Ten Were Cleansed, One Received Jesus

July 9, 2023 · Luke

Series · Luke · Week 26 of 34

Scripture referenced 8 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Lamentations 3:22-23 opened worship with 'the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, and his mercies never come to an end, great is his faithfulness'

22 It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail.
23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.

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Matthew 5:16

quoted before the offering song: 'let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven'

16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

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Leviticus 13

described as a journal of medicine giving descriptions of what constitutes leprosy and isolation rules

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

2 “When a man shall have a rising in his body’s skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons, the priests:

3 and the priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body’s skin, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.

4 If the bright spot is white in the skin of his body, and its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, and its hair hasn’t turned white, then the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.

5 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and, behold, if in his eyes the plague is arrested, and the plague hasn’t spread in the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days.

6 The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and behold, if the plague has faded, and the plague hasn’t spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

7 But if the scab spreads on the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again.

8 The priest shall examine him; and behold, if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.

9 “When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest;

10 and the priest shall examine him. Behold, if there is a white rising in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the rising,

11 it is a chronic leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not isolate him, for he is already unclean.

12 “If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest;

13 then the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the leprosy has covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean of the plague. It has all turned white: he is clean.

14 But whenever raw flesh appears in him, he shall be unclean.

15 The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean: the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.

16 Or if the raw flesh turns again, and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest;

17 and the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the plague has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean of the plague. He is clean.

18 “When the body has a boil on its skin, and it has healed,

19 and in the place of the boil there is a white rising, or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be shown to the priest;

20 and the priest shall examine it; and behold, if its appearance is lower than the skin, and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy. It has broken out in the boil.

21 But if the priest examines it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it, and it isn’t deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall isolate him seven days.

22 If it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a plague.

23 But if the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn’t spread, it is the scar from the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

24 “Or when the body has a burn from fire on its skin, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white,

25 then the priest shall examine it; and behold, if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and its appearance is deeper than the skin; it is leprosy. It has broken out in the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.

26 But if the priest examines it, and behold, there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it isn’t lower than the skin, but is faded; then the priest shall isolate him seven days.

27 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.

28 If the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn’t spread in the skin, but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar from the burn.

29 “When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard,

30 then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is an itch, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.

31 If the priest examines the plague of itching, and behold, its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person infected with itching seven days.

32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch isn’t deeper than the skin,

33 then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the itch; and the priest shall shut him up who has the itch seven more days.

34 On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread in the skin, and its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

35 But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing,

36 then the priest shall examine him; and behold, if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest shall not look for the yellow hair; he is unclean.

37 But if in his eyes the itch is arrested, and black hair has grown in it; the itch is healed, he is clean. The priest shall pronounce him clean.

38 “When a man or a woman has bright spots in the skin of the body, even white bright spots;

39 then the priest shall examine them; and behold, if the bright spots on the skin of their body are…

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Leviticus 14

referenced as the chapter about the cleansing and declaration of a leper as clean

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest,

3 and the priest shall go out of the camp. The priest shall examine him, and behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper,

4 then the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.

5 The priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.

6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.

7 He shall sprinkle on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird go into the open field.

8 “He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.

9 It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water, then he shall be clean.

10 “On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without defect, and one ewe lamb a year old without defect, and three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

11 The priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

12 “The priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering, with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.

13 He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy.

14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

15 The priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.

16 The priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before Yahweh.

17 The priest shall put some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering.

18 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, and the priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh.

19 “The priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness: and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering;

20 and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

21 “If he is poor, and can’t afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil;

22 and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.

23 “On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, before Yahweh.

24 The priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.

25 He shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

26 The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand;

27 and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Yahweh.

28 Then the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering.

29 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before Yahweh.

30 He shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he is able to afford,

31 even such as he is able to afford, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meal offering. The priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before Yahweh.”

32 This is the law for him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to afford the sacrifice for his cleansing.

33 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

34 “When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of your possession,

35 then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘There seems to me to be some sort of plague in the house.’

36 The priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes in to examine the plague, that all that is in the house not be made unclean. Afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house.

