Luke 17:15-19
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If you would, please turn back to Luke 17.
We’re going to be looking at Verses 15-19 this morning.
If you’ll remember, we started this section last week...
But we only made it through Verse 14...
Mainly because I spent so much time...
...focusing on that last sentence in Verse 14...
...because I thought was such a GREAT illustration...
...of that foundational principle from James 2:17, that:
17 ...faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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(Or as we usually simplify it:
“faith without works is dead”)
And what we saw in that, last week, was that...
...faith and “works” (i.e., corresponding actions)...
Aren’t mutually exclusive to each other.
Rather, that they go together!
The one (faith)...
Producing the other (works/actions).
-Hopefully you can remember all of that...
And hopefully you’ve found the text by now.
We're going to read the whole thing again.
Pray and ask for the Lord’s help
Review Verses 11-14
Jump back in in Verse 15.
This is the Word of the Lord:
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance
13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;
16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
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Pray
-Let’s begin by reviewing...
...the pertinent information from last week.
Remember, first of all...
...the geographical and historical setting:
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
(Show Map)
-Also, remember this from the BKBC:
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
The region of Samaria in Old Testament times (tenth to eighth centuries B.C.) was inhabited by the ten northern tribes of Israel.
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
Following the death of Solomon, the northern tribes seceded from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south.
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
The southern kingdom became known as Judah, while the northern kingdom was initially known as Israel, until it eventually came to be called Samaria after its capital city.
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
In the eighth century Samaria was overrun by the Assyrians. Her inhabitants were exiled and in their place foreign peoples were settled.
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
In the centuries that followed a half-Jewish, half-Gentile race of people emerged with which the Jews of Judah to the south and of Galilee to the north frequently quarreled...
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
...and which the Jews loathed.
(more important this week than last)
-Next, we read:
12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who...
In accordance with the commands of Leviticus 13...
12 ...who stood at a distance
But... NOT exactly in accordance with the commands of Leviticus 13...
13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
And my premise to you about that, was...
That in their saying that...
...they were confessing (essentially) the same belief...
...as the leper from Chapter 5 had...
The one who had pleaded...
12 … “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
-Then, in Verse 14...
...Jesus responded to their desperate pleas:
14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” . . .
(This time in obedience to Leviticus 14)
And remember, that it was...
14 ...as they went they were cleansed.
When their faith was proven by their actions...
They were healed!
And we followed that up...
...with a rather lengthy treatise on James 2...
And that’s where we ended things last week.
-Now, Verse 15 resumes the narrative.
Look at it with me:
15 Then one of them...
(How many were healed?)
15 ...one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back...
Think about this:
What in the world...
...would cause this man...
...who had just been healed from the malady...
...that had ruined his entire life...
...turn back from going to the priest who...
...(through his inspection)...
...had the authority to give it all back to him?
-For him to keep on going meant...
The return of his livelihood
His family
His community
The return of his dignity
What in the world was behind him...
...that would compel him...
...to turn back from all of that?
What could be more important to him...
...than the blessings of God...
...that lay out in front of him?
We should know the answer to that, Christians!
What’s more important than the blessings of God?
God HIMSELF!
(That’s what the man’s friends...
...appeared to get terribly wrong).
-Let’s read on, and we’ll see it:
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;
I’m taking that as implying...
...that he was now verbally glorifying God...
...with the same force and enthusiasm...
...with which he had hitherto...
...been crying out in desperation!
This is pure speculation...
...but Psalm 103 comes to mind:
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good...
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious . . . and abounding in steadfast love.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
22 ...Bless the Lord, O my soul!
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Now, he probably didn’t recite that psalm...
But, I’m pretty sure...
...it reflects what was going on in his heart!
And brethren, it ought to reflect...
...the disposition of all of our hearts!
Even in the midst of a sin-cursed world...
...God satisfies us with so much good!
And for us to not recognize or appreciate that...
...is an egregious sin against Him.
-But sadly, many times we do not.
Many times, we focus so much on the negative aspects of life...
