Thanksgiving - A Way of Life

Go with me to Luke 17. This week is one of my favorite weeks. Thanksgiving. We gather with family and friends and we share a meal, we laugh, and most of all we take time to show our gratitude. For the Christian, thanksgiving should be more than just one day on the calendar, it should be a way of life, it should be second nature to be thankful. Unfortunately, we have a terrible habit of taking God’s blessings for granted.

Read with me Luke 17:11-19

Luke 17:11–19 KJV 1900

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, 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 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

There is a lot we can learn about being thankful in this passage. Notice there were...

Ten Men in the Same Situation

Luke 17:12 KJV 1900

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

These men were lepers — leprosy was a highly contagious disease and, worse, was incurable.

“afar off” means they had to keep their distance.

Those inflicted with this disease were forced to live as outcasts in society. They couldn’t go to the temple which meant they couldn’t worship God. They couldn’t go home, have a meal with family, or any social interaction. They were walking corpses and to their families, they were already dead.

Let this sink in, they were all in the same situation. A grim situation that even put an end to personal prejudice. One of these men was a Samaritan. In a “perfect” world, a Jew would have nothing to do with a Samaritan. Misery, as they say, loves company. They were all bonded by their sickness, they were all in the same situation. Notice next they were...

Ten Men With the Same Desire

Luke 17:13 KJV 1900

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

They all wanted mercy and they all recognized that Jesus could give it to them.

Considering their sickness, it is highly likely that none of them had ever met Jesus or even seen Him. Most likely they had never even gotten close enough to hear Him teach before, but they had caught wind of a “healer” going through their land named Jesus and they knew this was their chance.

They called on the only One they knew could help them and asked for mercy! They called out to Him in simple faith. Their faith is seen in how they called Him, “Master”. The word translated as master means “commander.” In other words, they professed with their mouth that Jesus was able to command the sickness to depart, just as He commanded demons to flee and winds and waves to cease. Surely He could do something for them, certainly He would have mercy and cure their disease.

Ten men with the same condition, ten men with the same desire, next we see...

Ten Men Who Received the Same Blessing

Luke 17:14 KJV 1900

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

The most remarkable words in this passage are, “when He saw them”.

Anyone else would have gone out of their way to avoid them,

Anyone else would have looked the other direction to keep from making eye contact

But Jesus saw them!

He looked on them and beheld them and took pity on them and then he spoke to them!

He told them what to do to be cleansed of their disease “Go show yourselves unto the priests.” That was what was commanded in the law when a leper was cleansed (never is a leper cured, always cleansed b/c it is a type of sin). They were to show themselves to the priest because only a priest could declare them whole and restore them to society.

Do you know what they did? They didn’t argue. They didn’t refuse. They didn’t say, “Really? Come on man, just heal us.” No. They simply obeyed. The exercised their faith, and what happened? We read, “as they went, they were cleansed.”

They got what they asked for, all ten of them! They turned to leave Jesus to go to the temple to find the priest and before they got there they noticed they were already cleansed! Can you even imagine their excitement?

Ten men with the same condition, ten men with the same desire, ten men who received the same blessing, but, unfortunately...

Only One Man Who Was Grateful

Luke 17:15–16 KJV 1900

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, 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.

Where did the other nine men go? We don’t know. Being that they were Jewish they probably went to the priest so they could be restored to their family, but this man, a Samaritan, the one who was an outcast before his sickness, he turned back to show his thanks to the One who had made him clean.

His grateful attitude led him to:

Glorify God - the Bible says with a loud voice, he wasn’t ashamed to give God the praise He deserved in healing him.

Worshiped God - he fell at Jesus’ feet, recognizing His deity and worshiped Him. Only God could cleanse leprosy, and the leper knew who’s presence he’d been in.

Thanked God - the phrase means he expressed his gratitude for what had been done in his life.

Look at what Jesus said in response to this man’s reaction Luke 17:17-19

Luke 17:17–19 KJV 1900

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

The other nine men had gotten what they wanted, they were cleansed, they were happy, they had been restored to their former social standing, but as wonderful as the miracle of healing was, the Samaritan received the greatest gift of all — eternal salvation. He was cleansed, not only of his disease, but of sin’s penalty.

Conclusion: Church,for the last two years we have celebrated Thanksgiving here with a meal, and for the last two years we have failed to do one thing: To give an opportunity for us to share with one another what we are thankful for. I want to correct that mistake today, by not waiting for the meal. I want to open the floor for you to share what you are thankful for, and church, we have a lot to be thankful for.

Let us not be guilty of taking for granted the blessings which God has given to us. Who would like to go first?