37 He shall examine the plague; and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and it appears to be deeper than the wall;

38 then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut…

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John 1:3

cited to establish that Jesus made all things, supporting the meaning of epistata

3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made.

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Colossians 1:15

cited alongside John 1:3 to show Jesus upholds all things by the word of his power

15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

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Luke 17

the primary passage for the sermon, the healing of the ten lepers

1 He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

3 Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

4 If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6 The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

7 But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say, when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table,’

8 and will not rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me, while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’?

9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not.

10 Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”

11 As he was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

12 As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.

13 They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.

16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?”

19 Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

20 Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation;

21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”

22 He said to the disciples, “The days will come, when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

23 They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away, nor follow after them,

24 for as the lightning, when it flashes out of the one part under the sky, shines to the other part under the sky; so will the Son of Man be in his day.

25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26 As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.

27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;

29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all.

30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.

32 Remember Lot’s wife!

33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.

34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. The one will be taken, and the other will be left.

35 There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other will be left.”

37 They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there will the vultures also be gathered together.”

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Acts 1:8

referenced as Jesus telling disciples they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

This message came from Luke 17, the account of ten men with leprosy who cried out to Jesus and were healed, with only one returning to give thanks. Pastor Preston used that contrast to talk about the difference between receiving a gift and actually receiving the giver. The whole passage turned on one word: the Greek verb sozo, meaning to save, which Jesus used only for the one who came back.

What was said

To make sense of the passage, Pastor Preston gave some background on what leprosy meant in the biblical world. Leviticus 13 and 14 describe a wide range of skin conditions, not just what we now call Hansen's disease. Whatever the specific condition, being declared leprous by a priest meant total separation from family, work, and community. The only people you could be near were other lepers, which is why ten of them were traveling together in the first place, a group that, as Pastor Preston noted, likely crossed the usual cultural divide between Jews and Samaritans.

When they spotted Jesus entering a village, they stayed at the required distance and called out to him. What they asked for was not healing specifically. They asked for mercy. Pastor Preston paused on that word because he said it runs through the entire Gospel of Luke, from Mary's song to Zechariah's, from the Good Samaritan to the short man in the tree to the man hanging on the cross beside Jesus. In Luke, no one who cries out for mercy goes without it.

Jesus told all ten to go show themselves to the priests, and as they were going, they were cleansed. Pastor Preston made a brief point here about the participial form of the word for "going," the same construction used in the Great Commission, a continuous going rather than a single commanded departure. The healing happened in motion, on the way.

One man, when he saw what had happened to him through his torn clothing, turned back. He did not stop at a distance this time. He was clean and he knew it, and he ran back, fell on his face at Jesus' feet, and gave thanks. Luke then adds the detail that he was a Samaritan, an outsider by every standard the disciples around Jesus held. Pastor Preston said Luke adds that detail deliberately, because the disciples still needed the lesson that the reach of mercy is wider than they were comfortable with.

Jesus asked where the other nine were, not, as Pastor Preston read it, in anger or grief, but in a way that drew attention to what this one man had done differently. The nine were presumably headed to their priests, following the instruction they had been given, and those priests should have asked who healed them. But they are not the focus. The focus is the one who recognized what had happened and came back.

When Jesus told him to stand up and go, the word translated "made you well" is sozo, the root of soteriology, the same word used for salvation throughout the New Testament. Pastor Preston explained that it is in the perfect tense, meaning something that happened at one point with consequences that extend forever. The other nine received their healing. This man received Jesus. His trust in God's faithfulness had saved him in a way that, as Pastor Preston put it, nothing would ever pluck away.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

The pastor connected the lepers' cry for mercy to a recurring pattern throughout Luke's Gospel. Where else in Luke have you seen someone cry out for mercy, and what does that pattern tell you about how God responds to people who feel unworthy or outcast?
The ten lepers obeyed Jesus and headed toward the priests before they were healed. What does that kind of obedience look like in your own life, and how hard is it to act on what God says before you see the result?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Speaker 2Check. One, two, test, test. Good morning. Preston and Nick, have your I think there's no vocal in Amy's monitor. Check.

Check. Check. Check. Check. Check.

One, two. Test. Test. Test. Check one.

