“HUMILITY GIVES THANKS”
LUKE 17:11-19

I. Introduction
I have a question for you this morning. Do you think that genuine sincere gratitude, thanks-giving, and praise overflow from the heart of a man or woman who is filled with personal pride? You don’t? Why not? Could it be that such a one just naturally assumes that what-ever good may befall them is nothing more than what they have coming, what they deserve?

Think for a moment about modern advertising. How much of it plays to our natural human pride? How much of it says, either directly or indirectly, “Spend that on yourself, do this for yourself, do whatever it takes to get whatever it may be, and do it now. Don’t you deserve it?” It doesn’t seem to matter what the product or service may be, it’s all about you. This is even true with something as innocuous as a hamburger. “You deserve a break today!”

So if you think you deserve it (whatever it is), why would you be thankful for it when you get it? Isn’t it about time you got it? I mean, why did it take so long? I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say that this attitude about what we think we deserve is in the process of systematically destroying both the financial and moral fiber of this country.

While there have always been poor people who legitimately need some form of assistance, the last fifty years has seen such an explosive growth in government-run entitlement pro-grams that our entire society is being radically altered. What has the word “entitlement” come to mean? We’ve come to the point in this nation where half the American people are being taxed to pay for the so-called entitlements of the other half.

And is the other half humbly grateful and giving thanks? On the contrary, they’re claiming they deserve what they’re given – and more. We’ve created and are now nurturing, an entire sub-culture that believes it has a right to live off what could be called the “fat of the land.”

Isn’t it interesting that the growth of the entitlement culture in America seems to parallel the growth in the demand for new rights. Now we have the “right” to an abortion on demand as well as the “right” to a free cell phone. What’s next – the “right” to smoke marijuana? Oh, wait a minute. That’s already a right in Washington and Colorado. And so far, in at least nine other states, the use of “medical” marijuana is now legal.

And isn’t it ironic that while all these new rights are becoming a part of our national fabric, those rights for which our Founding Fathers laid their lives on the line, those rights they so carefully based on biblical principles and enumerated in the Constitution – in the original Bill of Rights – isn’t it ironic that those rights are under constant attack?

“I deserve it!” “I’ve got my rights!” These are not the cries of a humble heart. They are the demands of a prideful heart that thinks it is owed pretty much whatever it wants.
And while such sentiments are not directly spoken in this morning’s passage in Luke’s gos-pel, they can be heard and seen in the lack of thanksgiving and praise manifested by nine of the ten leprous men whom Jesus blesses and heals while He is on the road to Jerusalem. The Lord gives them a great gift, but there is no humility on the part of the recipients. There is no thanks offered and there is no praise given. Nine of the ten men simply receive the gift of God’s grace and run off. It almost appears as if they think they deserve His gift of grace and somehow have a right to it.
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II. Review
In Luke 17:1-10 we again saw that salvation is a gift of grace, that it cannot be earned by “being nice,” or by our efforts to keep God’s Law. God expects us to do those things. So the point Jesus made in vv. 9-10 was that you aren’t rewarded for doing what you are sup-posed to do. The humble heart knows that and expects no such reward, but the prideful heart wants to be recognized, recompensed, and rewarded for each and every good deed.

“Look at what I did. Do you know how hard I work? I sacrifice for you. I deserve some praise for this. Don’t I have a right to it?” Does that sound like anything that ever escaped Jesus’ lips? Or does it sound more like what flows from ours? Listen to Jesus…
*Luke 6:45
45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure (of his heart) brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

Last Sunday we learned two important truths. First, we learned that truly humble people are quick to forgive wrongs committed against them, whereas prideful people are not. Second, we learned that humble people are quick to serve others and just as quick to deflect the honor that comes with such service; whereas prideful people expect and even demand to be honored when they serve others. In both cases, with either those who are humble or pride-ful, “…(the) mouth speaks from that which fills (the) heart,” doesn’t it?
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III. Text
Today we will learn a third truth found in these first nineteen verses of Luke 17. It is that truly humble people never fail to offer up sincere thanks. In the process we’ll see that pride-ful people seldom even attempt to do so. Along the way we’ll learn that God pours out His grace on vast numbers of people who regularly receive it, take it for granted, and yet turn and walk away from Him. And we may even get some insight into verses like Matthew 22:14 that say, “…many are called, but few are chosen.”
*Luke 17:11-19 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
11 And it came about while (Jesus) was on the way to Jerusalem, that He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as He entered a certain village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;
13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 And when He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed.
15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorify-ing God with a loud voice,
16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samar-itan.
17 And Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine – where are they?
18 “Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this for-eigner?”
19 And He said to him, “Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Just what was Jesus doing with His time during the three years between His baptism in the Jordan River and His crucifixion on Golgotha? The details of His ministry on this earth are beautifully summed up in Matthew 4:23 where it says, “And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.”

What about disease and sickness among us? I can teach in the church, and I can preach the gospel, but I can’t heal. And, by the way, neither can the so-called “faith-healers” out there today. But you and I can pray (and we should), and you and I can seek the best care modern medicine has to offer (and we should), but God alone is the one who heals.

