The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
October 9, 2016
Luke 17:11-19
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Were you at all surprised by our sermon text for today? Did you perhaps wonder if I got a little “confused” last week and thought that it was time to roast a turkey, bake a pumpkin pie and celebrate Thanksgiving? After all, the account of the Ten Lepers is very often the Gospel lesson for Thanksgiving Day! Most of us have probably heard more than one Thanksgiving sermon centered on the words, “He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him— and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’” Since this is a very common reading for Thanksgiving and since we are not celebrating Thanksgiving today, you may indeed have been somewhat surprised by our sermon text for this morning.
At the very same time, however this sermon text, this familiar account of the Ten Lepers, fits in very well with the sermon series that we have been following for a number of weeks now. Today then let’s see how the account of the Ten Lepers reminds us of this truth: As Disciples of Jesus— We Trust in Our Divine Healer. We trust in His mercy. We trust in His power.
Jesus was now making His way to Jerusalem for the very last time. Soon He would offer Himself as the sacrifice of atonement to completely pay for all the sin of all mankind. As Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem Luke tells us, “As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” or that cry for help could be translated, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
Since leprosy was a contagious incurable disease the Law of Moses required that anyone afflicted with leprosy must be isolated from the rest of society. That is how leper colonies came into existence. That meant that these men could not gather together with their families for any reason whatsoever. That meant that these men could not participate in the worship life of God’s people. That meant that if these men did find themselves anywhere near someone who did not have leprosy, they were required to warn that person by crying out “Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45, 46).
Being a leper was a very painful existence. Being a leper was a very lonely existence. For who knows how long these men could only count on other people fearing them, shunning them, avoiding them. Then they heard that Jesus of Nazareth was coming to the unnamed village here in our text. So what did they do? They boldly went out and “met him.” Standing at a distance as the Law required they joined their voices together and cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Somehow these men had not only heard about Jesus, but somehow they had also come to trust in Him as their “Master,” as their “Teacher,” as Someone who was filled with “mercy” for the helpless and the downtrodden. Had they heard about the “mercy” that Jesus had shown to the two blind men? (Matthew 9:27ff). Did someone tell them that this Rabbi from Nazareth had even shown “mercy” to a Canaanite woman by healing her demon-possessed daughter? (See Matthew 15:21ff) In the end it doesn’t make any difference how these ten lepers came to trust that Jesus, their Master, was a Man of mercy. What is important is that when these ten lepers knew that Jesus was near this village they went out to meet Him, trusting in His mercy. What is important is the example that these ten lepers have left for you and for me.
While none of us has leprosy there may have been times in our life when we experienced something similar to what these ten lepers lived each and every day. For one reason or another someone may have treated us as though we were “unclean.” Perhaps they said unkind things to us or about us because of something we did in our past or because of something they “heard” we had done. Perhaps they shunned us as though we had some kind of contagious incurable disease that they were afraid of catching. If— when— that happens to us, what do we do? We follow the example of the ten lepers here in our text, we turn to our dear Lord and Savior and we cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” And guess what, my friends? He will! I looked up every single time someone came to Jesus pleading for pity or asking for mercy. (Mercy = Matthew 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30; Mark 10:47; Luke 18:38; Pity = Mark 9:22; Luke 17:13). Guess how many times Jesus turned them down? Not once. Not even once! Even if no one else is willing to show us mercy, even when no one else has even an ounce of pity for us— as disciples of Jesus we can turn to Him at any time and for any reason (Pointing to the cross) and trust in His mercy. As disciples of Jesus we can turn to Him at any time and for any reason and ask Him to have pity on us.
Hand in hand with giving us a good example of how important it is to trust in Jesus’ mercy, these ten lepers give us a wonderful example of how important it is to trust in Jesus’ power. Look at what Luke reveals to us, “When he (Jesus) saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.”