That's better? Check one two. Check check Yep. One two. Check check check.

Well, good morning, everybody. Good to see you this morning. How are we doing? What do you say we open with a, with a song together? Would you stand with me, and and and we'll join in in in worship together?

So here's a good word from, Lamentations to lead us in worship. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, and his mercies never come to an end. Great is his faithfulness. Let's start by singing morning by morning. Daily day, I surrender.

Daily, daily, I morning by morning.

Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I've got a few announcements and we've got a kind of special guest this morning too. The announcements, we'll see what comes up. There's a lot going on.

Actually, one thing to announce is there was a church bee camp out this weekend. So some of the holes in the place here are because they are gathered around a campfire down there, having a little church service down there this morning. But welcome for those of you who are here. Monday night's the first b.

Speaker 2Yep. We are on tomorrow with a mule music and message. Barb is cooking, and we're in Mark chapter 14 where Jesus has the last supper with his disciples. And there's such a good such great takeaways from that, especially the new covenant. So know that it's a worship service down the hall on Mondays at 06:00, and we'd love for you to jump in and join.

Speaker 1Meal, music, and a message, Mark fourteen, and it's a conversation afterwards. It's always a good time. The first BBQ, the first BBQ, last one we had was last of June. We're having another one July 23. So July 23 is coming up.

It'll be out here, not the last, but the fourth. Not the last, but the fourth Sunday of the month. We're going to have barbecue out here between services, games, food, fun, fellowship, and lingering around afterwards. It's fun. So that will happen July 23.

Compass Women's Care. This was formerly Turning Point. Compass Women's Care is having their annual gala July 11. That is Tuesday, 05:30 to 07:30 in the evening. It will be at the end of High School Road where it meets South Park Loop.

You all know where that is, CBC's grassy area out there. That's where it's gonna be. 07/11/2023. I if you wanna know more information, you can ask Carolyn Marzyniak or you can talk to any of us and we'll get you a little more info. If you'd like more information in general about what's going on at church, you can sign up for weekly church announcement, Emails at first b jackson dot org.

Hey, this is a new one. Kitchen committee is forming. Minimal commitment required. Hey, we're not asking you to be in charge, but we are asking you to help. So kitchen committee is forming.

Contact Nancy Traziano at that number, 699-9789, and she'll get you set up. Now it says stay tuned, be right back. This is so that Preston and the booth can have a chance to cut out sound and whatnot for the people listening online. We've got

Speaker 2comfort and counselor, prince of peace, author and maker of everything, defender, deliverer, king of kings, heals, helper and healer for I thank you for the very, very real invitation to come to you, all who are weary and carry heavy heavy burdens, and you will give us rest. Thank you, Lord, for rest. Thank you for a peace that passes understanding. Lord, would you calm any troubled heart in this room and give us peace. In Jesus' name, amen.

To the Lord. And Amen. I could just keep singing. This is so good but we're going to take just a moment to to have a time worship through giving. If you would have a seat just for a moment, I'm going to sing, for your glory from Matthew five sixteen, Jesus says, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.

Before we sing, Ray, would you pray?

Speaker 1God almighty, we thank you for the place to gather this morning. I thank you, Lord, that we're not under a threat here. We're not under a threat, but our brothers and sisters in Christ are, Lord, all over the world. Under threat of their assembly being raided, under threat of being thrown into prison, just like Paul. Lord God Almighty, I I pray that you would do what only you can do in their midst, in our midst, through them, through us to reach a lost and dying world.

God, we ask for your supply, and we know that your will done in your way, Lord, won't lack that supply. I pray that we would be doing your will, Lord. Give us the direction and the strength to go forward to advance the gospel right here in this neighborhood, right here, right here, this block, here, Lord, and extend into the very uttermost parts. When we think of earthquakes and wars and rumors of wars and everything else, Lord. I pray that you would touch our hearts with whatever it is that you want for us to do about that.

It may be comforting It may be reaching out. We don't know, Lord, but we trust that you will show us. You are completely faithful and able. And Lord, that's what we wanna be, more like you. Faithful and able to help, to comfort with the same comfort we've been comforted, to forgive, to be merciful, to be gracious.

