SERMON - September 13, 2020
Pastor Philemon Ngare
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Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
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RECENT SERMONS Click HERE to view copies of earlier sermons listed in GOOGLE DRIVE. The file names include the year, month, day,and title of the sermon or Bible verses. |
Readings: Proverbs 4:10-23; Psalm 119:9-16; Galatians 5:16-24; Luke 17:11-19
Thank you, Jesus! "
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
11 On the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 14 When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." [1]
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. Amen
We are quick to bring our needs to the Lord, but often are very slow to return to praise and thank God when He's provided for our needs. As a Christian, think for a moment and ask yourself this question: How often do I thank the Lord for answering my prayers and meeting my needs? Think of how many times you have requested the Lord in prayer for help and provisions, and when God has supplied your needs, you forget to thank Him. Would you agree with me that often we have failed to thank God for His boundless blessings -spiritual and physical? That's exactly how it was with the nine of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus in Luke 17:11-19.
In Luke chapter 17, we see the encounter between Jesus and ten lepers, and how the lepers appealed to Jesus for His help and mercy as he passed through their village. Jesus was His way to Jerusalem and in the last six months of His public ministry. During the time of Jesus, lepers were outcasts. They were considered unclean. People with leprosy were isolated and separated from their society, family, and friends. They were desperate to be made well again. Leprosy as a sickness starts as a skin disease; then, it affects fingers and hands, and then the feet fall off at the joints. Leprosy was a dreaded disease, and only God could cure people of their leprosy. Those who were inflicted with leprosy lived in communities of their own away from their villages and towns. St. Luke reports to us that these ten lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy and help in v.13, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." The lepers believed that Jesus had the power to help and heal them. Perhaps they had heard that Jesus cured the man with leprosy in Luke 5:12.
Jesus saw and heard their cry for mercy. Jesus responded to their cry for mercy by giving them a command and promise in v.14: "When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests. And they were cleansed." Imagine for a moment their predicament. They had for sure expected more from Jesus and not being merely commanded to go show themselves to the priest. Jesus commanded them to go to Jerusalem and show themselves to the priest. Why? Priests were required to examine those who were affected by leprosy to determine if they were, for sure, cured. It was the priest who would make the final decision regarding healing and purify them. If they are indeed healed, they will go through a process and period of cleaning before they could reenter society. (see Leviticus chapters 13 and 14)
The ten lepers obeyed Jesus' command to go show themselves to the priests, and as they were going, they are healed. Heeding the words of Jesus brought them healing. However, there was only one leper that returned to Jesus to worship and give Him thanks. It is without a doubt that all the lepers were healed and thankful, but only one of them showed gratitude and returned to worship Jesus before he went to the priest. With humility, the Samaritan leper returned to worship and praise Jesus as a Jew. Luke 17:15-19 says, "Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, "Were not the ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."
Because returning to worship and praise Jesus, the Samaritan leper is showing us that he now knows why he was sent first to the priest. He must witness to them the Good News: God's Son, who was prophesied by the prophets, has come. He is the one who makes the blind see, the deaf hear, the one who has the power to make the lame walk, to raises the dead and heal the lepers ( Luke 7:22. He must now witness that God is not keeping His distance from lepers, but touches and heals them. Now, the dividing walls of hostility between peoples and between their God have been brought down by Jesus, the Savior of the world.
The Scripture says, in everything, give thanks (1Thess. 5:8). Be thankful to God for all His spiritual and physical blessings. Faith in Christ alone as Savior is enough to cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness. Because of Jesus's death and resurrection, He has cleansed us by His blood. He has saved us. We do well to daily return to Him in faithful praise and gratitude for salvation and every good gift that we enjoy because of Him. The New Testament Bible Commentary says, "When some lepers sought healing from Jesus, he simply commanded them to go and show themselves to a priest (5:14). The implication is that their faith would be demonstrated by their obedience and would lead to their cure. All showed faith and were cured, but only one stopped to praise God and to thank Jesus for his cure. Jesus commented on the ungratefulness of the others (all presumably Jews) and confirmed that the Samaritan's faith had made him well both in body and soul. The story is both an illustration of wonder-working faith (cf. v 6) and a lesson on the need for gratitude as part of faith."[2]
May the peace of God, which passes understanding, preserve your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 17:11–19). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[2] Marshall, I. H. (1994). Luke. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1007). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
Thank you, Jesus! "
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
11 On the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 14 When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." [1]
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. Amen
We are quick to bring our needs to the Lord, but often are very slow to return to praise and thank God when He's provided for our needs. As a Christian, think for a moment and ask yourself this question: How often do I thank the Lord for answering my prayers and meeting my needs? Think of how many times you have requested the Lord in prayer for help and provisions, and when God has supplied your needs, you forget to thank Him. Would you agree with me that often we have failed to thank God for His boundless blessings -spiritual and physical? That's exactly how it was with the nine of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus in Luke 17:11-19.
