"Your faith has made you well" (Luke 17b)

“Your faith has made you well”

Luke 17:11-19
Key verse 17:15-16

A man was born on Christmas Day in 1902 and lived a long life, having 8 children, 23 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great- grandchildren. On his 100th birthday, he could still recite pages of scripture and remembered details of his past life, even the street where he got his first job and the name of the cafeteria where he ate 70 years ago. He told his family how he could live such a long, healthy and happy life. “I eat well. I sleep well. I walk quite a bit.” Then he said one more thing, which he said was the most important. Can you guess what it is? It is not a difficult thing to do. You can find the answer in today’s passage. I hope that you all find the recipe and live a long and happy life.

The book of Luke allocates a large portion to Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27). It is comprised of three sections and today’s passage is the beginning of the last section. The last section mostly deals with who will enter the kingdom of God. In today’s passage, Jesus heals ten lepers but declares salvation to only one of them. Why do the other nine not receive salvation though they are healed together? I pray that we may learn how the man pleases Jesus and receives salvation.

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, which would be his last journey because he would die there for our sins. He was walking along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten lepers met him. It was rare to see ten lepers in a village at the same time. It might have been a leper colony. They didn’t come near to Jesus. According to Lev 13, one who had such a skin disease was ceremonially unclean. Their skins were covered with boils and the boils burst with pus. It was smelly and gross. Their appearance was disfigured. They lost their fingers and toes. So, leprosy was considered as God’s curse. Lepers were treated not as humans but just as miserable objects. They could not associate with normal people and must live outside the community. If they appeared to people, they could be stoned. Even today leprosy is active and many people suffer from it. Their suffering is beyond our imagination. One woman found out that she had leprosy when she was 22 years old. She said later, "Life came to a dead end. All I wanted to do was to commit suicide. I thought it was the only way to put an end to this problem."

The ten lepers had no hope and just lived day by day in suffering, waiting for their death. The only thing they could do was sympathizing with themselves and sticking to one another. But one day when they heard about Jesus and his healing, they came to have hope. They believed that Jesus had power to heal them. Jesus was their only hope. Then they had an opportunity to see Jesus who was on his way to Jerusalem. That was their only lifetime opportunity. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” They asked not for the healing of their leprosy but for Jesus’ mercy. They knew that they didn’t deserve to ask Jesus for healing but they humbly asked for Jesus’ mercy. Jesus’ mercy was their only hope. Their plea was loud and desperate enough to catch Jesus’ attention. How did Jesus respond to them?

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

Seeing and hearing them, Jesus’ heart went out to them. He had mercy on them. He was willing to heal them. But Jesus first told them to show themselves to the priests. When one was cured of leprosy, he needed to show himself first to a priest for check so that he could be readmitted into society. (Lev 13:2, 17, 45-46; Mt 8:4) But they were not healed yet. How could they go to the priests? What was Jesus’ intention? Before healing them, Jesus wanted them to obey his word first and trusted in him. Going to the priest without being healed was non-sense and even dangerous because they could be stoned on the way. But they obeyed Jesus, hoping and believing that they would be healed. What happened to them when they obeyed?

Halfway through their journey, they noticed sudden changes on them. Their skins turned normal! Their lost fingers and toes were restored. They touched their skins and hands and checked each other to see if they were really healed. No one had boils, wounds or any scars on their skins. Their disfigured appearance was changed normal. They were overjoyed. They could not believe what they saw. Now they could live a normal life like other people, going shopping and eating in downtown. They could see again their family members, relatives, and friends. All of sudden, their sufferings disappeared and their sorrow turned to joy. They hugged each other and jumped around together. By the way this was Jesus’ first miracle that many lepers were healed at the same time. Truly, this was an amazing work of God.

After they were healed, what did they do? Probably, they continued their way to see the priests in Jerusalem. But interestingly, only one of them did not go together with the others but turned back.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

The man came back to Jesus and praised God in a loud voice as he had asked Jesus for mercy. Before, his voice was desperate, but now his voice was full of joy. “Hallelujah! See what God has done for me! He has healed me! I am no longer a leper. Praise the Lord!” By showing his healing to people, he rendered glory to God. He gave God recognition and credit he deserved and thus exalted him in a full measure.

However, healing was not all he praised for. Let’s see verse 13 again. He and the other nine asked for pity and God showed them his mercy. The healing was the outcome and evidence of God’s mercy. The man praised God because God had mercy on such a miserable man like him. He experienced God’s mercy and his personal touch on him. He was happy with his healing but much more with God’s mercy and care for him. He was so happy because he was accepted as God’s child again.

The man also thanked Jesus. He acknowledged that his healing came through Jesus. He really appreciated Jesus’ mercy and healing. He even threw himself at Jesus’ feet, which means that he prostrated, lying face down on the ground. He expressed his deep gratitude and respect to Jesus. By the way, this kind of posture was a common way for Jews to pray or submit themselves to God. And the word “thank” (εὐχαριστέω – eucharisteó) is always directed to God in the NT. What does all this mean? The man recognized Jesus as God! 

He saw divine power in Jesus. He saw God’s presence in Jesus. He saw that God’s healing and mercy came through Jesus. He even saw the kingdom of God coming to him and to the world through Jesus. In Matthew 11:5, Jesus described his Messianic ministry like this: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” These are all about the signs of the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ healing of the ten showed that Jesus is the Messiah and the kingdom of God had come to the earth through him. The man had called Jesus master and now he believed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lord, the exact representation of God (Heb 1:3). His faith in Jesus was so amazing. Through Jesus’ healing, the man learned who Jesus was and that God had mercy on men through Jesus. So he could not but praise God and thank Jesus.

