Welcome to Truth for Life, where we are studying the Gospel of Luke. And today, Alistair Begg is teaching from chapter 17, the story in which Jesus miraculously heals. Ten Lepers But only one returns, praising God and thanking Jesus. What did this man realize that the other nine seemed to miss? We'll find out today.
Well, when you read this story, at first glance it may appear that the incident is in the Bible simply to provide us. with a lesson in thankfulness. Or if you like, the fact that the in gratitude of the nine is proportional, if you like, that it is a more common situation than we are prepared to admit. You may recall, and you can turn back to chapter 1 just to verify it, but you may recall that in chapter 1, as we were introduced to the gospel, we discovered there that. Luke was telling us that he was bringing his physician's mind to bear upon the subject.
conducting a very careful investigation into everything. and making sure that he was writing an orderly account. And the reason he was writing an orderly account was in order that the people might know the certainty of the things that they had been taught.
Now, it is in light of that that we find him providing information here back in chapter 17. which is germane to the subject.
So that the opening phrase in verse 11, now on his way to Jerusalem. It's not filler, you know. We know that for look To write this phrase, now on his way to Jerusalem, is significant in light of all that he has been unfolding in his gospel. And the underlying question that he is answering. Is a question that will be in the minds of some who are here this morning, and it is this.
Who is Jesus of Nazareth? And why did he come? The Gospels are not essentially an unfolding chronology. As much as they are a biography, they are a depiction of who Jesus is and what Jesus did. And that's why I want to take you in a brief Rehearsal of what we have noticed before, so that I can help you understand why we may not just be too quick to assume.
That the lesson here is a lesson in thankfulness alone. Go back to chapter 7, if you would, and to the incident of the raising of the widow's son. Those of you who were present will remember that Jesus walks up and he arrests the procession to the grave. And he raises up the boy and he gives him back to his mother. And then we're told in verse 16 that they were all filled with awe and they praised God.
And they said to one another, they said, you know, a great prophet has appeared among us. That was as far as they could get. They recognized that a dramatic incident had taken place, and so they could only see it in terms of the Old Testament drama of the prophets. And they said, somehow or another, a great prophet has appeared among us. In the same chapter, when the disciples of John the Baptist Tell John about all the things that have been going on.
John has a case of misgiving. And he sends these disciples of his back to Jesus to ask him this question: Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else? Why was this?
Well, because John the Baptist thought That the judgment, which would be an inevitable part of the ministry of Christ, was about to fall. imminently. That the fire and the destruction and the winnowing and the separating would all be a constituent part of the ministry of Jesus. And all he's hearing is that Jesus is healing the sick, he's raising the dead, he's doing all these things. And so he says, I don't know if we can just get this clarified.
And so Jesus says to the messengers who had come to him in verse 22: go back and report to John. What you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight, the lame walk. Those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. In other words, Jesus says, go back and reassure John that we're right on track.
in fulfilling are that of which the Prophet has written. And so you find that he then reveals himself as the time approaches for him to go to Jerusalem into chapter 9 now and to verse 51. You see, Luke is Moving his readers on, he says, as the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
So, the unfolding of Luke's Gospel is essentially moving. constantly in the direction of Jerusalem. And that all that is taking place needs to be understood in the fact that Jesus is a man with a message and he is a man with a mission. And in all of the journey, he is fulfilling the prophecy that he had used as his sermon in the synagogue in Luke chapter 4. When, in quoting from Isaiah the prophet, you remember he had read the section, The Spirit of the Lord is now upon me.
He's anointed me to preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. They were familiar with that material. What they were not expecting was for Jesus to sit down in the place of the teacher and to say to them, Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. What I've just read to you, he said, is here. That's what made the difference.
This is not something that is remote and in the future. This is something that is now and in the immediacy. Because the Son of Man has come seeking to save. Or was lost. That's chapter 19 and verse 10, which is the little closure to the story of the transformation in the life of a wee fellow called Zacchaeus, to whom we'll come presently.
Jesus, what are you doing?
Well, I came to seek and save what was lost. It's exciting. Because what it means is the person who comes to an event like this on the average Sunday and they say, you know. I don't think I'm remotely close to whatever's going on in there.
Well, you're closer than you think. In fact, you're far closer than the smug, self-satisfied creature who thinks that simply by showing up, they're somehow or another advancing themselves along the journey to heaven. They actually make it difficult for themselves to get to heaven. They think they're on the inside. They think they're found.
So Jesus came from the lost.
So they won't go to Jesus.
So unless they understand they're lost Then they will have no interest in us seeking shepherd.
Now, it's within that context, you see, that the unfolding drama of redemption is taking place. And that is why Luke then is constantly moving a thing forward towards Jerusalem. That's why he reminds his readers here that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. And specifically, he is in the region of Samaria and Galilee. And particularly, he says, as he was going into a village.
That fits. Because you wouldn't have lepers in the village. because lepers weren't allowed into the village. Lepers were on the margins of society. Lepers lived beyond the city limits.
They were ostracized because their leprosy was a contagious business. And so Luke says, they stood at a distance, the end of verse 12. And they stood at a distance. Of course they did. They had to.
