Title: Faith with Thanksgiving / Luke 17:11-19
Contents
Thankful Faith / Luke 17:11-19
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. He walked along the border of two provinces, Samaria and Galilee. The reason was the rejection of the Samaritans (Luke 9:53). It was a reality that spoke of the historical tragedy between the Jews and the Samaritans, who had been adversarial for 750 years.
But even in this tragic field of history, the Lord's work of salvation continued. It was none other than the grace of salvation toward a Samaritan and the person's act of gratitude for it. Unfortunately, he was leper. There was one Samaritan leper who was with nine Jewish lepers. He had a grateful faith. It was because of the grace of salvation he had received. He was not saved because he was thankful, but because he was actually saved first, both spiritually and physically. The Bible given to us is not to reveal the nine Jews who were cured of leprosy, but rather the one Samaritan who was saved.
Luke 17:15-16 says, “When one of them saw that he was healed, he returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell at Jesus’ feet and gave thanks, for I am a Samaritan.”
Isn't that a wonderful, beautiful, and gracious scene? He had a grateful faith.
I. A grateful faith was founded on the mercy of Jesus.
In Luke 17:12-13 we read, “As he entered a village, ten lepers met Jesus, stood at a distance, and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us… ' he exclaimed.
There were nine Jewish lepers and one Samaritan leper. We see here one good example of the great law of life. It is the fact that when people are in common misery, barriers such as race, ethnicity, education, wealth, etc., are broken down. They show the reality of living together in the common tragedy of leprosy that they met. It reminds me of scenes of wild beasts gathering together in a higher place to live when there is a big flood.
They were “standing far away.” The reason was that the leper had to live according to the law that he had to live outside the city because of uncleanness and uncleanness, with his clothes ripped, his hair loose, and his hand covering his upper lip (Leviticus 13:45-46). , Num. 5:2). They were people who had to live far away from their bones, their relatives, and their fellow citizens. So the ten lepers “stand afar off” and raise their voices to cry out, “Jesus Teacher, have mercy on us.” It was loud. It was a loud sound of ten lepers working together and vomiting together. The voice was a request for mercy from Jesus.
They knew that Jesus had mercy. Mercy refers to Jesus' compassion for sinners. It speaks of the mercy of Jesus. It points to Jesus' love for sinners. It is the same as the 'pity' that Jesus said when he saw the mother crying as she followed the bonus when the body of the widow's dead only son was put in a coffin and headed for the cemetery (Luke 7:13). As a result, the dead son of the widow of Nain was raised from the coffin. As a result of the Lord's compassion for the hungry crowd, a miracle of five fish occurred (Matthew 15:32, Mark 8:2). Various kinds of sick people were healed (Matthew 14:14).
Those lepers knew that only Jesus had the compassion, mercy, and love that could heal all kinds of misery that man has encountered. Perhaps you have heard the wonderful news of a miracle about Teacher Jesus. That's right. The source or motive of the Christian's vomit is the mercy of Jesus. The Christian's gratitude is the fountain of Jesus' mercy.
II. Thankful faith came from the power of Jesus.
At the loud cry of the ten lepers, the mercy of Jesus was immediately activated.
Luke 17:14 says, “When he saw it, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ But as they went, they were cleansed.”
The presence or absence of leprosy is determined by the priest's diagnosis. Whether the disease is cured or not depends on the priest's diagnosis. Once the priest's diagnosis of leprosy had been made, he could enter the city (Lev 14:1-32).
Now, when Jesus said to the lepers, “Go and show yourselves to the priests,” this was based on the Old Testament law. The Lord had already healed their leprosy at that time. Therefore, it is said that you should show the results to the priest, receive the evidence that you have been cleansed, and then enter the city. On our way to the priest, we felt that they were healed. Jesus didn't get better along the way, but he was already healed right away. But on the way, they realized the healing.
In Cana of Galilee, Jesus did this to the son of the king's servant who fell ill and died. “Jesus said to him, “Go, your son is alive.” The man believed what Jesus had said and went... ’” (John 4:50). I later found out that it was at the same time that Jesus said that your son was alive (John 4:53).
Miracles are the power of Jesus. It's a supernatural ability. He has the power to become the Son of God. It is proof that he is the Son of Almighty God. It is proof that He is the Savior of sinners.
It is the result of Jesus' compassion for the lepers. The omniscient and omnipotent work of God is thus revealed secretly and finally openly.
They did not even see the result, and were overwhelmed by the word of power that told the priest to go and show his body. So we met a surprising situation when we saw that we were cleansed on the way. It's a decisive experience. It's a sure experience. It was an experience of resurrection that found the life that was lost, the life that was lost, the life that was taken away, or the life that had died. Then, isn't the Christian's true gratitude the product of experiencing the power of Jesus? Christian gratitude is the product of the blessing of experiencing the power of Jesus.
Ⅲ. The grateful faith has been put into action.