Or are so consumed with...
Our hurt feelings
Our physical pain
Greed
Covetousness
Worldly Ambition
Keeping up with the Jones’s
...that we don’t meditate on the goodness of God...
...that’s all around us.
That’s a great problem.
And sadly, it’s a common problem.
In our text it was about 90%
Only one out of ten...
...who had been blessed by the Lord...
...in such an incalculable way...
...chose to look outside their own circumstances...
...and take a few minutes...
...to give God the gratitude and glory...
...that he deserved!
That’s sobering.
God help us all to repent.
-Now, watch this.
First...
15 ...when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God...
Then...
16 ...he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks...
I want you to think about this:
If I had prayed for you...
...and you had been healed...
Would you fall down at my feet in gratitude?
Why?
I didn’t heal you!
GOD healed you!
So, why is the man doing that here?
What is he recognizing?
Was it merely that:
Jesus was God’s instrument in his healing?
I’d say that given his previous confession:
13 . . . “Jesus, Master, have mercy . . .”
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Given that...
Coupled with what he’s doing here...
It seems to me like he’s recognizing...
...something far beyond that.
He seems to be recognizing, not only, that...
his healing was a divine act
But also that...
It happened because Jesus willed it to.
It happened at Jesus’ permission.
It happened because of Jesus’ authority.
Brethren, what flesh and blood man...
...has that kind of innate authority?
The Christ!
The Messiah!
The God/Man!
Let’s not overlook implications like that!
This man seems to be recognizing...
...something beyond the other nine lepers.
He seems to be recognizing...
...what Jesus said in John 5:22...
22 ...the Father . . . has given all judgment to the Son,
23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. . .
27 ...he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
And so it seems (to me), that...
...that recognition (to some degree)...
...is what causes him to do what he did:
16 ...fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks...
-Now, look at the end of Verse 16.
With deep irony...
And an almost breathtaking dramatic effect...
Luke throws out:
16 ...Now he was a Samaritan.
John Gill offers a great summary, here:
this is particularly remarked by the evangelist, because the Samaritans were reckoned by the Jews, to be ignorant and irreligious persons, and no better than Heathens;
and yet this man behaved as a religious good man, who had a sense of his mercy, knew his duty, and his obligations, and performed them;
when the other nine, who very likely were all Jews, acted a very stupid and ungrateful part.
Gill’s crass, old school articulation notwithstanding...
That does seem to be Jesus’ point...
...in the next two verses:
17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
Where are the “true worshippers?”
Where are the “sons of the covenant?”
Why aren’t they here...
...worshipping at their Savior’s feet?
Why aren’t they glorifying God for their salvation?
-Do you see the problem?
-Guys, sadly, it wasn’t anything new.
Think about their history:
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea...
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry...
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy...
12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot...
14 ...they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert...
19 They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image....
21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea...
24 ...they despised the pleasant land...
25 They murmured in their tents...
28 ...they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor...
34 They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them,
35 ...they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols...
37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood . . . and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they . . . played the whore in their deeds...
43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious...
-They had a long history of rebellious ingratitude.
And now (in Jesus’ time) the greatest...
“Most Wondrous” work of all time was happening
Salvation and Redemption EVER was being offered...
...And the overwhelming majority of them...
...seemed to turn the other way!
This was a grave problem.
-But… it isn’t just a Jewish problem.
Consider this:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Tenth Leper
When we watch nine people out of ten forget to thank Jesus, we are witnessing a microcosm of humanity. Is any sin more characteristic of our fallen race than ingratitude?
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Tenth Leper
“Although they knew God,” Paul writes of depraved humanity, “they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Tenth Leper
Elsewhere he goes so far as to identify ingratitude as one of the prevailing sins of godlessness in the last days (see
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Tenth Leper
We are inclined to think of ingratitude as a relatively minor sin, but in fact it is one of the worst sins in the Bible.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Tenth Leper
Ingratitude is a way of saying that God owes us whatever he gives us, and that we owe him nothing in return.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Tenth Leper
Thus it is a complete reversal of our real position before God, namely, that
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Tenth Leper
Ingratitude is also a direct assault on God’s glory. When we do not thank God for his blessings, we are refusing to give him the praise that he rightly deserves.
