Luke 17:11-19 (NLT)
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
As I read this I began to imagine these ten lepers crying out to Jesus and begging for healing. I thought about how the sins in our lives are much like the leprosy of these 10 men and need the "mercy" of Jesus. They all cried out to Jesus "Master have mercy on us". Each of these men consumed with leprosy received their healing but it didn't happen immediately. The healing occurred as they began walking in obedience to the words of Jesus. It didn’t occur before they started the journey; it occurred while they were on the journey.
I couldn't help but think about how this is still the case so many times today. What would have happened if they hadn't started the journey? Would they have been healed? What if they were afraid to go to the priest or even start walking toward the priest because they were covered in leprosy and were focusing on "what is" instead of believing in “what will be"?
The reality is the enemy still deceives many today by convincing them that they must be healed, clean, or have it together before they come to Jesus the High Priest. Sadly, many never start to make the journey, thinking they must be healed before approaching the Healer! It sounds backwards when saying it because it is. It's deception! Thankfully we serve a King that came to bring the spiritual "hospital" of healing to those that are sick.
Matthew 19:12 (KJV)
But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Jesus himself said you don’t need to be whole. He came to heal the broken, the hurting, those that are in pieces, and those that have fallen apart. These ten men began moving in obedience and Jesus healed them all! I began to ask myself, why would only one of them come back and thank Him? Surely they were all running fairly close together since they all started in the same place (needing cleansing) and were all heading towards the same destination. As the healing began to take place in each of their lives, surely they heard this man shouting "Praise God!" I have to believe at the first shout of praise, the others moving with him
began to look at their own bodies to see if they were healed too. Yet only one of them came back to give thanks to the Healer. The other nine men took their healing and ran.
I initially began to think "how ungrateful", but then I began to see that it really isn't much different than today. So many times we cry out to God begging for healing, deliverance, or freedom in certain areas in our lives, and when He heals us we often take our healing and run.
If it's medical healing it is easy to quickly shout praise and thank Him. After all, everyone gets sick and there really isn’t any sin associated with that. But what about those other areas of our lives like addictions, strongholds, or hidden sins. Do we praise Him for that or do we take the healing He provided and simply keep on walking, afraid that if we shouted praise that others might know what He healed us from?
Interestingly enough, it was the “foreigner” that came back to praise Him. It was the Samaritan. It was the man that was regarded as less. It was the man that had no reputation to uphold that in the end came back to give thanks. In the eyes of the Jews, this Samaritan was only 50% or half of who they were, but at the feet of Jesus he was 100% of the praise!
Father,
Thank You for Your unfailing love! Thank You for healing us and for freeing us from the bondage and sins of our past. Thank You for renewing and strengthening us. Lord, we pray that we would always remember to shout Your praises! Unafraid, unashamed, and forever proclaiming Your goodness! We love You Lord! Amen.
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
As I read this I began to imagine these ten lepers crying out to Jesus and begging for healing. I thought about how the sins in our lives are much like the leprosy of these 10 men and need the "mercy" of Jesus. They all cried out to Jesus "Master have mercy on us". Each of these men consumed with leprosy received their healing but it didn't happen immediately. The healing occurred as they began walking in obedience to the words of Jesus. It didn’t occur before they started the journey; it occurred while they were on the journey.
I couldn't help but think about how this is still the case so many times today. What would have happened if they hadn't started the journey? Would they have been healed? What if they were afraid to go to the priest or even start walking toward the priest because they were covered in leprosy and were focusing on "what is" instead of believing in “what will be"?
The reality is the enemy still deceives many today by convincing them that they must be healed, clean, or have it together before they come to Jesus the High Priest. Sadly, many never start to make the journey, thinking they must be healed before approaching the Healer! It sounds backwards when saying it because it is. It's deception! Thankfully we serve a King that came to bring the spiritual "hospital" of healing to those that are sick.
Matthew 19:12 (KJV)
But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Jesus himself said you don’t need to be whole. He came to heal the broken, the hurting, those that are in pieces, and those that have fallen apart. These ten men began moving in obedience and Jesus healed them all! I began to ask myself, why would only one of them come back and thank Him? Surely they were all running fairly close together since they all started in the same place (needing cleansing) and were all heading towards the same destination. As the healing began to take place in each of their lives, surely they heard this man shouting "Praise God!" I have to believe at the first shout of praise, the others moving with him
began to look at their own bodies to see if they were healed too. Yet only one of them came back to give thanks to the Healer. The other nine men took their healing and ran.
I initially began to think "how ungrateful", but then I began to see that it really isn't much different than today. So many times we cry out to God begging for healing, deliverance, or freedom in certain areas in our lives, and when He heals us we often take our healing and run.
If it's medical healing it is easy to quickly shout praise and thank Him. After all, everyone gets sick and there really isn’t any sin associated with that. But what about those other areas of our lives like addictions, strongholds, or hidden sins. Do we praise Him for that or do we take the healing He provided and simply keep on walking, afraid that if we shouted praise that others might know what He healed us from?
Interestingly enough, it was the “foreigner” that came back to praise Him. It was the Samaritan. It was the man that was regarded as less. It was the man that had no reputation to uphold that in the end came back to give thanks. In the eyes of the Jews, this Samaritan was only 50% or half of who they were, but at the feet of Jesus he was 100% of the praise!
Father,
Thank You for Your unfailing love! Thank You for healing us and for freeing us from the bondage and sins of our past. Thank You for renewing and strengthening us. Lord, we pray that we would always remember to shout Your praises! Unafraid, unashamed, and forever proclaiming Your goodness! We love You Lord! Amen.