LIFE OF
CHRIST
Luke 17:11-19
AND THEN THERE WAS
ONE
LIFE OF CHRIST #40
As we continue our
studies in the Life of Christ, our Lord Jesus has again left the
In this little
story we find only one who was truly grateful to the Lord Jesus for all that He
had done. In Luke 17:11-19 we find that
there were:
TEN HURTING,
TEN HEALED – Vss. 11-14
Vss. 11-12 – Jesus was traveling in area close to the border of Galilee and
Jesus came upon
ten men who were hurting because of the dreaded disease called leprosy.
The leper in
These people were
hurting. Leprosy is a picture of sin.
Isaiah 64:6 - But we are all as an unclean
thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a
leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
And even those of
us who have been forgiven of our sins and are headed for Heaven still
experience hurts. I venture to say that there isn’t a person in this room who
isn’t experiencing a hurt of some kind this morning. We can certainly relate to
these 10 who were hurting.
Notice that these
ten men hurting became ten men healed. These men stood afar off, because
ceremonial law said they had to. It reminds how sin has separated us from God.
Isaiah 59:1-2
Vs. 13 – They raised their voices to the Lord Jesus and called Him “Master”,
which means “chief commander”. How appropriate.
They cried out to
the Lord Jesus for mercy. Usually when
we cry for mercy, we are crying for something we don’t deserve. Probably, we
all have given and received human mercy.
Psalm 103:10-12 - He hath not dealt with us after
our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. [11] For as the heaven
is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. [12]
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions
from us.
So these 10
hurting men cry out to the Lord for something our Lord delights to give, mercy!
Shouldn’t we
follow their example? If you are not sure your sins are forgiven, call out in
faith to Christ alone for mercy. If you
are a Christian and you are hurting because of sin in your life, call upon the
Lord for mercy, confessing your sins. Psalm 32:5
Perhaps you are a
Christian and hurting with problems. The Lord doesn’t always make the problem
go away, but he will give you’re the grace to face the problem victoriously.
Call on Him for
mercy! Jeremiah 33:3
Vs. 14 – Jesus’ answer required faith. They were to show themselves to the
priests.
The priest needed
to declare them clean before they would be accepted back into society. They
needed to believe that Jesus would heal them as they went. And He did!
We need to have
that same kind of faith today. We ask God. We believe God will answer. We go
our way in faith. Mark 11:24, James 1:5-8
NINE GOING, ONE
GRATEFUL – Vss. 14-16
As they went, I
think that they were so concerned about getting on with their lives, that they
it just didn’t occur to them that they should pause and be grateful.
Lack of gratitude
is a common problem.
I don’t think that
most of us are purposely ungrateful.
I do think that we
are preoccupied with ourselves. We get so wrapped up in our plans that we don’t
think to thank others, and worse, we don’t think to thank God!
There were nine
going, one was one grateful. Eventually this man would have gone to the priest,
like the others.
Vs. 15 – But picture this. The man heads towards the priest, as instructed.
He looks down at
his skin, and sees that He is healed.
He whirls around
and yells, “Praise God!” at the top of his voice.
And then he runs
back to Jesus, and falls down at His feet and gives him thanks.
The worship part
of our service should be exciting to us.
· From the heart we should be worshipping God for our grand salvation.
· From the heart we should be thanking God for our place in Heaven.
· From the heart we should be thanking God for His provision.
· From the heart we should be praising and thanking God for our families,
our friends, and of course, answers to prayer.
So often we just
go through the motions when we sing.
So often, our
hearts are nowhere near the loftiness of the words which we sing.
This man, however,
was grateful!
May we catch the
spirit of worship in Heaven! Revelation 4:7-11
Psalm 111:1 - Praise ye the Lord. I will
praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the
congregation.
3 STATEMENTS, 1
SAVED – Vss. 17-19
Remember that the
one grateful was a Samaritan.
He was not
accepted in
There are 3
statements by the Lord Jesus to consider.
1.
WERE THERE NOT 10 CLEANSED? –
Vs. 17
Jesus knew how
many were healed.
Jesus knew that
all ten should be grateful.
Jesus knows who’s
been helped and healed in this church
Can you imagine
Jesus saying, “Was not everyone helped and healed in some way this week?”
2. WHERE ARE
THE NINE? – Vs. 17
Jesus asked why
the others did come back to show gratitude?
I wonder how the
Lord is looking for you and I to come back and show appreciation.
So often we ask
for God’s blessings, and how often do we say thank you?
We have been saved
from eternity in hell, and how often do we show our gratitude?
It is so easy to
receive, but are you and I like the nine who do not give thanks?
3, THERE ARE NOT
FOUND THAT RETURNED TO GIVE GLORY TO GOD, SAVE THIS STRANGER? Vss. 18-19
Jesus marveled
that the one who did return was a stranger. He was not the same religion and
yet he brought his praise.
I wonder how many
times it happens that the ones who should naturally praise God, don’t, the ones
who shouldn’t do!
If we are truly
children of God, then we should truly praise Him!
3 Statements – 1
Saved
Vs. 19 – Jesus tells this man to get up and go his way.
Jesus also says
that this man’s faith has saved him, or made him whole.
This man’s faith
went beyond faith that healed.
This man’s faith
was in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am going to make
a hard application here.
9 men walked away
healed, but not saved.
There a lot of
people who profess salvation, but never have time to praise and worship God.
I wonder how many
people who profess salvation, but have no time for worship are really saved?
Gratitude, praise,
and thanksgiving are the marks of a believer.
1 Thessalonians
5:16-18 - Rejoice evermore. [17] Pray without ceasing. [18] In every thing give
thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
And what about you
this week?
Will your life be
filled with gratitude to others who have helped you?
Most important,
will you life be filled gratitude to God?
Will you praise
him and thank Him during the week, and any time your voice sings praise in
church?
10 HURTING 10
HEALED
9 GOING 1 GRATEFUL
3 STATEMENTS ONE
SAVED
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