They were outcasts. They constantly had to shout and make a fuss.
So that people would know there's lepers in the region because you couldn't get close to them in case you were caught up in their contagion.
So apparently they came as close as they dared. And they called in a voice, That was as loud as they might. Lord Jesus Christ. Have pity on us. Look at us, Jesus.
We live here. On the margins of society, we have to stay outside when everyone else is inside. We are cast off from our family members. We're cast off from all interpersonal relationships. The physicality of this is secondary, actually, to the psychological impact that it has upon us of being just completely marginalized and rejected.
Lord Jesus. Would would you have pity on us? Or, in contemporary terms, we might have shouted, Jesus, we're in a dreadful mess, save us. And when he saw them, He said Because he recognized these folks are helpless, these folks are confused, these folks have no one to look to as their leader.
So he just gives a word of direction. When he saw them, he said, go show yourselves to the priests.
Now you need to understand that the priests functioned as the purity inspectors. If you were in a condition of uncleanness, and particularly as it related to an illness, Then there were peculiar challenges represented and processes through which one needed to go. And so the process to which they would be sent is this temple process. It's the standard response. But what Jesus is saying is this: now you go and show yourself to the priest.
Why did an individual go show themselves to the priest? Because they were showing him, I don't have leprosy anymore. Would you stamp my ticket?
So what Jesus is asking them to do is to take a walk of faith. The leper cries, have pity on me. Jesus says, go show yourself to the priest. These guys We don't know what their conversation must have been, except we know that they said, fine, and they started off, and the miracle is recorded for us, and as they went, they were. cleansed.
And as they went they were cleansed. And one of them came back. This little incident is full of all kinds of distinguishing features. For example, those who have leprosy are distinguished from those who don't. The insider Is distinguished from the outsider, the Jew from the Samaritan, and here in their reaction to the miracle, the thankful.
from the unthankful. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice, threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him, and he was a Samaritan.
Now this is where I'm going to share with you my own wonderings about this. We're gonna have to wait till we get to heaven to confirm the accuracy. of this line of thought. But it appeals to me. The idea that what distinguishes these individuals here.
Is not thankfulness versus unthankfulness. It is seeing Versus not seeing. Look. One of them when he saw he was healed. Came back.
Now you say, well, surely if ten of them were healed, They all saw they were healed. But the inference seems to be that this chap saw something the other nine didn't see. And what he saw in his healing. made him go in a direction in which the other nine chose not to go. They continued with the responsibility that was before him.
He returns. And he praises God. He throws himself at Jesus' feet. And he thanks Jesus. It's all there in the text, isn't it?
He saw He came. He praised, he threw, he thanked.
Now where is the surprise? There's no surprise in being thankful. There is no surprise actually in praising God. Because as you read Luke's Gospel, we're told that the crowd was constantly praising God right from the very beginning. For example, after the healing of the raising of the widow's son, the same thing, and the people praised God.
There's no surprise in that. It is, if you like, the standard, appropriate response that is given to us all the way through the gospel.
So where's the surprise? The surprises that this chap fell at the feet of Jesus. Why? And thanked Jesus. Why?
Because he recognized that not only is God worthy of praise, But that the only fitting location to offer such praise. is at the feet of Jesus. The other nine are off to the temple. After all, Jesus told them to do that. What turns this guy back?
He says to himself, You know, it's not the temple that we need. It's Christ we need. The Samaritan sees in the gift The giver. There are plenty of people praising God. Praising God was if you like ho hum.
In the way that it is for many of you who are here today. The reason you're here is because, for want of a better phrase, you've come to praise God. You want to praise him because you're alive. You want to praise him because you've known the benefits of freedom and you've known the joy of family life and you have gained in employment and you have many things and you're a good American and you believe it is good for you to praise God. And it is.
But unless you see You will never fall at the feet of Christ. And recognize that that is the only location. at which God is met and praised. That he has revealed himself finally and savingly in the person of his son. And that when a man or a woman is transformed by the miraculous power of God, it brings them always to Christ.
Therefore, you should beware of any religious experience that takes you anywhere else other than Christ. or offers to you satisfaction beyond Christ. or separate from Christ. When he saw that he was healed, he said, You know what? I gotta go back to that man.
I think I understand. Who he is? You see, Because there's so many little bits left out here. Jesus says, go show yourself to the priest. What priest?
Well at the temple. What temple?
Well, there clearly was at least one Samaritan, there may have been more.
So the Samaritans worshipped in Gerizim. And the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem.
So where is Jesus sending them? Is a Samaritan supposed to go to Gerizim and show them to his priest? Is the Jews supposed to go to Jerusalem? What's the deal? It's the very same question you have in John chapter 4 when Jesus meets the Samaritan woman.
And remember, he puts his finger on her life. He says, Why don't you go call your husband? She says, I don't have a husband. He says, You're dead, right? You've had five husbands.
You've got to live in, love her. Then she says, Oh, she says, you Jews say that we should worship in Jerusalem, and the Samaritans say that we should worship on the mountain. What did Jesus say? The time is coming and has now come. When those who worship the Father will worship Him in spirit and in truth, because those are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
And where do they worship? They worship at the feet of Christ. They worship at the feet of Christ. That's the distinguishing feature. That's how you know that the person is seen.
