seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Luke 17:11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Yesterday, the lesson was about Sin, Faith, and Duty. I didn't include these verses in the lesson because they didn't seem to fit. My online Bible separated them so i did. I should have included them. These verses are also about Duty.We have a Duty to Praise!
We have a Duty to Thank Him!
Once we become children of God, we need to let Him know we love and respect Him. We do that for our earthly father, why not God?
Some are saying, "My dad was a bum, I don't owe him Jack." God is not a bum, and you gave up your earthly Dad when you accepted Jesus as your Savior. That is of course, if you have joined the family of God. We have an excellent Father in God.
Dr. Luke says ten men were healed. He says they were healed at a distance. Jesus didn't lay a hand on them; He just healed them from where they were. I know, a preacher would say "He'll meet you where you are too". Do you know what that means?
Dr. Luke says they were sent to the priests. One laid back and thanked Jesus personally for the healing. He wasn't a Jewish National. He was a Samaritan, and he wouldn't be welcome in the Temple. He had a duty, though, to praise God. He had a duty to thank Jesus. Some mere human doctors would have singled him out and left him with leprosy because he wasn't of the correct clan of Abraham. Jesus didn't see the difference. Jesus saw a human, from the clan of Noah, in need. Jesus healed the man, because the man showed faith in the fact Jesus could heal him just as He would heal the other nine.
The other nine weren't ungrateful, I'm sure. They were just doing as they were told, I'm sure. They were on their way to the Temple to tell the priests that Jesus healed them from far away on the Road to Jerusalem. The Samaritan had no priest to go check in with. While the other nine are now welcome back in the Temple, where they were to praise God by sacrifice, the Samaritan had nowhere to go to give thanks. So, the Samaritan, found Jesus and thanked Him personally.
Is that why the Christian Church spends more time thanking Jesus than thanking God? Is it because most Christians are not of Jewish descent, like the Samaritan? Does our lack of clan restrict our access to God, so we thank Jesus, our Brother in Christ, in God's stead?
Some will read this and think the Samaritan was the only one of the ten who was properly thankful. The other nine were doing as they were told. They were now walking the narrow path. The Samaritan wasn't welcome in the Temple. He just knew Jesus. Jesus would introduce him to his new Father. Jesus would handle his sacrifice. The priests in the Temple wouldn't have afforded him the opportunity to make the proper sacrifice at the temple. Jesus would provide his sacrifice for him. Jesus would show him where to join the narrow path.
We have a duty to Praise.
We have a duty to Thank Him.