What causes this?
(Not exclusive, but big contributors)
(on screen)
1.) Pride/Presumption
2.) Discontentment
Jesus addressed both of those things...
...at the very beginning of his earthly ministry:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
-Verse 18 is similarly counterintuitive:
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
This was a prominent theme...
...in Jesus’ earthly ministry:
The faith and redemption of gentiles
The bringing in of all men (nations/ethnicities)...
...into the Kingdom of God.
We saw another profound example of it...
...back in Chapter 7...
...with the healing of the Roman Centurion’s servant.
I think it gives us some keen insights...
...into the heart of our Samaritan as well.
6 ...When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.
7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.
Remember Jesus’ response:
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Then, in Matthew’s account, he adds:
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Consider this, again, from the Background Bible Commentary:
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
The Samaritan is a foreigner (lit. “a stranger”), one who is not a pure descendant of “Father Abraham” (as the rich man of
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
Jesus’ question in effect summarizes one of the major themes of Luke-Acts. It is the Gentile, the Samaritan, the outcasts and sinners, who respond enthusiastically to the offer of the good news.
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
Unlike the religious and proud, who assume that their piety guarantees their salvation, the outcasts and sinners assume no such thing (see
Matthew–Luke § 153. The Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11–19)
The answer then is that the reason why the foreigner is the only one who came back to give thanks to God is because only he recognized his sin and his need to repent.
(Brothers, would you mind...
...going ahead and distributing the elements?)
-Look at Verse 19 while they do that.
It seals the deal.
It puts the icing on the cake:
19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
I’m really thankful for that clarification, aren’t you?
Before, we had seen...
...a lot of action on the part of the Samaritan:
He had:
Come to Jesus for healing in the first place
Cried out to Jesus for Mercy
Obeyed Jesus in turning to go to the priest for examination
Turned back and bowed down at Jesus’ feet in gratitude
He was a man of action!
He had done many works!
Yet Jesus couldn’t be any clearer about...
...the cause and effect here.
He says that it’s...
...not the man’s actions ULTIMATELY...
...that brought about his healing...
But rather:
19 ...your faith has made you well.”
You see, the faith was the foundation.
It produced the works/deeds/actions.
(It really is a simple concept)
-Now, here’s something interesting.
Remember this from last week (LSB):
19 . . . “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
All throughout this narrative (until now)...
...Luke had used words that described...
Physical healing
14 ...And as they went they were cleansed.
15 ...when he saw that he was healed...
17. . . “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
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But, in Verse 19, he uses...
...the perfect tense...
…of the more comprehensive verb:
“Sodzo”
“To save”
Or, in the perfect tense:
To have been saved/delivered, etc...
In a way that has ongoing effects.
Now, It’s not absolutely certain...
(based solely on the use of that word)
But, Jesus does seem to be hinting at...
...a salvation that goes beyond the man’s physical body.
Ryken says this about it:
Here was a man who was isolated and alienated from society, cut off from the community of faith. But now he is at the feet of Jesus. He is no longer separated from human relationships—medically, ethnically, or spiritually—but reconciled to God and man.
The man is saved in every sense of the word. He has received “not just physical healing such as the other nine received, but forgiveness and reconciliation and eternal life, and the removal of all alienation and distance between himself and God caused by his sin and moral uncleanness.” — Phillip Ryken
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Brethren, I emphasize this often, but...
...this is one of the greatest reminders...
...of the Lord’s Supper:
That we are at peace with God!
That we have been brought into his Kingdom
That we have been seated at his table...
Because of what Christ has accomplished for us...
...through the substitutionary sacrifice...
...of his own body and blood!
Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Pray and Partake
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Pray and Partake
Remember:
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Amen
Come Quickly!
