Title Luke 17:11-19 Thanksgiving is golden
Contents Luke 17:11-19
Gratitude is a command from God, and it is a Christian right and duty. It is also like the lumbar spine that supports faith.
As Jesus was traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee to go up to Jerusalem, he came into a village. He went to see 10 leprosy patients there.
In the Jewish religious and social environment at that time, there was little chance that the patients could meet Jesus. When the king fell ill with this disease, he was also abandoned by his family. Therefore, it was an impossible meeting without Jesus coming first. This speaks to our human existence.
The lepers cannot even come close, but stand at a distance and raise their voices, saying, “Jesus Teacher, have mercy on us.” Jesus doesn't even come close to them, but stands at a distance and commands them.
“Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
Why did you give this order? He asked them to have faith the size of a mustard seed. They obey. As I went, I was cleansed.
The problem is after that. In verse 15, the phrase “one of them” appears. In this verse, the text suddenly takes a sudden turn. Who is one of them? When the man saw that he was healed, he returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell down at Jesus' feet and gave thanks, a Samaritan. Another twist is that he is a Samaritan.
The text tells us that 9 out of 10 healed people here are the majority of people living in our time. In other words, most people believe in Jesus, but they have the same level of faith as the nine people who went to show themselves to the priests just hoping to get better from leprosy. It is to live with no interest or purpose in the more important ultimate problem.
This is not to say that the desire to be healed is by no means a bad thing. So, didn't Jesus see their desire and heal them? But we must listen to the next words of Jesus.
“Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Has no one returned to glorify God except this Gentile?”
Then he speaks to the Samaritan.
“Get up and go. Your faith has saved you.”
No matter how passionate, precious, and earnest our aspirations are, we can never glorify God with them.
When I was pastoring in Busan in the 1980s, there was a Kalguksu restaurant in the neighborhood. At that time, all the news in the country was noisy with corruption, saying, “There is nothing without money, and nothing without money.” Compared to those who were obsessed with gold, the man who worked diligently for a bowl of kalguksu worth 1,200 won was admirable. He made quite a bit of money from it too. By the world's standards, that's enough.
But for Christians, that's not the end. You must have faith to come back knowing that all of this is God's grace and give thanks. Unfortunately, 9 out of 10 people don't.
The faith that Jesus requires is the faith that puts the end. The period is not a cure for disease or material achievement, but a faith that glorifies God. It is a grateful faith.