In other words, gratitude in action. It is a thank you that cannot stand still. Explosive gratitude, uncontrollable gratitude, impulsive gratitude, holistic gratitude
Nevertheless, an act of gratitude,
1. They were few. It was thanks to 9:1.
In Luke 17:15, “One of them… ' he said. He was one of ten. Verse 17 says, "Jesus answered and said, Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" There are many who have received God's grace and blessing, but as a result of that grace and blessing, there are few who thank God. Rarity is always valuable.
2. It was an act of shouting.
It is an act of glorifying God with a loud voice. Luke 17:15 says, “When one of them saw that he was healed, he glorified God with a loud voice… ' he said.
Here 'loud' (megavlh" fwnh'") means 'very loud', 'exploding', 'popping', 'emotional sound'. It is an action of ‘sound’. I couldn't stay still. If he had stayed still, the stones would have risen and cried out (Luke 19:40).
The content of that loud voice was ‘God’. It was a sound to glorify God. It must have been a voice of thanks and a voice of praise. It must have been a sound full of joy. It must have been the voice of retribution that vomited life.
3. It was an act of returning, bowing down, and giving thanks.
It was an act of returning and bowing down at Jesus' feet. In Luke 17:15, verses 15 to 16, “… When he came back, he fell at the feet of Jesus and gave thanks… ' he said. On his way to show himself to the priest, he saw a wonderful miracle that had happened to him and returned to Jesus. He came directly to Jesus, the true priest. It is an act of worship.
But the nine who were cleansed did not know that they would return. It is like a crow that flew to its place, not knowing that it would return to the open lid of Noah's ark. But the dove returned to Noah with a new leaf of an olive tree in its mouth (Genesis 8:6-11). So, I told Noah about the land. Even in the church on earth today, there are people who are unwilling to return like a crow, and there are believers who return to the Lord like a dove in gratitude for the grace they received.
“I fell at the feet of Jesus and gave thanks… ' he said. Here, ‘case’ (eujcaristevw) is a word with the meaning ‘thank you’. It refers to an act of retribution that is full of joy, emotion, and joy. In this way, gratitude is what we say and do.
4. It was the great thanks of the saved sinner.
In Luke 17:16, “… I am a Samaritan.” Verse 18 is called “Gentiles”.
He inherited the historical tragedy of being despised by the Jews. His ancestors were despised and despised by the Jews because of their past (about 722 B.C.) when they were mixed race with the conqueror Assyrian people and worshiped idols. They were descendants who were despised as dogs by the Jews, both pedigree and religious.
But the Lord was gracious to him. You have given me great grace. Nine Jewish lepers were given the grace to be healed of their physical ailments. However, they did not reach the grace of salvation. It shows that there are cases where the blessings of physical miracles do not even reach the salvation of the soul.
Jesus said to the Samaritan, “Rise and go, for your faith has saved you” (Luke 17:19). Then, he is the one who received the grace of salvation both in spirit and body. A great sinner has received great grace. So he returned to Jesus, fell on his face, gave thanks, and glorified God.
Say it again. He was not saved because he was thankful, but because he believed in Jesus through the miraculous grace of being healed of the body, and as a result, he returned to Jesus and bowed down to give thanks (thanks). Then, isn't his thanksgiving a great thanksgiving for the salvation of sinners? Wasn't he the one who was forgiven 500 denarii? Doesn't he love the Lord more than the one who was forgiven 50 denarii, and thank him more, more, more, higher, deeper, more profoundly? Didn't those who have many things forgiven by the Lord say that they love the Lord more (Luke 7:41-50)?
Dear saints!
Schmidt, who discovered Hot Steam, was a famous scientist. He was a devout Christian. He made many inventions and contributed to human cultural life. In his journal, he often wrote about his many inventions, saying, 'Thank you, God. Thank you.’ Gratitude is the command of blessing from God to the created life and the law of survival. It is one of the essential elements for man to serve God. Therefore, thanksgiving is a great source of life in the life of a saved Christian.
Someone said this. “Blow, blow. winter wind. / Compared to humans who do not know grace, / you are not that cold.”
Grateful faith is a shortcut to expand your blessings by 30, 60, and 100 times. God blesses those who give thanks a lot and give thanks always. 30x, 60x, 100x.
Christian gratitude is based on the mercy of Jesus. Christian gratitude arises when we experience the power of Jesus. Christian gratitude is gratitude in action. Mouth acts out loud, thank you. Thank you for prayer, thanks for singing, thanks for repentance, and thanks for evangelism. Also, give thanks with your body, bow down and give thanks (worship). It is, in fact, a great thanksgiving for a great salvation.
We must live so that the pillar of faith of thanksgiving soars into the sky. Acts of gratitude that increase 30 times, 60 times, and 100 times will become pillars of glory that please God. Isn't an increase in thanksgiving an increase in blessings and sanctification?