Healing was a major aspect of Jesus’ ministry. He healed people who were possessed by demons. He healed people who suffered from debilitating diseases. He healed people who had been born with what we call “birth defects.” He created new body parts in the presence of eyewitnesses. And one other thing – He put the breath of life back into dead bodies.

Jesus’ miraculous healings proved beyond any doubt who He was. They were all clear and irrefutable evidence of His deity. He said, “…the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me (John 5:36b),” and “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves (John 14:11).”

In order for us to more fully appreciate the response of the ten men to Jesus’ healing of their leprosy, it may be helpful to understand just how horrific the disease can be physically, psy-chologically, and even socially. Today leprosy is known as Hansen’s disease, so named for the Norwegian scientist who identified the bacteria that causes leprosy. The disease attacks the skin, the peripheral nerves, and the mucus membranes. The skin folds into itself and often causes one’s nose to collapse.
Contrary to common belief, leprosy did not eat away at the flesh, but because of the loss of feeling to the extremities, fingers, toes, and even faces often became unknowingly damaged. The resulting disfigurement caused great fear among people. But because the disease was thought to be so highly contagious, those suffering from it found little sympathy and became outcasts from their own villages, their own families. They were virtually banned from the rest of their society.

All of this fed the notion that lepers must have been great sinners to suffer such a judgment from God. The Jews of Jesus’ day believed that sicknesses, diseases, birth defects, and all such maladies were the direct result of God’s judgments. Here is one example of that belief.
John 9:1-3
1 And as (Jesus) passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (Then He gave the man sight.)

Wait a minute! Does that mean God allowed this man to be born blind so that the day would come when the Son would glorify the Father when Jesus healed him? That’s exactly what it means! (back to Luke 17)

I believe that Jesus’ healing ministry is on display here in as profound and stunning a way as it is anywhere in the gospels. In Luke 17:11-19 we see incurable disease completely healed, resulting in sincere thanksgiving, praise, worship, and the gift of salvation. And we also see cold-hearted ingratitude, resulting in a lack thanksgiving, praise, worship, and salvation.

As we look into this morning’s passage you may want to remind yourself of the horrendous, incurable, and vile disease (sin) you had before Jesus healed you with His gift of salvation.
*Luke 17:11-14
11 And it came about while (Jesus) was on the way to Jerusalem, that He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as He entered a certain village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;
13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 And when He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed.

Today we know that Hansen’s disease is not contagious. But even if the first century Jews had known that, they still would have demanded that lepers be isolated from the rest of their society because rabbinic law taught that lepers were ceremonially unclean. That meant that if a leper even walked into a house, the entire building and everything in it became defiled.
To add insult to injury, people often threw stones at lepers to force them to keep their dis-tance from healthy people.

These ten lepers, suffering, lonely, and pathetic, were outcasts in every possible way. It isn’t hard to imagine how desperate they would be. In v. 13, as Jesus is about to enter a village – probably their own village, one they can no longer enter – they see Him, recognize who He is, and cry out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

“Master” is the Greek word “ĕpistatēs.” It speaks of one who has power and authority. In that day a military commander or a teacher would be called “master.” The lepers had heard of Jesus and His reputation for doing miraculous things. (By this time in Jesus’ ministry, it’s unlikely there was anyone in Galilee who had not heard of Him.) So they all called out to Him in the hope that He might heal them.

Now think about this for a moment. They are all desperate men. They all believe that Jesus is the One who does signs, wonders, and miracles. They all ask for a miracle. But are they saved? Does this kind of belief and this level of faith bring them the salvation of their souls?

In Luke 17:14 Jesus hears them and responds to their cries for help. But He doesn’t go to them and lay His hands on them. The Lord certainly has no qualms about touching a leper.
*Luke 5:12-13
12 And it came about that while He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.”
13 And He stretched out His hand, and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

So much for Jesus’ reluctance to have physical contact with a leper! There has been much speculation as to why Jesus didn’t just heal them on the spot. But it seems likely that in His sending the lepers away to be examined by the priests, the Lord wanted to test their faith. Would they obey Him? All ten of them do obey Him. They turn away, and as v. 14 says, “…as they were going, they were cleansed.”

In this classic case of understatement Luke simply reports the facts. And isn’t it interesting (some might say “ironic”) that these former lepers were now on their way to be examined by the priests, the very priests who persist in denying the deity of Christ. What a wonderful end to the story of the ten lepers. But, of course, it isn’t the end at all.
*Luke 17:15-19
15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorify-ing God with a loud voice,
16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samar-
itan.
17 And Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine – where are they?
18 “Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this for-eigner?”
19 And He said to him, “Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

What has just happened here? Let’s consider the spiritual lesson that we need to take from this miraculous physical healing.
1. Ten men have suffered from a horrible, and by all human standards, an incurable disease. Now don’t just think leprosy; think sin!
2. All ten have strongly expressed the desire to be healed from their malady.
3. All ten believed enough to obey Jesus’ command.
4. All ten had been healed. Their leprosy, their terminal physical illness was healed. But what about their other terminal illness, what about their spiritual illness, their sin?
So someone says, “All ten must be saved from their sin too. After all, don’t all ten believe in Jesus? Doesn’t their physical healing prove it?” Does it? Where, in this passage, is that said, or even implied?

