God Glorifying Gratitude

Introduction

Here we find ten lepers who are in desperate need and only God can meet their need. Ten were healed but only one returned to show gratitude for what God had done for him.

In this passage we find:

A Cry for Mercy from the Ten (Vs. 11-13)

Each on of these ten lepers had a disease that they knew was incurable. Up to this point their cry had been “Unclean, Unclean!” but now as they see Jesus approaching their cry changes.

Every one of the ten lepers recognizing Jesus begins to cry out for mercy. They were not concerned with what the bystanders thought. They were not concerned with what the other lepers might think. They were not concerned with what Jesus disciples might think of them.

They recognized that Jesus was their only hope of being healed! They were willing to cry out to Him in hopes that He would hear their cries of desperation and respond.

- They were confident that He was capable of healing their disease, likely because they had heard about His power to heal.

You and I are (or were once) in the same position. We were hopelessly lost in sin and the only hope we had was Jesus Christ!

As sinners we could not save ourselves, we could not be made clean in our own power. The only thing that we could do was cry out to Jesus for mercy!

(KJV 1900) 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

(KJV 1900)

King James Version Chapter 10

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved

The wonderful joy is that we do not need to wait until Jesus approaches, He is always present and ready to respond to any who will call upon his name!

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

A Work only God could do

The Response of Jesus to the Ten (Vs. 14)

Jesus is willing to supply mercy in response to our faith

- he heard my cry/brought me up out of pit

Jesus heard the desperate pleas of the ten lepers and, when He saw them, He responded with instructions. Jesus told these unclean lepers to go and shew themselves to the priest.

In the case of a leper, this was only to be done if he had been cleansed of his leprosy ().

The lepers had a decision to make, would they act on what Jesus had told them to do? Would they trust Him and begin to make their way towards the priest in the temple?

God’s response is still the same today. When we cry out for mercy, He instructs us to go to the great high priest, Jesus Christ! When we turn to Jesus by faith we also are cleansed.

- brought me up out of pit

All ten lepers immediately moved to go to the priest and “as they went” they were cleansed of their awful physical disease.

All ten lepers received what they had requested. They were all shown mercy and healed of their leprosy.

If you and I will go to Jesus and place our faith in Him, He will cleanse us from sin just as He cleansed these ten lepers.

These men were made whole physically and given a new life just as Christ will make you whole spiritually and make you a new creature in Christ.

Notice that not one of those who responded in faith were rejected, all were made clean.

King James Version Chapter 6

him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 6:37 KJV 1900

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 6:37 KJV 1900

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Romans 10:13 KJV 1900

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

- he heard my cry/brought me up out of pit

One lone former leper who was expressed his gratitude

One Leper’s Response to the Savior (Vs. 15-19)

One lone former leper who was expressed his gratitude

We can be sure that as the lepers made their way towards the priest, when they realized that they had been made clean all ten rejoiced for what was done to them.

Nine of the men proceeded to the priest to undergo the necessary process of being declared clean. Only one thought it worthwhile to turn back to show his gratitude to the one responsible for his healing.

This man is the focus of the entire passage. Jesus asks the question “Where are the nine?” Only one of the ten healed lepers returned to glorify God.

The gratitude of this former leper is shown in his willingness to glorify God. Jesus is not disappointed because He did not receive a “thank you”, His disappointment is in the missed opportunity to glorify God.

This man is the focus of the entire passage. Jesus asks the question “Where are the nine?” None of the other nine lepers returned to glorify God.

This one man was just as intent on glorifying God in gratitude as he was crying out to Jesus for mercy as a leper. He had lifted up his voice to cry out for mercy and now with a loud voice he glorifies God.

He also did not care who heard as he cried out to thank and to praise Jesus for the healing he had received. This man was the one who brought glory to God by his testimony of praise and thanksgiving.

The evidence of his gratitude was not only his outburst of praise but his humility as he fell on his face at the feet of Jesus.

The nine were eager to return to normal life but the one was eager to return to Jesus.

Notice also that this man received an added blessing. The nine were healed of their leprosy but only the one received forgiveness of sin and salvation.

Gratitude will bring glory to God and will also bring blessing to our lives. Imagine the glory that would be given to God if we were as sincere in our gratitude as we were in our seeking for mercy and salvation.

Are we truly thankful for what God has done in our lives? Are we letting the world know as we praise and thank God for His goodness? Our gratitude is shown as we determine to let our words and our lives bring glory and honor to God.