The moment Jesus looked at these men it was obvious why they were crying out to Him to “have mercy” on them. And so as the all-powerful Son of the Almighty God Jesus very simply told them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” According to the Law of Moses only a priest could pronounce these men “clean.” Only a priest could give them permission to rejoin their family and friends and to gather together and worship the Lord in His holy Temple. Only a priest could give them their life back. So what did these lepers do? Trusting in Jesus’ power they immediately started making their way to the priests! I’ve always pictured them running to try and find the nearest priest. “And as they went,” Luke tells us, “they were cleansed.” Imagine that scene in your mind. Imagine these men running toward the village or running to wherever they thought they would find a priest and as they ran they could see the leprosy disappearing from their hands and fading away from their arms. Did they stop to take the cloth off of their face and feel that the tumors were gone? Did they jump up and down with tears of joy in their eyes as they assured each other that they were indeed healed? We don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all. In the end, however, it doesn’t make any difference, does it? What is important is that all ten of these lepers immediately went to show themselves to the priests— even before they were healed. What is important is the example that these lepers have left for you and for me.
Now we need to take this example and we need to apply it to our own hearts and to our own lives— on two different levels. The first level is the physical level. As we journey through this world we encounter a variety of problems along the way— problems that are far beyond our control, problems for which there seems to be no “cure.” The most obvious of these problems — especially considering our text for today— is medical in nature. Just because we are disciples of Jesus doesn’t mean that we are “immune” to things such as: heart disease or strokes or cancer or diabetes or a whole host of medical issues. While we thank the good Lord for the wisdom and the skills that He gives to doctors and nurses, while we thank the good Lord for the discoveries that He has allowed medical science to make— the medicines and the surgeries that may have been unthinkable just a few years ago, but have now become commonplace— in the end we know where to turn, don’t we. In the end we trust in His power to help us and to heal us. Some of us have already experienced that truth firsthand.
For example, I know people who were told that there was “no hope” for them. There was no medicine, there was no surgery, there was no “cure” for the physical problem(s) they were enduring. And yet, they and their family turned to the Lord in prayer, they and their family begged for His “mercy,” they trusted in His power and He healed them! (Pointing to the cross) I had a member in one of my previous congregations who was shot in the lower abdomen area. The doctors said after their body had some time to heal they would need to have specialized surgery to correct a problem the bullet had caused. When they went back to the doctor in preparation for the surgery the doctors were simply stunned! There was no need for surgery! Somehow this person’s body had already been healed! Yes, my friends, I have seen and heard of a number of cases where someone has turned to the Lord, begged for His “mercy,” trusted in His power and He healed them! You may know of similar situations as well!
But what if it doesn’t work? What if we don’t get better? What if we or our loved one dies? Does that mean that our trust in His power was misplaced? Does that mean that there are some things that not even God’s power can heal? Not in the least. This is where we need to take the example that these ten lepers left for us and apply it on a second level, on a higher level, on a spiritual level.
Far more serious than any physical problem we could ever possibly encounter here on this earth is the spiritual problem with which every human being is born. That spiritual problem is summed up in one word— sin. The original sin that infected us from the time we were conceived and born (Psalm 51:5) together with the actual sins that we commit against the God of heaven every single day of our life (Matthew 15:17ff; 1 Corinthians 6:9ff) guarantees that one day we will not escape the powerful grip of death. On our own we are helpless. On our own we are hopeless. There is no work we can perform to make up for even one of the sins we have committed against a holy, just and perfect God. There is no decision we can make to bring ourselves back into a right relationship with the Almighty.
Thank God, my friends, that as disciples of Jesus we trust in His power! (Pointing to the cross) Yes, we trust in Jesus’ power— the victorious power that was openly revealed to the world on Easter Sunday. We trust in Jesus’ power— the saving power that transforms ordinary water into “the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). We trust in Jesus’ power— the strengthening power that we receive every time we approach His altar to receive His true body and blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We trust in Jesus’ power— the comforting power that assures us that the instant our physical life comes to an end we will be ushered into our true life, our glorious, perfect eternal life in our heavenly Father’s home. That’s the guarantee that God Himself gives to everyone who trusts in Jesus’ power! (See John 11:25-27; 14:1-3)
If you were surprised by the sermon text that we have before us today, let me give you a “heads up.” This very same portion of Scripture is scheduled as the Gospel Lesson for— Thanksgiving! While I doubt that I will choose to preach on this same text in just a few short weeks, there is no doubt that this portion of Scripture has value that goes far beyond encouraging us to give thanks to the Lord. My prayer this morning then is that as disciples of Jesus we will follow the example that all ten of these lepers give to us and trust in our divine Healer. Trust in His mercy. Trust in His power.
To God be the glory!
Amen
