Untitled Sermon (4)

Where are the Others?[1]

Lakeview Baptist Church

November 21, 2021

Luke 17:11-19 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.”

Introduction

In the first century, there was a definitive moral, ethnic, and religious divide. Of course, there were the “haves” and the “have nots.” But in the first century, particularly in the southern kingdom, the division was multi-layered. The religious Jews were seen in a different light than the non-practicing Jews. The land was under Roman rule with an additional layer in the mix. Jerusalem was a melting pot of nations, religions, and language…another layer. Then there was the additional layer between the Jews in Judea and the Jews in Samaria.

However, added to this mix are those that have leprosy. Because of the disease was contagious, they were put out of the city and fended for themselves. They relied on others to take care of them. They were “un-clean” to the Jews and total outcasts for any other nation.

How interesting that the Gospel writers include this story of Jesus healing a leper. There is much that we can take with us this week as we are staring down the table adorned with food, family, and friends…all of which a leper could only dream.

Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One

I am guilty of not realizing how blessed I am. I may go days before remembering to thank the Creator for the blessings He bestows on Linda and I. Oh, sure I am thankful for every meal and tell Him so when I pray before we eat. However, I rarely see the blessings through the business.

This Thursday our nation will stop and celebrate our “thanks.”

Many times, our thanks is overshadowed by the threat of our blessings being taken away. It is good for Christians to pause, remember, and thank God in the “hustle and bustle” of our daily calendars.

Gratitude is the Source for all Other Christian Virtues

Someone once said that gratitude is the source for all other Christian virtues. If that be the case, then perhaps we need to reason that ingratitude may well be the source of all, or at least many of our faults as well. When we begin to take for granted what God has done for us, then we become calloused and filled with pride and then God can no longer use us.

For a Christian, every day ought to be a day of thanksgiving.

Today we will look at Four different types of People:

· Those in Need

· The Grateful

· The Un-grateful

· The Observers

Jesus will bring each of these types to our attention.

Luke 17:11-19 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.

The Plight of the Ten

Luke 17:12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance

Rabbinic tradition said that lepers were to separate themselves from anyone else by standing 100 paces from anyone else. They could not even come close to Jesus. These lepers were in great need and yet they could not be in the presence of the one who could make them whole.

Luke 17:13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

Master and Teacher are titles given by disciples to their Rabbi.

Luke 17:14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.

In the distance, Jesus’ eyes found them in their hour of need. Within the Law, Jesus followed the Law for those that have been cleansed from their “unclean” nature. They were to present themselves before the priests to show that they have been cleansed and are now ready to join back into society.

The Response of the Grateful

Luke 17:15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;

Were they immediately cleansed from their leprosy? We are not told why the nine did not return to praise God. Perhaps the thrill of being cleansed pushed all other thoughts from their minds. They all were given life over the certain death of the disease.

Luke 17:16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.

For this one man, cleansed from leprosy, to give thanks was the most important thought. This one was GRATEFUL.

The Questions of the Savior

Luke 17:17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?

Notice with me that Jesus clearly said that they each were cleansed from leprosy. The nine were cleansed from leprosy, and yet consumed by the cares of the world did not acknowledge the One who cleansed them.

Luke 17:18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

The Nine were UN-GRATEFUL.

Notice with me one more very important point in this story…the man who returned was a Samaritan…hated by those in Judea. This man was not only an outcast because of his disease, but he was also an outcast as a Samaritan. Where was his hope?

Luke 17:19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

This twice-outcast man, like the other nine found salvation through meeting Jesus.

I Am Thankful For…

By Troy Mason

I am Thankful for............the taxes I pay…because it means I’m employed.

I am Thankful for....the clothes that fit a little too snug…because it means I have enough to eat.

I am Thankful for....my shadow who watches me work…because it means I am out in the sunshine.

I am Thankful for....a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing...because it means I have a home.

I am Thankful for...the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot...because it means I am capable of walking.

I am Thankful for....my huge heating bill...because it means I am warm.

I am Thankful for....all the complaining I hear about our government...because it means we have freedom of speech.

I am Thankful for....the lady behind me in church who sings off key...because it means that I can hear.

I am Thankful for....the piles of laundry and ironing...because it means my loved ones are nearby.

I am Thankful for....the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours...because it means that I’m alive.

I am Thankful for....weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day...because it means I have been productive.

The art of thanks-living. It is gratitude in action.

It is thanking God for the gift of life by living it triumphantly.

It is thanking God for your talents and abilities by accepting them as obligations to be invested for the common good.

It is thanking God for all that men and women have done for you by doing things for others.

It is thanking God for happiness by striving to make others happy.

It is thanking God for beauty by helping to make the world more beautiful.

It is thanking God for inspiration on by trying to be an inspiration to others.

Conclusion

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

These ten were totally helpless. All they had to do was to cry for mercy to the One who can Save.

An unthankful Christian is a defeated Christian for he/she has lost their joy.

Disease does not concern itself with culture, nationality, race, religious, status, or age.

The lepers consisted of nine Jews from Judea and a single Samaritan

Jesus asks those traveling with him three rhetorical questions.

Jesus gave a final command to the Samaritan, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”