The Ungrateful Nine

Luke 17:11-19

Opening Illust. There are few things more infantile than being ungrateful. We expect it from our children.

We feed them

We clothe them

We coddle them

We do this for years without hearing the words “Thank you”. But we expect the child to grow and express thankfulness for all that it receives. It is the same with God. He expects us to recognize the good gifts He gives us and thank Him for them. If we fail to do this, we show ourselves to be:

Infantile

Immature

Ungrateful

This morning, we will consider nine men who fit that description. We will call them the ungrateful nine. They teach us how not to respond to the goodness of God in our life.

1. The ungrateful nine did some things right.

A. They obeyed the law.

“ten lepers who stood at a distance” (12)

The Law had instructions for those with the disease.

“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. Lev. 13:45-46

Wear torn clothing- symbolized their illness (identify)

Unkempt hair- The appearance was a warning

Cover mouth when talk- not to spread disease

Cry out Unclean, Unclean – to protect others

Live outside of society- had colonies

These men will not approach Jesus because they are obeying the Law.

B. They sought out Jesus.

“He was met by ten lepers” they probably heard He was coming. They were outside the village waiting. He had healed other lepers (5:12). He even touched a leper. Jesus reputation had preceded Him.

C. They obeyed Jesus (14).

They appealed for healing mercy. Jesus did not heal them instantaneously. He told them to go see the priests. They obeyed. As they traveled, they were healed.

The reason they had to show themselves to the priests:

1) Lepers had to be declared clean by a priest to enter back into society. The priest did the inspection (Lev. 13:2-3).

2) As an act of grace toward the priests. Most priests rejected Jesus. When they saw lepers healed it would be proof Jesus is the Messiah. Still, most priests rejected Him.

There is an application here for doctors. Oftentimes doctors will witness a complete turn around in a person who has been prayed for. Some will give God glory. Others will not. It is an act of God’s grace for those doctors to see answered prayer. What they do next is up to them.

These lepers weren’t awful people. They probably integrated back into society and led normal lives. The only sin we see in them is the sin of ingratitude.

You might think it isn’t that bad of a sin. Listen to what 2 Timothy 3 says:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.

Ingratitude is a sign of the last days. It is a symptom of the unredeemed heart.

2. The ungrateful nine did not turn to Christ.

They all asked for the same thing

They all asked the same Person

They all received the same healing at the same time

Couple of points we should all remember:

1) I am not the only one suffering. There were ten people with the same problem. In that respect we are not unique.

There are others with cancer

There are others who are divorced

There are others who have had children die

There are others who lost their job

Misery often brings people together. This is why support groups exist.

MADD

AA

NA

Caregivers Support groups

There are support groups that can help you. They can do some good. But they cannot do what Jesus can do.

2) Only Jesus can give us an enduring hope.

These men chose to go to the priests but not The Priest.

There are people God has healed but not saved. I have known many of them.

Healed their body.

Healed their children.

Given them a new lease on life.

They come to church and last about as long as a dollar store toy.

Physical healing is temporary, salvation is eternal.

“Then one of them, when he was healed, turned back”

Only one of them said “You know what, before I go to the priest I’m going to Jesus.”

Be the minority.

Be the one out of ten in your group.

3. The ungrateful nine did not humble themselves.

Look at the one leper. What would he do?

He could do anything he wanted to do now. He had just shouted with a loud voice. He had his strength back. What would this man who had lived in humiliation all those years do now that he was healed?

Would he rush out and get new clothes for the first time?

Would he go get a nice shave and haircut?

Would he go into town where all the pretty ladies were?

Would he go hug his family for the first time in years?

He falls on his face at Jesus’ feet.

The ungrateful nine did not do that.

Jesus knew this before hand so we might wonder why He healed them at all. Listen to Luke 6:35:

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Romans 1:21

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

God does good things for proud and ungrateful people.

To be thankful you must humble yourself:

I don’t deserve this goodness in my life!

How do you know if you have humbled yourself? You’re at the feet of Jesus.

I wonder if those nine said ‘Later we’ll go back and tell Jesus how thankful we are.” That seems logical. A lot of folks are like that. They think they’ll get around to it one day. They don’t intend on not humbling themselves. They just have a lot of other stuff to do right now.

Listen closely: One of two things is going to happen to you one day:

1) You are going to humble yourself and turn to Jesus giving Him praise for all the goodness in your life.

2) You’re going to wish you had.

4. The ungrateful nine did not give thanks.

The one leper gave thanks.

It says he was a Samaritan. This implies the others were Jewish. Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. Maybe these nine tolerated him because they were all unclean anyway. Jesus’ point is the Jewish lepers didn’t thank Him. The Samaritan did.

I don’t think this means a quick little tip of the hat to Jesus. This is real gratitude. It’s gonna last a lifetime.

Illust. Man who told me he would spend his life testifying for God in churches after the Lord saved his life through a liver transplant.

Examples:

Alcoholics/drug addicts who continually give testimony to God for His grace.

Cancer survivors who never miss an opportunity to praise God.

What has God done for you? Are you still talking about it? Are you still praising Him?

What about your salvation? Do you praise Him for that?

The Lord will never get tired of hearing you thank Him.

When you stop giving thanks you are on the road to ingratitude.

5. The ungrateful nine were called out by Jesus (17-19).

Jesus knows everything He has done for every person.

“Were not ten cleansed?”

Jesus knows things we’ve forgotten.

“Where are the nine?”

They’re not at His feet.

They’re not in church.

Over 99% of the people we help in that mission center will never come to church much less Jesus. We still help them for the same reason Jesus healed all ten lepers.

One day the trumpet is going to sound and Jesus will say “Where are the nine?”

Masses of people will be at Jesus’ feet but He’ll still say “Where are the nine?”

Look at what Jesus says next.

“Was no one found to return and give praise to God but this foreigner?”

With grace on his lips Jesus tells that one leper He has been made whole. He has been saved. He has been healed in body and soul.

He is still looking for the nine.

One of them might say, “I think we’re even Lord. I suffered a whole lot. The pain and misery of my life should atone for my ingratitude.”

Illustration:

Martin Rinkart was a deacon turned Pastor in the 1600’s.

Began his pastorate in Eilenberg Germany just about the time the 30 years war began.

More people killed in Germany than in WWI or WW2. Eilenberg was a walled city so many people fled to it for safety.

Overcrowding followed by famine and disease. People were fighting over dead cats and birds in the streets for food.

He was one of four pastors in the city. One ran away. Two others died and he did their funerals.

He conducted the funerals of 4, 480 people including his wife. A total of about 8,000 people died in the city.

In the middle of the war He wrote a hymn for he and his children to sing each day at dinner. The hymn is “Now Thank we all our God”.

Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom his world rejoices; who from our mothers' arms has blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

As long as great men like Martin Rinkart and this poor leper have lived, we have no excuse. We ought all thank God.