Thankfulness (Luke 17:11–19)

I. Ten unclean men (Luke 17:11–13)

11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

A. Jesus made His way to Jerusalem.

This course did not detour around Samaria, the land populated by people whom Jews considered half-breeds who were unworthy of God’s blessings or their friendship. Entering Samaria and encountering Samaritans made Jesus unclean under the Jewish law.

As if he were not unclean enough, Jesus met ten men who suffered from a terrible skin disease. The men knew their condition. Any contact with them made other people unclean. Still, they knew Jesus’ reputation for healing, so they shouted from a distance. Calling Jesus “Master”, they begged for mercy.

B. The fact that the miracle involved a Samaritan made it even more significant.

The Jews and Samaritans would not normally live together, but misery loves company and all ten were outcasts. What difference does birth make if you are experiencing a living death?

But these men had hope, for Jesus was there, and they cried out for mercy. The word translated “master” is the same one Peter used (Luke 5:5) and means “chief commander.” They knew that Jesus was totally in command of even disease and death, and they trusted Him to help them.

II. Nine ungrateful men (Luke 17:14 ,17)

14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

A. Jesus pronounced no great healing formula.

He did nothing dramatic. He uttered a simple command: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” Such a command demanded action from the sick men.

To run to the priests meant to show them that they were no longer infected and so could return to normal human contacts. But they had to start to the priests before they were healed. All ten exercised faith in what Jesus said. They started for the priests. When they did, healing came.

B. Where are the nine?

You would have expected all ten men to run to Jesus and thank Him for a new start in life, but only one did so—and he was not even a Jew. How grateful the men should have been for the providence of God that brought Jesus into their area, for the love that caused Him to pay attention to them and their need, and for the grace and power of God that brought about their healing.

But before we judge them too harshly how often do we take our blessings for granted and fail to thank the Lord? Too often we are content to enjoy the gift but we forget the Giver. We are quick to pray but slow to praise. “Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Ps. 107:8)

III. One unusual man (Luke 17:15–19)

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

A. One man reversed his direction.

Healing sent nine of the lepers scurrying to the priests at a rapid clip. But one of the men reversed direction; he returned to thank Jesus. He did not seek a private session to say thank you. He shouted praise and thanksgiving to God so everyone could hear.

It would have been logical for him to have followed the other men and gone to the temple, but he first came to the Lord Jesus with his sacrifice of praise. This pleased the Lord more than all the sacrifices the other men offered, even though they were obeying the Law.

B. Jesus responded to thanks giving and praise with a surprising question.

Where there not ten cleansed? Did only this foreigner return to show what God had done and let God get the glory for it? By identifying the foreigner, he showed the “superiority” of the foreign man of faith to the Jewish men who lacked faith.

By coming to Jesus, the man received something greater than physical healing: he was also saved from his sins. Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well”, or the (literal translation) “Your faith has saved you”. The Samaritan’s nine friends were declared clean by the priest, but he was declared saved by the Son of God! While it is wonderful to experience the miracle of physical healing, it is even more wonderful to experience the miracle of eternal salvation.

Everyone of us should cultivate the grace of gratitude. It not only opens the heart to further blessings but glorifies and pleases the Father. An unthankful heart is fertile soil for all kinds of sins.