Lord, would you take these offerings and do with them whatever it is you wanna do? Amen. Amen. Alright. It's time for children's church downstairs.

Yeehaw. There they go. Alright. Well, we're up to Luke 17. A word on this.

I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, a few weeks ago. Went to the dermatologist and they said, you need to pay attention to what it is that you're touching with this, this, and this digit. This one, this one, and this one. Good news is it's not fungal because it would have affected both of those two. But this, this, and this, you're doing something that's agitating and aggravating this.

It's been happening for like eighteen months. Honestly, if you look at Leviticus 13, it might be leprosy. I don't know. As I was going into the doctor, she said, you're doing something. And then that was on a Monday morning.

On a Monday night, I came in here and played the bass, and those are the three fingers with which I play the bass. And so she said, just put this cream on, wear a glove. So that's what I've been doing. I can take it off now, but I don't think anybody wants to shake my left hand. Right?

That's, this is 10 lepers receiving healing. And just seeing somebody with a glove on or a mask on these days, we kinda give them a wide berth, don't we? We back away, and we kinda act like, I'm not sure what's going on there, but I know I don't want any part of it. So 10 lepers receive their healing. I think one returns and receives Jesus.

Right? So that's what we're gonna look at today. This is all that we're gonna cover today. This is the nine verses that we're gonna go over. I'll break it down, put the words bigger.

But it's about leprosy. And if you don't know what leprosy is, most times when preachers mention it, we go with what is modernly called leprosy today. What is called leprosy is Hansen's disease, but that's probably that leprosy in the Bible according to Leviticus thirteen and fourteen is a wide range of skin conditions. It's not just Hansen's. Hansen's disease is really helpful in the way we think about it, and I use that in Luke five when Jesus came upon the untouchable leper.

Right? Hansen's disease causes, deadening of the feeling in the tips of your fingers and grows from there, ears, everything else. Sensitivity dies, and so you can't tell whether you're burning or freezing. You're completely numb to it and it ends up causing people to hurt themselves because they're insensitive to stimulus, pain. And so that's what a lot of times people go with.

But it can be a wide range of things. What you were supposed to do if you had any kind of a blemish instead of going to a dermatologist and sitting there in your underwear. You would go to the priest. You went to the priest, and the priest was supposed to determine. He's supposed to be the expert.

The Bible has some different descriptions like a journal of medicine. Right? It has different descriptions for what would constitute leprosy. This is. This isn't.

This, let them stay away for a week from everybody else, and that's just temporary. Let them stay away for another week. If it responds to treatment, give it a while, and then they can come back in. But if somebody was declared leprous, they were completely apart from the community, and it was a living death. It was not a good situation to be in.

You had all kinds of rules that you had to go by. The way that people wore their clothes is customary dress. But if you were leprous, it was to be as if you had torn your own clothes. So you had to wear torn clothes all the time. That was a warning to people that you had leprosy.

And when they were coming up upon you on their journeys, you were supposed to let them know, hey. I'm unclean. Unclean over here. That's on you to let them know. You can't you know?

So avoiding people, it would be easier to stay a good distance from them and not have to let them know that you're unclean. Just avoiding people unless they were lepers. And so leper colonies, you should hear about every once in a while. But lepers can be around other lepers. Now that's not good if it's biblically a wide range of diseases.

Now these people who have all been outcasts are together sharing different diseases. That's tough. But it is a community. And so they typically travel in a community. And sometimes that community they traveled in would break down other cultural and social barriers.

So this is where we are in scripture. Luke 17. Last week, we went over four things I think that are related. Some people think they're just disjointed proverbs, but I think they're related about oh my goodness. You can go back listening to last week.

I I don't even remember what it was about. It's in there somewhere. False teaching, forgiveness. There it is. False teaching, forgiveness, faith, and then doing your reasonable service, whatever that is.

Not all of us are called to go into the extended international mission field. Not all of us are called to be teachers. Not all of us are called to be pastors. Not all of us are called to do that, but we are all if we're Christians, we're all called for something, and God's empowered us to do something. So doing that is the last thing that was mentioned is just be doing whatever is your reasonable service before God.

