Text: Luke 17:11–19
Theme: From giving thanks to being generous
A. In the Name of the Father…Amen. B. The Gospel lesson serves as our sermon text for this evening. C. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the heavenly Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. D. Memory verse! Luke 17:19 (NASB95) 19 And [Jesus] said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” E. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray: Psalm 100:1–5 (NASB95) 1 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.Introduction
A. As we ponder on the sermon text from Luke 17, picture yourself as one of Jesus’ disciples who was making this journey with Him. 1. You are traveling to Jerusalem by way of Samaria and Galilee… 2. Here your story begins. B. If you had told me three years ago that I would one day become a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, I would have laughed at you; I would have said you were out of your mind. 1. But there I was, journeying with him and the others along the border between Galilee and Samaria. 2. I remember that time like it was yesterday. C. Jesus didn’t seem to mind traveling near Samaria. 1. That was unusual to us. 2. Most Jews steered clear of the Samaritans. 3. We looked down our noses at them. 4. Looking back on everything that’s happened since, I sure wish I hadn’t done that. I. These lepers whom Jesus sent away to the priests—was He refusing to heal them? A. Well, anyway, we were heading toward Jerusalem, and I was ready for a rest. 1. Finally, we came upon this little village where I thought we wouldn’t be noticed so we could relax for a little while. 2. I was frankly a little tired of all the commotion we caused everywhere we went. 3. Jesus sure could draw a crowd! 4. On this trip, no sooner had we walked into the village than the saddest gaggle of men you ever saw—standing off at a distance—lifted up their voices and shouted, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” B. You could tell right away they were lepers—ten of them—their hair hanging loose, bodies wrapped in tattered cloths. 1. They knew that the Torah commanded them to keep their distance, and when those without leprosy would draw near to them, the lepers were commanded to shout, “Unclean, unclean.” C. But on that day, they weren’t shouting, “Unclean!” 1. They were shouting, “Jesus, have mercy on us!” D. I thought to myself, “Do they really know who Jesus is, or have they just heard He can heal people, and that’s all they care about—getting healed?” 1. But as I look back at that time, I realize now that I didn’t yet know who Jesus really was either… E. I was a little surprised at what happened next. 1. Jesus just called back to them: a. “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” F. What? Wait a minute! That’s it? I thought, 1. “Is Jesus refusing to heal them?” 2. “I know He’s tired too, but I don’t remember Him rejecting people who wanted healing, even when He was tired.” II. No, He healed them all, and off they went to give a thank offering to God. A. What happened to those guys? 1. It turns out that on the way to the priests, they were healed, every last one of them. 2. Their skin, which had been flaky and as white as snow, was now smooth as a baby’s bottom. 3. They no longer had to live outside the city limits but could rejoin their families. 4. They could actually kiss their wives again and hug their kids. 5. Maybe they hadn’t done that for a long time. 6. I can’t imagine what that must have been like. 7. They could wear regular clothes again and never again have to yell out, “Unclean!” 8. No longer were they society’s rejects. B. Jesus healed them, and then He sent them off to show the priests so that they could make a sacrifice—a thank offering to God. 1. That was appropriate. 2. They obeyed Jesus’ command. 3. I probably would have done the very same thing. 4. I would have obeyed the Healer and gone right to the priests, like He said to. III. What happened next? Well, all but one—a Samaritan!—who came back and praised Jesus as God! A. Actually, I’m getting a little ahead of myself. How did I know they were all healed? 1. Well, one of the ten didn’t make it all the way to the priests just yet. 2. He turned back. 3. We all saw him coming. 4. You really couldn’t miss him. 5. He was shouting at the top of his lungs, praising God, and he didn’t care who noticed. 6. He was jumping up and down, running around; it was quite a sight! 7. The next thing I knew, the man was flat on his face, right in front of Jesus’ feet. B. “Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Master! Thank you, Jesus!” he just kept saying over and over. 1. You want to know the most shocking thing about it? 2. I can’t believe I’m saying this: he was one of those Samaritans. 3. Jesus even pointed it out when He said: Luke 17:17–18 (NASB95) 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 4. The word that Jesus used: a. “foreigner,” b. That is the word that’s written in the law of the Jerusalem temple forbidding anyone but Jews to enter. c. Being a foreigner wasn’t a little thing to us back then. C. But did you notice something else Jesus said? 1. In that one sentence, in a passing, subtle way, Jesus called himself God. Luke 17:18 (NASB95) 18 “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 2. The other nine, who were Jews, obeyed Jesus and went off to the priests to offer up their sacrifices. 3. But this one, this Samaritan, believed and trusted that this Jesus was truly God—God in the flesh, living among the people, preaching to everyone and healing everyone, even Samaritans. 4. This one leper, now healed, got it! 5. Jesus was God. IV. Only later, when Jesus rose, from the dead, did I get that these healings were a result of Him dying to remove our sin. A. As I said, looking back, I realize I hadn’t gotten it yet by then myself. 1. If I had, I wouldn’t have thought all was lost with what happened not long after—what happened during a week that came at the end of that same trip, when we finally reached Jerusalem. 