CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: MIRACLES
TEN LEPERS (LUKE 17:11-19)
Location of Miracle: Along the border of Samaria & Galilee
Set the Scene:
o The first century culture in which Jesus lived had many people who lived on the margins of society, such as lepers. They were outsiders looking in, hoping that Jesus would have mercy on them.
o Perhaps the closest cultural equivalent to first-century attitudes about leprosy would be current attitudes about COVID and the fear and quarantine issues that surround it.
READ Luke 17:11-19.
Big Take-Aways:
o Jesus’ Jewish hearers would be delighted to hear that these lepers were healed. However, they would be shocked to hear that the only one who returned to thank Jesus was a Samaritan. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans was bitter and widespread.
o Jesus will minister to any who reach out to Him. None are turned away. Even the Samaritans, who are the outcasts of all outcasts, are not bypassed.
o Why did only one return to say thank you?
o The Samaritan does not go to the temple to offer a sacrifice to God for his cleansing, but instead returns to Jesus. He recognizes that the restorative power of God is in Jesus. Only here in all the New Testament do we see thanks directed to Jesus. Elsewhere, all gratitude is directed to God.
o Jesus came to provide healing: physical and spiritual. Jesus was here to change the course of human history: to provide salvation through the forgiveness of sins, to reverse the results of the fall, to bring true restoration to creation.
Call to Action:
o Jesus dined and partied with people living on the margins of society. Who are the people we need to reach out to?
o A grateful heart is a recognition of God’s grace.
o Give thanks in all circumstances! 1 Thess. 5:18
o Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything! Ephesians 5:20
o Every good & perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father. James 1:17
o What can you do to cultivate a grateful heart?
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