While he was on the way to Jerusalem, Luke turns in nine fifty one. Everything from that point forward is Jesus has set his face on Jerusalem and he is going towards the cross And he does so. He set his face like flint. Right? He's certain of that.

Now, it's unusual that we would see this right here because last time we saw Jesus, he's in this green area here, which is Perea, Transjordan across the Jordan where John was first ministering, John the Baptist. So we see him in Perea over here. And this says that he was traveling somewhere in between Galilee and Samaria. So Galilee and Samaria is the blue area and the yellow area, but he's on his way to Jerusalem, which is in the red area. So he's apparently coming back up through the green area and catching something, maybe forgot something at home, I don't know, and going down from there to Jerusalem.

And it says, as he entered a village, not specific about which village. It's somewhere, Galilee, Samaria. We don't know. As he entered a village, 10 men with leprosy were outside of the village, and they stood at a distance, and they met him. But their meeting is like for me to Diane over there.

It's a ways over there. They see him apparently first from the text. It looks like they see him first. And as he entered the village, 10 men with leprosy who stood at a distance met him, and they raised their voices in unison. Oh, boy.

They all had the same condition. They all felt solidarity. And they all cried out in their voices and said, Jesus, master, have mercy on us. That's that's an acknowledgment right there. Master is only used in Luke.

It's epistata. Since Andrew is here, I'm going to use Greek, why intensifies standing. It's someone properly that has the legal standing of ownership, referring to the one who is the master in charge, the one who has been fully authorized there, aptly acknowledged as the leader. Supremely, we get from John one:three that he made it all, and it's his. And Colossians one fifteen, he upholds all things by the word of his power.

Supremely, this epistata refers to Jesus. He's the head. He's the owner of all things. He's the inheritor of all things. So epistata is what they call him.

And when he saw them, so they call out and he turns to see them. But where were they? They were still standing at a distance because they were supposed to. They were going by the rules. And he saw them and he said to them, apparently still from a distance.

Now the last time the the reason this is significant is the last time there was a guy that said, I have leprosy. He knows he's untouchable. And he says, if you will just say the word, I'll be healed. All you gotta do is say the word. I trust you.

I believe you. Just say the word, and I'll be healed. And he reached out, and he touched it. He didn't have to. Jesus does things different.

Right? He does things differently all over the place. I'm sure we would institutionalize it if he did it the same way. He touched the untouchable. And in this case, these 10 guys are standing afar off, and he says to them, y'all go and show yourselves to the priest.

Second person plural, y'all go. Show yourselves to the priests. And it's and it's outside of a village. You think, well, surely there's only one priest. But it's in between Galilee and Samaria.

There are 10 of them. They've been outcast. They found each other. Y'all go show yourselves to the priests, presumably to the priest who declared them leprous. Okay?

That would be the typical thing. The last doctor that saw you is the one you go back to say, Am I healed from this yet? And that's by Leviticus 13. This is what they should have done. To well, actually, Leviticus 14 is about the cleansing of a leper, which doesn't happen.

You know, it's not it is a sign that Messiah is here. And John even said it's a sign that Messiah is here. But Leviticus 14 was about how to declare someone clean, not leprous. Go and show yourselves to the priest. There were 10 of them.

Priests, if they're between Galilee and Samaria, they could be Galilean, Galilee of the Gentiles, but there were Jewish priests there. Samaria was a land that the Jews, especially Judeans, sought to be half breeds, ne'er dwells. They only had the first five books of the Bible. They didn't believe the prophets. They had a an off theology.

It wasn't it wasn't a pure theology like they practiced. You know? So go show yourselves to the priests. Could have been in any of these regions. And the next thing in the text says, and as they were going, they were cleansed.

Amen. What did they cry out for? Let's back up. What did they cry out for? Did they cry out for healing?

Where were they? Jesus, master, have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. So that backs me up for a second. If your theology, and I know y'all wouldn't think of this theology, it's a primitive theology, is that bad things happen to bad people, good things happen to good people.

If you mention a run of bad goings on in your life down south, people say, whoo, you must not be living right. Right? Well, was Paul living right? He had a long list. Master, owner and lord of all, Jesus, master, have mercy on us.