And just to take this a step further, how often does God heal people who have no interest in Him, or His Son, or His Word, the Bible? Doesn’t that happen all around us all the time? It probably happened to you before you were a Christian, didn’t it?

Look closely at what has happened here. In v. 17 nine of the ten have received the gift of physical healing. None of them had a right to it. None of them deserved it. But it would appear that they thought they did. They took God’s gracious gift and ran off with it. They looked to themselves and ignored Jesus. They took God’s physical gift and ignored His spiritual gift. They took care of the present and ignored the future. And they did so without so much as a “Thank You.” So I ask you, “Where is there any evidence that the nine lepers were saved?” There isn’t any!

Look again at vv. 15-16. One of them received God’s gift of physical healing and immedi-ately understood something that had completely escaped the other nine. This man Jesus was God in human flesh and this physical healing was only a shadow of what this tenth man truly needed. Are you beginning to see the difference between the so-called belief of the nine men who walked away with their physical healing and the one who turned back for more?

Let me suggest that this is a wonderful picture of the difference between a simple belief in the man Jesus, which saves no one, and the humble faith in Christ that saves a soul. It was this tenth man alone who knew he needed to be forgiven, saved, and reconciled to God. As a result of this knowledge and the conviction in his soul, the tenth man did three things. All three are marks of a true believer.

In v. 15 he glorified God – loudly! In v. 16 he worshipped God and gave Him thanks.
Loudly glorifying God is an indication of strong emotion. It also tells us that he was not ashamed of his emotion and didn’t care who heard him. Coming to Jesus and falling on his face at Jesus’ feet in v. 16 presents a clear picture of true worship and the sincere humility that always accompanies such worship of the One who has saved our eternal soul. This man knows who Jesus is and his actions are an affirmation of his knowledge of the Lord’s deity.

There is no pride in this man. There is only humility before God. And humility expresses itself in the third thing the healed leper does. He has glorified God, he has worshipped God, and now he gives thanks! And what makes his response to Jesus all that much more remark-able is that he is a Samaritan.

Samaritans were hated by the Jews because the former had long since turned away from tra-ditional Judaism and had begun intermarrying with Gentiles. So Jews believed that they were far more religious and vastly superior to the Samaritans whom the Jews considered to be pagans, half-breeds, and lowlifes. As a result, they practiced a form of racism against the Samaritans that was every bit as hateful and virulent as any racism in the modern world.

In vv. 17-18 the Lord asks a rather obvious question. “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine – where are they? It’s as if Jesus is saying, “This man has recognized Me, glorified Me, worshipped Me, and humbly given Me thanks. The other nine also recognized Me, but where is their praise, their worship, their thanks? Where is their humility before God?”

How many of us are like those nine ungrateful lepers? Do we just take everything God so graciously gives us, none of which we have any right to or deserve, and just ignore Him and run off?

Just as this was the prevailing attitude among so many Jews in Jesus’ day, so it is among so many professing Christians of today. While so many of the Jews trusted in their heritage, the performance of their religious duties and rituals, and their so-called good works, so it is with so many who “believe” in Jesus today. They believe He can do great things for them, and so they expect great things from Him. And when, in His matchless grace, he blesses them, they take it for granted and walk away. Where’s the sorrow for their sin? Where’s the fear of God and the understanding and conviction of the judgment to come? Where is their thanks and where is their humility?

Do you remember what Peter said and what he did when he was fully impacted by the reality that it was the Son of the Living God who stood before him? Peter had fished all night and caught nothing. In the morning Jesus told him to go out again, “…and let down your nets for a catch (Luke 5:4).” He obeyed and his catch was so vast it nearly sank his boat and another one that came to his aid.
*Luke 5:8
8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
Now the story comes to an end. In v. 19 we see the conclusion. The Greek helps us to see the real beauty of this story. In English we read, “…your faith has made you well.” But weren’t the other nine made well too? They were made physically well, but they were not made spiritually well; not at all. How can we be sure?

The phrase “…made you well” in v. 19 is not translated from the Greek word “katharizō,” meaning cleansed. That word is used in v. 14. It is not translated from the word “iaŏmai,” meaning healed or cured. That word is used in v. 15. No, the word Jesus uses here in v. 19 is “sōzō,” the common NT word used to indicate a soul that has been saved from sin.
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IV. Conclusion
Ten men received a gift from God, but only one of them recognized it for what it truly was. Ten men had a passing interest in Jesus, but only one of them recognized Him for who He truly was. Only one humbled himself, praised God, worshipped Him, and gave thanks from
a sincere heart. And only one man was saved. All ten “believed,” but only one was saved.

Will you do what this leper did, what Simon Peter did, and what countless other men and women and boys and girls have done for the last two thousand years? Will you fall down at Jesus’ feet, ask His forgiveness, praise, worship, thank Him, and then trust Him and Him alone for your salvation? Yes? Then you will have humbled yourself before God and the gift of salvation will be yours.

~ Pray ~