It is pleasant to see such a man who truly honors God. That is what God’s people should do. But verse 16b might have come as a great surprise and disappointment to the Jewish readers. The man who returned to praise God was not a Jew. He was a Samaritan – a foreigner, whom Jews despised the most. However, it was Jesus who was really disappointed and dismayed.

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Seemingly, Jesus expected all of the ten to come back and praise God. But only one of them came back and praised God. Jesus was very disappointed by the other nine who did not return to praise God. They were Jews. They were the people who were to praise God. They received God’s grace more than any nations but failed to glorify him.

Let’s think about why the nine did not return to praise God? They had faith in Jesus’ healing power. They were all healed by God’s grace. But after receiving healing, they were more concerned about themselves rather than God. They went to the priests in hurry to be certified that they were healed. And that was all they did. As a result, they missed the opportunity to know Jesus as the Messiah and thus their faith was incomplete. And they failed to glorify God.

In some sense, receiving God’s grace is not difficult because God is merciful but glorifying him is not always easy because we are forgetful and selfish. Sometimes, we do not even appreciate what God has done for us or we take glory for ourselves. The failure of glorifying God is the grandest sin and the root cause of all kinds of sins. So, Rom 1:21 says, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” 

What do you think is the chief end of man? Westminster Shorter Catechism reads that it is to glorify God. Glorifying God is the foundation of the Christian life. When we give all credit to God, he is so pleased with us. When we thank God in a full measure, he is happy to be with us and bless us more. But when we do not glorify God, he is displeased with us and thus we can’t be happy. Therefore, when we receive God’s grace and mercy, we must not fail to praise and honor and thank him. Give God full credit and the glory due him, confessing that God does everything for you.

19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Jesus was disappointed with the nine but was pleased with the Samaritan. He blessed the Samaritan, saying, “Your faith has made you well.” Jesus confirmed that the man was healed by faith. Here “made well” (σῴζω) also means saved. He was not only healed but also saved by faith. He would enter the kingdom God for which Jesus would open the door by his upcoming death and resurrection.

What was his faith then? As aforementioned, he believed that Jesus is the Messiah God sent and God’s representation. He believed that the kingdom of God had come through Jesus because he saw that God’s mercy was displayed through Jesus and that the mass healing referred to the sure coming of the kingdom of God. Now he knew who Jesus is. That is far more important than physical healing or any other blessings because knowing and believing Jesus leads us to eternal life. John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Overall, this event alluded that the kingdom of God was coming through Jesus’ death but his people, the Jews, failed to accept Jesus. Instead, Gentiles would accept Jesus and enter his kingdom. The kingdom of God is not reserved for the likely people. It is reserved for those who have faith in Jesus.

Another thing I would like to think about is for what we Christians should praise and thank God the most. The Samaritan man came to have faith in Jesus and his faith made him praise God. However, we Christians have faith in Jesus already but we often forget what to praise and thank God for. We easily take God’s grace for granted. We have so many good reasons to praise and thank God. He provides us with all our needs. When we see some people in Africa drink dirty water, we cannot but thank God for clean water here. For everything, even small things, we can praise and thank God. Last week my daughter took a test in school and though it was bad. But she got an A and she said, “Thank you Jesus.” We should praise and thank God for his answering for our prayers. We should praise God for his provisions and protection.

But I believe that the very thing we must always praise and thank God for is that he sent Jesus to us and has shown his mercy through him. As I grow older, I have found more of my sins and realized that God’s sending Jesus is the greatest thing for me. Without Jesus, how can we sinners come to God and receive his grace? Who can defend me when I stand before God? Jesus! Forgiveness comes through Jesus. God’s grace and mercy is shown through Jesus. In a sense, we are like lepers. Sin is much like leprosy. It disfigures us, makes us unclean, and destroys us. We commit sins continually and suffer from it. But thankfully we can come to God again and again in the name of Jesus and ask God for mercy. When we come in Jesus’ name, God has compassion on us and cleanses us by Jesus’ blood.

How amazing it is that sinful men can receive God’s grace through Jesus Christ? Now we can freely access God and receive his mercy in the name of Jesus. God is no longer distant from man. He is here through Jesus. His mercy is clearly shown through Jesus on the cross. So, John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” I feel that I need Jesus more as I grow older and I have Jesus. And I am more thankful for him.

Furthermore, the kingdom of God is here through Jesus. So even when we are troubled, we can still rejoice in Jesus and praise God.  Peter and the early Christians held on faith in Jesus and praise God in midst their suffering.

“3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” (1 Peter 1:3-4)

We can do the same because we have faith in Jesus. Let our troubles and problems not eclipse our faith and thus our joy in Jesus. You may feel that you are not much blessed enough, but you have Jesus and you have faith in him. God has shown you his mercy and salvation and the kingdom of God through Jesus. Let’s praise God for Jesus even if you have troubles and worries. Let’s refresh our faith in Jesus and what he has done and will do for us. Then we cannot but give thanks to God for Jesus.

At the beginning of my message, I talked about a man’s recipe for long life. He said, “I eat well. I sleep well. I walk quite a bit. And every week there’s church, where I praise my God.” That is the life of faith in Jesus. And that is the happy life. We have a good reason to praise God. Through Jesus he has shown his mercy and grace to sinners like us. I love Hymn “To God be the Glory.”

To God be the glory, great things He hath done;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.

By the way this hymn was written by Fanny Crosby, who was blind but lived a long and happy life, writing over 7,000 hymns inspired by Jesus Christ. She said that if she had her normal sight, that she probably would not have written any of her hymns. She also said that the first face she would see would be Jesus. She had Jesus in her so she praised God with so many hymns she wrote.

Again, you have faith in him. Refresh your faith in Jesus. Then you cannot but praise God for sending Jesus to you and saving you and leading you to his kingdom! That is a healthy and happy life.

By David Yun