2. That week I’ll never forget as long as I live. B. When we first got to Jerusalem, it was like we were in a parade, and Jesus was the grand marshal! 1. People were waving palm branches, shouting, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” 2. They were laying their coats down for Jesus to walk on. 3. Kind of like the red carpet at the Academy Awards, you know? 4. But by the end of that week, Friday, He was hanging—on that nasty Roman cross. a. beaten, b. bloodied, c. blistered… C. Only after that did we finally know what His healing those lepers was really about. 1. Friday became Sunday, and Jesus came back to life. 2. We saw him! We testify to what we saw! 3. That’s how we know, once and for all, that He is God. 4. And here is the thing: a. Since Jesus is God, and since He died for us, all our sins are taken away; b. as God, He was certainly a great enough sacrifice to pay for all of us—for everyone who ever lived or will live, for that Samaritan leper, and even for the other nine who didn’t turn back to thank him. c. For me. d. For you. e. And it’s only because those sins are taken away that anybody gets healed, miraculously or just in the plain old everyday way. f. Because sin separates us from God, and if our sin was still in the way, we wouldn’t get anything from Him but punishment in hell. g. Healing those lepers was already a result of what Jesus was about to do that last week. h. Healing the lepers happened because of Jesus’ dying on the cross! V. So in all circumstances, we ought to thank Jesus for every blessing His cross has earned for us, even the little ones. A. So that Samaritan leper going back to thank Jesus was going back to the source of his healing. 1. He returned to the Source. 2. Where the other nine still obeyed their Healer and went to worship at the temple, they didn’t acknowledge Jesus, God in the flesh, and His cross as the source of their blessing. 3. They missed the opportunity to go back to the Source to thank Him. 4. They were thankful, I’m sure, but they missed the opportunity to be thankful to the crucified Jesus. B. I know I’ve done the same thing as those nine lepers; I’ve forgotten I have Jesus on the cross to thank for all my blessings. 1. Sometimes I’ve taken Him and the blessings He gives for granted. 2. You’ve missed chances to thank Him too, haven’t you? 3. Oh, we remember to thank Him at Thanksgiving. 4. There’s a national holiday to help us remember to be thankful for the blessings we have received. 5. But the holiday doesn’t get us to His cross. C. We ought to thank Jesus every day for every blessing His cross earned, even the little ones: 1. before and after a meal, 2. at bedtime, 3. in the morning, 4. when the kids or grandkids come over for a visit. 5. We thank Him for the good times, 6. What about the bad times? a. Do we even thank Him during those times? Why not? b. Because He rose to be with us always, Jesus turns those bad moments into something good. c. Yes, we even thank God even when life is difficult. D. My good friend Paul wrote a couple letters to our brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. 1. In his first letter, he wrote this: 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NASB95) 16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. E. Knowing what Paul has gone through, when he says to give thanks in all circumstances, trust me, he means the good and the bad. 1. When I was a young boy and very sick, my mom would give me something to help me feel better. 2. Then she would say: a. “Remember to thank God, even now.” b. At the time, I thought that was odd, but she knew what God said through Paul about giving thanks in all circumstances. c. And, remember, don’t just be generally thankful. d. Be thankful to Jesus. VI. In the end, Jesus told the Samaritan—and He tells you and me—“Your faith has saved you.” A. I still have not told you the end of that story about the one leper yet. 1. While he was still face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, Luke 17:19 (NASB95) 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith [in Me] has made you well.” 2. That’s what Jesus tells you today too. a. “I have healed you. b. That disease called sin that kept you from a relationship with Me is gone. c. It is removed from you as far as the east is from the west. d. I’ve given you faith in Me, and your faith has saved you.”
Conclusion
A. Faith: 1. faith that Christ died for you, 2. faith that Christ rose for you. 3. With the healed leper, we praise God and say, I. “Thank You, Master! Thank You, Jesus!” B. What can we learn from the leper who came back to Jesus, thanking God for what He had done? 1. Something we have lost in the culture in which we live: a. When someone does something good, something that is worthy of thanks and praise, we say “thank you.” 2. The life we live is not just to be one of thanksgiving (one day out of the year), but living a life of thanks (throughout the year). 3. Put some gratitude in your attitude! 4. Amen! C. Let us pray: Spirit of grace and of prayer that proceeds from the Father and the Son, grant us Your power, and intercede for us with sighings which cannot be uttered, that in spirit and in truth we may give thanks to our Savior Jesus Christ for His love and truth. Anoint us with the oil of gladness to walk before our God in a holy conversation, and to run the way of His Commandments. Amen. D. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NASB95) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. E. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. 1. All of us are waiting and none of us will be disappointed. 2. The Lord continue to bless us, 3. shine His face on us, 4. be gracious to us, 5. that He lift His countenance upon us, 6. and give us His peace. F. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
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