorded in these chapters. But then in the middle of all this conversation we have the account of Jesus healing ten lepers.
To put a little context in this narrative, this happens toward the end of Jesus ministry. He is on his way to Jerusalem where he will be betrayed, tortured, abandoned and crucified on the cross. Jesus is fully aware of what awaits him and he is willingly and unswervingly moving toward it. It’s in this light we should look at this scripture and our own life.
Recently I was invited to a conference; a group of people who wanted to discuss Biblical teaching. It rapidly became apparent that their agenda was to pick apart and prove wrong my belief that the Bible teaches us to be inclusive. They wanted to prove wrong my message of God’s grace toward us and our response of turning that grace outward by giving grace and forgiveness to others. I can admit that at first I didn’t want to be bothered, I didn’t want to feel like I had to defend myself constantly. I seriously considered not attending the rest of the meetings; but then I read this passage.
As I said Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified, if anyone had a right to tell people to “go away, leave me alone, I’ve had enough, don’t bother me,” it’s Jesus. But this isn’t what he does. He continues to live in service to others. If you read beyond our reading you will see Jesus is still being tested and questioned by the Pharisees, and he continues to teach and not get defensive.
When all I wanted to do was tell these eight people off I see Jesus responding in a positive way while he’s walking head first into the cross. This story of Jesus serving others at this time in his life puts front and center the life of service Jesus sets before his disciples and therefore he sets this life of service before us.
We can be tired and aggravated; we all can be tired of being questioned or criticized. We can all have times where we just want to be left alone. This story tells us we are to serve others no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. We are to serve others no matter our pain or our troubles; we are to serve others no matter the personal cost. Am I always doing this? No. But I do pray for God to help me with it because this is the type of service expected of us when we are in Jesus kingdom.
Verse 14, “When he saw them he said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed.”
This verse shows us that it is not just the service, but the nature of the service. Jesus isn’t telling these lepers, “Fine, here you’re healed, just go.” Jesus isn’t grumbling about helping them. When we serve others we should do it without grumbling, without complaining. We should serve with a heart full of love for the one we’re serving, and a heart full of gratitude that God give us the opportunity to serve in his name. By doing this you demonstrate a mature faith.
At the time leprosy was a horrible and incurable disease. These ten would be outcast from their families and homes; and then one day Jesus walks into their lives. Verse 13, “Jesus. Master, have pity on us.”
Like we’ve discussed about the man crucified with Jesus, here is these men’s declaration of Jesus as God for only God could cure them. And as we see in verse 14, Jesus cures them. Over and over the Bible gives us this lesson; no matter how diseased or maimed by sin we may be, when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and ask him to work in our lives he will do it. There may be times it’s not when or how we would like, but he will act in our lives.
Now I want to look at Jesus response from a different perspective. “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” I can imagine they were confused by this response. They probably have seen the priests before hoping for their intersession, hoping for an improvement in their condition. I can almost hear them thinking, “Jesus, we believe in you, we come to you for help, you’re sending us back to the priests?” Notice that even when it doesn’t seem to make sense to them they do it.
Verse 14, “And as they went, they were cleaned.” This reminds me of 2 Kings Chapter 5. Naaman, an army commander also had leprosy. The prophet Elisha told him to wash in the Jordan River seven times. This made no sense to Naaman and he was going to leave when a servant convinced him to try it. When he came out of the river the seventh time he was disease free.
Sometimes we feel the things God tells us don’t make sense. Maybe they don’t to us but we don’t think like God. Like Naaman and these ten lepers, it’s faith in God that activates the miracle. Too many times we try to make a deal with God, “You do this for me and I’ll do that.” That’s not faith. Putting it in God’s hands and then stepping back and doing what he says whether we understand or not; that’s faith.
Something I noticed in verse 12, “…the ten who had leprosy…stood at a distance.” Leprosy was highly contagious. These men were showing Jesus respect by keeping their distance. We show Jesus our respect when we trust him, when we don’t try to “make a deal.”
The story ends with one of the ten returning to give thanks and praise to Jesus. Luke tells us this man is a Samarian. By pointing this out Luke shows us faith sometimes comes from places and people we don’t expect it from. Samarians were looked down upon by Israel, they were outsiders. And yet this outsider is the only one to respond with love and gratitude. Jesus attended, healed and welcomed this outsider because to Jesus no one is an outsider. It should be the same for us. Like with this man, love and faith can come through an “outsider.” It just might be an “outsider” that God sends to teach or help us. And I can’t forget that when we were “outsiders”; people who didn’t turn to God, Jesus was there offering us love and redemption.
One last thing; all ten were sent to see the priest so there had to be a sense of religion if not faith in all ten. Nine didn’t come back, they followed what they were told but had no real understanding of exactly what Jesus offered them.
I’m not trying to say what’s in a person’s heart but this got me thinking. These nine men did what Jesus told them to do. People in general like to do things, do something tangible to gain a reward. It can’t be as easy as just believing and trusting Jesus; I have to do something.
When it comes to our faith, this can be a trap. Religions have rules and traditions that satisfy our need to do something. The problem occurs when people misinterpret the rules and traditions as the path to salvation. “I’m saved because I was baptized as a baby, I’m saved because I was raised in church.
When I was young I was raised in church. If you asked me I would have said I was a Christian but the statement had no more faith or heart behind it than if I said the sky was blue. Without a belief in my heart, was I really saved?
Look at the last thing Jesus says in our passage; Verse 19, “…your faith has made you well.” Earlier it said the ten were cleansed, their disease was removed from them.
Non-believers are blessed at times. They survive a heart attack, they’re healed from injury; but that only lasts in this life. Only the one who praised Jesus was made well; that is by his faith he was forgiven, glorified and saved. These ten show us that when we depend on following the rules God may still act, he can intervene where and when he wants; but it is when we have faith and give glory to Jesus that we are saved for all eternity.
Eleven people; ten lepers and Jesus cross paths on the road between Samaria and Galilee. The interaction between these eleven demonstrate four things about God and the kingdom.
One; no matter our circumstances, when God gives you the opportunity to do his work, do it gratefully.
Two; do what God is telling you even if it doesn’t make sense at the time.
Three; don’t exclude someone who is different, they just might be the one God sent to benefit you.
And four; don’t just rely on traditions. God tells us over and over in scripture, it is faith, trust and belief in Jesus and the cross that saves.
God bless.