In some way, they felt like they deserved what they had. The theology that's so sticky, primitive religion that, oh, keep yourself away from them. They've done something to deserve this paralyzation, or they've done something to deserve this leprosy. And they even believed it. But what they're crying out for is mercy.

Jesus, master, have mercy on us. Where were we? Right here. And as they were going. I like that.

In the Great Commission, it's a participle, it's the same participle. Instead of go ye therefore imperative, it is as you are going, be baptized and teaching them to obey all that I've commanded. I just like that. That's a sideline. As they were going, they were cleansed.

They were cleansed, so they were healed of their leprosy, and they are walking towards the priests that should be able to declare that they are. But you know what happened the last time they were with those priests? Oh, boy. The last time that they were with those priests, they were separated from their families. They were separated from their jobs.

They were separated from their community. And they only found community with other people that had been separated and were alone. Woah. As they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them one of them out of ten, one of them, when he saw that he had been healed can you imagine walking back like I'm headed to the priest?

I'm headed to the priest. He said, go see the priest. And you're going, and through your ragged torn clothes, you start to see that those lesions are going away. When he saw that he had been healed, he turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. Look at this.

Yeah. It's one of those kind of glorifying God. He cries out, glorifying God. I knew you could do it. I knew you could do it.

Have mercy on me. He does. God, thank you so much. And he fell on his feet. Fell on his face at his feet.

He fell on his face at his feet. That's a posture of worship. He falls on his face, prostrate before Jesus, at his feet. Now all those other guys got healed from afar off, but when he came back, he didn't stop afar off. He was clean, and he knew it.

He had been transformed, and he ran back, I'm sure, glorifying God the whole way, skipping, and he falls on his face at Jesus' feet, and he gives thanks to him. Now giving thanks to Jesus is glorifying God. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. He is the established means of forgiveness, of mercy, of grace. So he's given thanks to him, and Luke adds, and he was a Samaritan.

Oh, thank you, Luke. It's not just for insiders that know all of their Bible verses. He cried out for mercy, and Jesus gave him mercy. You know what? In the book of Luke, no one ever cries out for mercy that doesn't get it.

They always get it. If you look at the book of Luke, just back away from it for a second. Go back and read it. When the angel comes to Mary and says, you're gonna bear the savior, basically. She says, oh, what mercy?

It's about mercy. When Zechariah finally gets to talk again, it's about the mercy of God. When he touches the untouchable, it's an act of mercy, but he doesn't mention the word. When we get to the story of the Good Samaritan, there's somebody that said he's seeking to justify himself. And he asked, Who's my neighbor?

And he says, Well, let me tell you a story. He tells him the story of the Good Samaritan, and we get to then he says, Now you tell me which one acted neighborly and which one was the neighbor. What do you get from this story? And the guy says, I suppose the one who showed mercy. Amen.

That's what it's about. We all all are outcast. But calling out to Jesus for mercy, he responds with mercy. This guy was a Samaritan. It's not limited to just us.

It is a bigger group than just us. He was a Samaritan. So in Luke's gospel, there's that. Actually, if you go forward from here, you'll see a little short man climbing a tree to get to see Jesus, and he gets mercy. And you'll see a guy hanging on a tree next to Jesus, and he gets mercy.

It's good. Jesus responded said, well, weren't there 10 of y'all? Were there not 10 that were cleansed? But the other nine, where are they? Well, like I said before, it said, go show your priests.

Presumably, they were scattered all over the place. It might have gone nine different directions. But I think Jesus' point I see this with a smile on my face. I might be reading that in, but I I see Jesus saying, where are they? What's going on?

I don't think he was sad, upset. I think he just was recognizing that guy recognized what happened. Were there not 10 cleansed but the nine? Where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

Now, except this foreigner, you can read that and go, foreigner. Or you can see that his disciples are around him, and they still need this lesson. They keep on needing this lesson. They still need this lesson in Acts. Right?

They clump up in Jerusalem even though he said, you're gonna be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts. He says that, and they still are fighting that until Stephen's stoning them. Maybe it's a good idea we get out of here. So there was no one found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner. And he said to him, the one who turned back and came back, glorifying God in a loud voice, falling at his feet, giving thanks to him, he said to that guy, Stand up and go.

Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well. Now, I mentioned last week, I mentioned at a funeral recently, I mentioned the concept of faith and faithfulness go hand in hand. There's an argument among theologians whether pistis means subjective faithfulness that you can have or the objective faithfulness of God. And a lot of times, when you look at something, you go, I wish I had faith like that.

I wish I had faith. I wish I had more faith. Like last week, the disciple said, increase our faith because we can't forgive as easily as you can. Increase our faith. And he says, not that you need more faith.

You just need to have faith in a greater God, right? You need to know that God is able and he is faithful and he's already leaning towards you with grace and when you place your trust in his objective faithfulness, he is able. He is mighty to save. That's what he does. When you accept that, you have placed your faith.

In his faithfulness, he makes you well. And this, you might read it and say, well, I wonder if those others, if their leprosy came back. No. No. No.

It says they were cleansed. They were cleansed. But this, when it says your faith has made you well, that last portion right there, your faith has made you well. The faith is your faith and God's faithfulness has so so. This is the present, active, indicative, third person singular, Andrew, of so so.

And so so is That's a good word. That is where we get the word soter. Soteriology is the study of salvation. Soter is savior. If you have the little icthus on your car somewhere, first of all, drive like it, but anyway.

The little ichthus, that is ichthus, it's a mnemonic device for the first century. It's a fish. Ichthus means fish. Ichthiologist is a fish. Scientist.

Sorry. Not a fish. Ichthus is fish. That Jesus Christ, son of God and savior. It's not just, oh, yeah.

That guy who does all these healings. No. He is the savior. He is the way, the truth, the life. It's the root.

So so is where we get savior, salvation, soterion, whatever has been saved, rescued from destruction, brought into divine safety. So if it's the present active indicative third person singer a perfect active, sorry, perfect active indicative. That means that something happened at one point that would have ramifications into eternity future. That's good. This is good for grammar nerds as they're all nodding their heads right now.

This is really good. Perfect. Has happened and it will matter forever. So I'm going to this is kind of a paraphrase of the verse. This last verse is the last thing I'm going plan on saying.

And he said to the grateful one, having risen, another participle, having risen, you be going. You be on your way. It was plural that they were all healed, but this is singular for that guy who recognized the power of God and came back. He received not just his healing, but he received Jesus. Now all those other nine were witnesses because when they went to their priests, their priests should have gone, well, I'll be.

You're healed. You're clean. Take those rags off. Go see your family. You're healed.

Who did this to you? Where did you get this? They should have been pursuing Jesus. That's that's on them. But this guy, having risen, you be going.

Your trust in God's faithfulness has saved you. It'll never be taken away. Nothing plucks you out of his hand. Amen. That's it.

I want to know you. Would you stand up? Last song we're going to sing is I want to know you lord. I want to know you And Lord, may I add to that that we want to make you known? Would you show us, Lord, how best we can accomplish the goal of the gospel reaching the ends of the earth?

Amen. I've got one more thing. Would you all sit down for just a second? I'll invite the Botkins up. The Botkins' little baby Adelaide, we we would like to dedicate this morning.

So I said last week, we did a dedication last week, and I said, it's sort of for you Presbyterians, it's sort of like a dry baptism. What we're asking for is for this covenant fellowship, this church body, as representative of the capital c Church of Christ, triumphant and global. We're asking that y'all, the ones here, would commit to this family, if you would, to help and raise Adelaide, help and take care of her, raising her up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Is there anything y'all want to say? Amen?

No. No. Okay. Lord God almighty, would you help us to do just that? In Jesus' name, amen.

If you would be willing to help out in collectively raising this little one, would you just say amen, stand to your feet, and give job God a shout. Hey, why not? Amen. Amen. I'm thankful for y'all.

I'm a love it. Through the Lord's mercies, we're not consumed because his compassions fail not. They're new every morning. God, great is your faithfulness. Allow us to carry that forward in Jesus name throughout the life of this little one and the life of this church.

Amen. Amen.

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Faith And Salvation Gratitude Leprosy Healing Mercy Outsiders And Belonging

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