Shalom,
God's promises are very different from men’s because His promises are "Yes" and "Amen" (2 Cor. 1:20) while men’s often fail and make us disappointed and angry.
Today what promise does Jesus want to convey through our meditation on His Word? The Gospel of Luke 17:11-19 tells of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. When He entered a village, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some distance away and shouted, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 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. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
It is clear that all the lepers were cleansed but only one was saved by faith.
The Bible says that believers have miraculous signs such as: casting out demons in the Name of Jesus, speaking a new language, holding snakes, not being harmed by drinking deadly poison, healing the sick (Mark 16:17-18). Talking about healing, it was Jesus’ daily work. He demonstrated miracle after miracle – healing, power over the universe, abundance of blessings, casting out evil spirits and even resurrection from the dead.
Introspection: Are we following Jesus with the goal of pursuing miracles and blessings? Have we thanked Him after getting the miracles and blessings? If we have, what actions should we take next?
On another occasion, Jesus was in a town when a leper saw Him, then he fell down and begged Him to be cleansed. Jesus reached out to touch the man and cleansed him. Then, Jesus told him to go showing himself to the priests and give a cleansing offering as an evidence for them. This miracle of healing made great multitude came to hear Him and be healed by Him (Luke 5:12-15). Here, Jesus only cleansed the leper but didn’t mention about salvation, although faith was able to heal, solve problems and even save people. Of course we are very happy to experience healing, but what about our faith regarding life after death?
Let’s explore further about the story of the ten lepers who were cleansed by Jesus. What actually happened that day? The leppers were standing some distance away when they came to Jesus. Why? Did they worry about infecting others? Didn't Jesus reach out and touch the leper who drew near to Him? (Luke 5:13).
These ten lepers shouted loudly for Jesus’ mercy and healing. It’s because their life was very sad. They had to obey the Law (Lev. 13:45-46) which instructed them to:
- Dress in torn clothes
- Have bare head and cover their moustache
- Exclaim about themselves, “Unclean! Unclean!"
- Live in isolation outside the camp
Can you imagine if the leper is our husbands/wives/children/families/friends? Can we bear seeing the suffering of those who are quarantined apart from their families without knowing when they will be healed?
The lepers’ appearances must be made different from that of healthy people. Thus, what kind of clothes does God want? Eccles. 9:8-9 writes, “Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.”
What happened to the ten lepers? They lived in exile, separated from their husbands or wives and families, waiting for a doctor or someone who was able to cleanse them. They must have heard that Jesus was able to cleanse the leper but they could not possibly meet Him because they were in exile. So, when hearing that Jesus was passing by, they didn’t waste their chance. They immediately cried out from a distance asking Him to have mercy on them.
What were the conditions for a person to be approved as clean from leprosy? He had to go to the priest to be examined from head to toe. The hair should be shaved off, clothes washed and the body washed with water (Lev. 14:9).
Doctor Luke precisely wrote that one leper who returned to thank Jesus was a Samaritan. Why? Because he wanted to tell us that the other 9 lepers were Jews. Furthermore, he purposely highlighted the significant difference between the self-aware Gentile who gratefully glorified God after being healed and the arrogant ungrateful Jews.
Notice, people who have met God won’t be proud of themselves but instead feel worthless. For example:
- Isaiah, when seeing God on the throne and His robes filled the temple, became afraid and confessed that he was a man with unclean lips and was in the midst of a nation (Jews) with unclean lips. He realized that those who met God would be doomed (Isa. 6:1-5). But God does not want people to perish but repent; that’s why his mouth was touched with a coal that was taken with tongs from the altar (vv. 6-7). Isaiah believed that his transgressions were blotted out and forgiven.
Application: Man's mouth is full of lies and falsehood but God is able to turn it into honest lips through His sacrifice. Isaiah confessed that the Jews had unclean lips. Then, what about us as the Gentiles?
- The apostle Paul was once taken up to the third Heaven, still, he claimed to be more proud of his weakness so that the power of Christ would come down over him (2 Cor. 12:2,5,9). In other words, God doesn’t accompany the proud.
After repenting, Paul, a Jew and Pharisee, confessed that he was the most sinful and had an unclean mouth because he used to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:13,15).
- The Apostle John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos as a political prisoner, fell like a dead man when he saw a man like the Son of Man (Rev. 1:13-17). “Then he heard a voice, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives. (vv. 17-18)”
Introspection: Don't get caught up in the testimonies of people who went to Heaven. When we meet God, we will realize who we are. Now we meet Him through the Word that we hear and read; therefore we should appreciate His Word.
Facing the ten lepers who begged for mercy, Jesus firmly told them to go before the priests. And they immediately left without any objections. They needed an avowal of being clean in order to be reunited with their families.
To the healed Samaritan who thanked Him, Jesus sent him away and said that his faith had saved him. What does it mean? Healing and cleansing was done by Jesus because of His sacrifice. What is the profit of being healed physically but losing our soul? Thus, don't feel content because we experience physical miracles (financial recovery, healing etc.); rather, be grateful because our salvation is guaranteed.
The Apostle John does not bring us to the literal and physical law but to the realization of our inner sins (cf. 1 John 1:8-9). When the conscience has been purified, the outside will be fine too. That's why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes who were hypocritical. They cleaned the outside of the cup and dish but the inside was full of extortion and self-indulgence (Matt. 23:25).
Jesus sought faith that touched His heart. The Samaritan leper initially asked for Jesus’ mercy but after being cleansed, he glorified God as he fell down and worshiped Him. This proved that Jesus is God and not just a prophet. While the gentile worshiped Him, the Jews hated and even crucified Him.
Application: If we dare to confess our sins, the blood of Jesus is very powerful to forgive all of our sins and cleanse us from all evil.
After his guilt was removed and his sins forgiven, Isaiah heard “the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?”” Then he immediately answered, “Here am I! Send me.”” (Isa. 6:8).
Likewise, after we are forgiven and our mouths are cleansed, the Triune God wants to use our lives. However, we must surrender ourselves completely without giving any excuses. We must return to our community, and our mouths must testify about God as a light to those who are still living in darkness. Be aware that whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. It’s impossible for good words to come out of an evil heart (Matt. 12:33-37). Through his confession, the Apostle Paul became an example for those who later believed and got eternal life (1 Tim 1:15-17).
Of course we are very grateful to God for the (physical) miracles that we have experienced. However, let’s continue by being willing to be sent to be His witnesses in our homes and communities. This way, those who haven’t known Him will believe and have faith to obtain the ultimate salvation that is only in Jesus, our Savior. Amen.