As opposed to a generic interest in God. People come here all the time. They tell me they're interested in God. They've no interest in Jesus. God is a figment of their imagination, or God is a cosmic principle, or God is something, you know.
Oh, I love God. Yes, but have you fallen at the feet of Christ? Never.
Well then you're on you remain unconverted. You're without God and without hope in the world. The one leper who recognizes the identity of Christ and responds properly is of all things a Samaritan. Look at Luke again. And he threw himself at Jesus' feet and he says, Oh, thank you, Jesus.
And he was a Samaritan. In other words, He's not the one you expect to come and do this. What is Jesus doing? He's pointing out. That the rug is getting pulled again out from underneath the feet of those who think they're on the inside by virtue of their heredity.
We are the Jews. We are the children of Abraham. And uh da da da da didddly do. And Jesus says, listen, guys, I don't want to be unduly unkind to you, but here's the deal. I can raise up children from Abraham out of the pavement.
And if Abram really was your father, you would do what Abram did, namely believe and trust. But since you don't, then frankly, your father is the devil, and he's the father of lies, and you're telling lies as well. You can imagine saying, I'm not going back to that church. I'm never going back, listening to that, I'm not going to listen to that kind of material again. That was some of the rudest things I've ever had said to me in all my life.
No, it wasn't. It was as straightforward as it could possibly be. And it was purposeful in order that, in the same way that the surgeon puts his hand upon the problem, he may lance it in order to cure it. That's what Jesus does.
So the foreigner is the one. With the faith. The Jerusalem Temple used this very word foreigner in its signs. If you've been to the Jerusalem Temple as it now exists, you've seen the archaeological representations of how it once was: the court of the Gentiles and the Court of the Jews and so on. And when you came to one of the barriers, it essentially said, no foreigners beyond this point.
So, the person was excluded on the basis of their ethnic background. And Jesus says, isn't this remarkable? Weren't ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except the foreigner?
The foreigner is the one who, by dint of his faith, shows himself. to be following the pattern of the children of Abraham. He's not relying on status or externals or background. He's relying on the mercy, the pity, and the grace of God. What are you relying on this morning?
Are you relying on the fact that you come routinely to worship here? You read your Bible a lot? That you give alms to the poor, that you are involved in the United Way program, that you're really a fairly upright member of the community, and so on. That somehow or another God is just gauging everything, grading it on the curve, and eventually He'll be there. That somehow or another, you and I are found by virtue of our heredity, our background, who our grandfather was, or we're cozied up next to our dad, and we figure if dad goes, we'll be able to hang on to his jacket and we'll go with him.
I got news for you, it's not going to work that way. See, the message of Jesus remains today. A message of division. We already saw that in Luke's Gospel. He said, I came to divide families.
Fathers and mothers against their children, children against their parents, mothers and fathers disagreeing with one another over what? Over the issue of who Jesus is and why he came. Because you cannot follow the Lord Jesus wholeheartedly and be transformed by Him and also walk the way of your unbelieving friends and loved ones. It will divide you. Peter puts it clearly, he says, To those of you who believe, the Lord Jesus is precious, but to those who do not believe, he is a stumbling block and a block over which people fall and trip.
So do you believe? And is he precious? Or do you remain an unbeliever? And you stumble over him. You say, well, I worship God.
I meant a god, you know. I see the evidences of his goodness. I can see the fact that I'm better off than I might have been if I was born somewhere else. There are indications of His common grace everywhere. Yeah, but did you ever fall at His feet?
And to offer praise to Christ. I think that's the real deal. There were nine others who benefited. from what Jesus did in physical terms. But this one individual saw And seeing.
is believing. Seeing is believing. Do you see? Remember Jesus says to Nicodemus? Unless a man is born again.
He cannot C the kingdom of God.
So what do we need to do? We need to cry out to God. that he would enable us to see. Our needs Christ. and fall at his feet.
And call him Lord. and king. You're listening to Alistair Begg. UnTruth for Life. October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and so today we are offering a brand new book that Alistair highly recommends for anyone.
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Well, it means we are to demonstrate what at times can feel like opposing attributes. For example, we are to lead with confidence, while showing humility. We're to be dependent on God while we put forth individual effort. We're to be urgent and patient. Can feel like opposite ends of the spectrum, and finding the right balance is not always easy.
The book Both and Ministry is written to help you determine where your leadership style naturally leans and how you can become more balanced in a number of key areas. Whether you lead a church or a small group, Or you're the leader in a company, or in your community, even in your family. This is a book that will help you reflect Christ in your style of leadership. Again, the title is Both and Ministry, and you can request your copy today as our way of saying thank you when you support the Ministry of Truth for Life. You can look for the book on the mobile app or online at truthforlife.org slash donate or call us at 888-588-7884.
Thanks for listening today. Are you ready for the return of Christ? Tomorrow we'll learn why we need to be prepared. Right now. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life.
Where the Learning is for Living.
