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Are You One of the Nine?
Luke 17:11-19 NKJV
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
It is perhaps to you, as it is to me, a story that you have heard since your childhood.
As you will recall, there were ten men healed by Jesus.
The power of God flowed through Christ to the men diseased with leprosy.
It was a hideous disease that put people away from their jobs and friends and family.
Lepers were banished from all they knew and loved.
It was wrenching to be put away from your wife and children.
You were told to chant, “Unclean!” before going even remotely into a group of healthy individuals.
They scattered at first word, first sight of you.
No one EVER came over to greet you.
No one invited you to family gatherings.
You were an outcast.
Until you got over the disease, and few did, you were condemned to this lifestyle until your death.
One day, a group of lepers stood afar off from where Jesus entered a village.
They called over to Jesus, begging Him for mercy.
Perhaps, they had heard of this man who healed, and dared to hope in this last chance.
Jesus hears them.
He tells them to go to the priest and show themselves.
This was following Old Testament law for lepers to follow. The priests were the most educated and had a strict set of rules to follow concerning lepers evaluations.
So off to the priests they went.
Perhaps they wondered if it was a slim chance as they hurried off.
Yet at some point, they looked down at themselves.
The sores on arms were healed.
They looked at each other.
Faces that might have been missing a nose or an ear were restored.
They might have shouted joyfully to each other, hugged each other, slapped each other on the back.
Perhaps, it was the first human touch any of the ten had received in years.
They were joyful, exuberant, thrilled men. Healed men!
The impossible had happened to them.
Yet, they went their way.
Perhaps, to the priest as instructed.
Perhaps not.
Maybe, they ran home to sweep up their wives in their arms and hug their children.
Maybe, Jesus, the One Who brought them to this joy, was forgotten.
We do that a lot.
God heals us.
God helps us.
Prayers are answered and in our happiness, we overlook the One Who made it all possible.
This day there was only ONE of the TEN who turned around and went back to thank Jesus.
Jesus asks if there weren’t ten who had been healed? He asks where are the other nine?
Therefore, the question today is which of the ten are we?
Have you had a prayer answered? I have.
My son with brain cancer was healed by God.
I thank Him over and over and over every day of my life.
I marvel at the mercy and grace and healing and power of my Almighty God.
There are many days when I still find myself weeping in joy.
I feel like I can never get off my knees and raise my head, along with my already upraised hands, to thank Him enough.
Are you with me in this?
Have you had a prayer answered?
Or perhaps, God said “No” to a request and you realize, looking back upon it years later, that it was a huge blessing to have been denied that request.
Either way, have you thanked Him?
Or are you in the majority, and rush back to your life without a thank you, without a thought, without a backward look at Jesus?
Lastly, read that line again. Are YOU in the majority, and rush back to your life without a thank you, without a thought, without a backward look at Jesus?
Are you, sadly, one of the NINE?