In Luke chapter 17, we see the encounter between Jesus and ten lepers, and how the lepers appealed to Jesus for His help and mercy as he passed through their village. Jesus was His way to Jerusalem and in the last six months of His public ministry. During the time of Jesus, lepers were outcasts. They were considered unclean. People with leprosy were isolated and separated from their society, family, and friends. They were desperate to be made well again. Leprosy as a sickness starts as a skin disease; then, it affects fingers and hands, and then the feet fall off at the joints. Leprosy was a dreaded disease, and only God could cure people of their leprosy. Those who were inflicted with leprosy lived in communities of their own away from their villages and towns. St. Luke reports to us that these ten lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy and help in v.13, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." The lepers believed that Jesus had the power to help and heal them. Perhaps they had heard that Jesus cured the man with leprosy in Luke 5:12.
Jesus saw and heard their cry for mercy. Jesus responded to their cry for mercy by giving them a command and promise in v.14: "When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests. And they were cleansed." Imagine for a moment their predicament. They had for sure expected more from Jesus and not being merely commanded to go show themselves to the priest. Jesus commanded them to go to Jerusalem and show themselves to the priest. Why? Priests were required to examine those who were affected by leprosy to determine if they were, for sure, cured. It was the priest who would make the final decision regarding healing and purify them. If they are indeed healed, they will go through a process and period of cleaning before they could reenter society. (see Leviticus chapters 13 and 14)
The ten lepers obeyed Jesus' command to go show themselves to the priests, and as they were going, they are healed. Heeding the words of Jesus brought them healing. However, there was only one leper that returned to Jesus to worship and give Him thanks. It is without a doubt that all the lepers were healed and thankful, but only one of them showed gratitude and returned to worship Jesus before he went to the priest. With humility, the Samaritan leper returned to worship and praise Jesus as a Jew. Luke 17:15-19 says, "Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, "Were not the ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."
Because returning to worship and praise Jesus, the Samaritan leper is showing us that he now knows why he was sent first to the priest. He must witness to them the Good News: God's Son, who was prophesied by the prophets, has come. He is the one who makes the blind see, the deaf hear, the one who has the power to make the lame walk, to raises the dead and heal the lepers ( Luke 7:22. He must now witness that God is not keeping His distance from lepers, but touches and heals them. Now, the dividing walls of hostility between peoples and between their God have been brought down by Jesus, the Savior of the world.
The Scripture says, in everything, give thanks (1Thess. 5:8). Be thankful to God for all His spiritual and physical blessings. Faith in Christ alone as Savior is enough to cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness. Because of Jesus's death and resurrection, He has cleansed us by His blood. He has saved us. We do well to daily return to Him in faithful praise and gratitude for salvation and every good gift that we enjoy because of Him. The New Testament Bible Commentary says, "When some lepers sought healing from Jesus, he simply commanded them to go and show themselves to a priest (5:14). The implication is that their faith would be demonstrated by their obedience and would lead to their cure. All showed faith and were cured, but only one stopped to praise God and to thank Jesus for his cure. Jesus commented on the ungratefulness of the others (all presumably Jews) and confirmed that the Samaritan's faith had made him well both in body and soul. The story is both an illustration of wonder-working faith (cf. v 6) and a lesson on the need for gratitude as part of faith."[2]
May the peace of God, which passes understanding, preserve your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 17:11–19). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[2] Marshall, I. H. (1994). Luke. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1007). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
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