Litwithprayer Podcast

Why Be Thankful? Luke 17:11-19

November 02, 2022 Litwithprayer Podcast
Litwithprayer Podcast
Why Be Thankful? Luke 17:11-19
Show Notes

One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving with friends and family. It’s the one day that most Americans take time to celebrate around a table, give thanks to God, and spend time catching up with each other. It’s also the day that many Americans see as “turkey day” without any thoughts of thanksgiving to God.

Throughout scriptures in the old and new testaments we see verses of giving thanks to God for His loving kindness, tender mercies, His goodness, His faithfulness, and awesome grace. (Psalms 106:1;I Thess. 5:18). King David in the book of Psalms wrote songs and verses  giving thanks and praises to God. Although he had many moral failures (committed adultery with Bathsheba and was responsible for the death of her husband), he was repentant and asked God for forgiveness. He had a very close relationship with God and through his lineage with Bathsheba, the Messiah would be born.

In the book of Luke, there was an occasion when Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem near the border of Samaria and Galilee.  He came across ten lepers who cried out to Him and asked Him to have mercy on them. Jesus responded and told them to go and show themselves to the priest. Why would Jesus respond this way?

During Jesus’ time on earth leprosy was an incurable contagious disease. The disease is caused by a bacterial infection that grows slowly and affects the nerves, skin, and mucous membranes. Untreated the disease will eat away at skin, cause blindness, loss of fingers and other extremities of the body, and eventual death. Because the disease was contagious those that had leprosy had to be separated from their families and the general public. They formed their own small communities like this group of ten lepers. According to Biblical law, only the priest could declare a person clean after inspection and that person would be allowed back into society. Today, leprosy is curable with antibiotics and drug therapy. It is not a common disease and most new cases are found in India.

The ten lepers had heard of Jesus and His healing and miraculous works. They did not come close to Him because it was against their laws to do so. Even from a distance they cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them. When Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest, they did as He said. They had faith for their healing and were obedient to do as Jesus instructed. They didn’t wait to see if they were healed first, they followed Jesus’ instructions. As they were on their way to see the priest, they were cleansed of the disease. One of the lepers when he saw he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God. He went back to Jesus, came close to Him and knelt by His feet and gave Him thanks. He was a Samaritan and not a Jew.

Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Jesus commented that the only one that returned to give glory to God was this stranger (Samaritan). Jesus said to the Samaritan, “Arise, go your way: your faith has made you whole.”  He was already cleansed of the disease but if he had any missing fingers or disfigurement, his body was made whole.

Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/why-be-thankful?sd=pf