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"And it came to
pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst
of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain
village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood
afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and
said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw
them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the
priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were
cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed,
turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down
on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a
Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten
cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not
found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made
thee whole." Luke 17:11-19
LESSON 1 ... SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2005:
The Lord was on His way to Jerusalem
... to die for our sins!
Luke words it
like this: "And it came to pass, as He
went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria
and Galilee." Luke 17:11
This is the
opening verse in the Paragraph we now call "The Cleansing of Ten
Lepers."
The verb "went"
is in the "middle" voice in Greek. That means the action being
described impacts the Subject himself! Jesus will be "changed"
forever by this Trip to Jerusalem, to the Cross of Calvary!
Even the
Disciples knew this trip was the final one, that death would be
the result! "Then said Thomas, which is
called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that
we may die with him." John 11:16
Furthermore, the
verb "passed" (meaning "to go or come through") is in the middle
voice! This is the Crucial Time of Jesus' earthly Ministry!
Everything He does is critically important and loaded with great
significance!
Why then does the
Holy Spirit lead Luke to here include nine verses about ...
"thankfulness?"
Our verse today
("And it came to pass, as He went to
Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and
Galilee.") begins that "Thank You" section of
Scripture. And, for that matter, only Luke records this event!
Could the fact be
that Jesus' mind was so heavily on the Cross, on going to die
for you and me, on being the Propitiation for sin ... that He
was (more than ever) keenly aware of the Price necessary for
such Redemption?
That Price for
our salvation is Jesus' Own Precious Blood!
And in making
that ultimate Sacrifice for lost mankind, was Jesus also
divinely and spiritually attuned to the fact that man, the
recipient of such a great Salvation, should be eternally
GRATEFUL?
In other words
... going to the Cross ... it appears that Jesus was exceedingly
somber ("heavy hearted") ... and aware of every word of thanks
and appreciation a man might utter, even a Samaritan man, even a
leper!
And do remember
than in the Old Testament leprosy is a type or picture or symbol
of sin!
Here we have a
case of leprosy being cleansed by Jesus, foreshadowing our own
sin being washed away by the Lord too!
And the
appropriate response to this marvelous Grace is ... adoration,
worship and THANKS!
IF that's the
lesson of this great Bible Paragraph from Luke ... other Bible
Verses should teach us thankfulness as well.
Like ...
"In every thing
give thanks: for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
1st Thessalonians 5:18
"Enter into his gates
with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him,
and bless his name." Psalm 100:4
"O LORD my God, I will
give thanks unto thee for ever." Psalm30:12
And even in
heaven ... "And all the angels stood round
about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and
fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and
thanksgiving, and
honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever.
Amen." Revelation 7:11-12
So, dear friend,
today as you go to Church ... think about the Price Jesus paid
on Calvary ... His death on your behalf ... and give Him THANKS
and praise and worship!
Let's join King
David and sincerely say: "Now therefore,
our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy Glorious Name."
1st Chronicles 29:13
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2, WEDNESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 28, 2005:
The man is a Preacher.
He's written a
few books and preached from some well-known pulpits.
But the other day
he made a statement I shall never forget.
He said that he
begins every day "thanking the Lord" for
each event in his life, each event over the past twenty four
hours!
Every day he has
a "thanksgiving service" in his heart!
One that
specifically covers the previous day God allowed him to live!
That fact
"touched" me indeed!
Thankfulness!
I fear that we
Christians today are far too ungrateful!
Perhaps you think
that such an attitude is just not that important.
Listen to Paul in
1st Thessalonians 5:18 --- "In
every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you."
"Giving thanks"
sure sounds important in that verse!
The verb here ("eucharisteo")
is an imperative, a command from God to us!
In fact
Philippians 4:6 requires us (with a whole set of imperative
verbs) to pray with thanksgiving in our hearts!
"Be careful for nothing; but in every
thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God."
And using the
picture of an overflowing river, one out of its banks, the Holy
Spirit teaches us to "abound" ("perisseuo") with thanksgiving!
"Rooted and built up in him, and
stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with
thanksgiving." Colossians 2:7
Thoughts such as
these led me to the miracle Jesus performed one day when ten
lepers met Him! You remember! Our Lord healed them all ... but
only one returned to give thanks! This is all recorded by Luke
(and Luke alone) in the New Testament. (Luke 17:11-19)
And if you don't
think thanksgiving was important to our Saviour ... listen to
the question He asked: "And one of them,
when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud
voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his
feet, giving him thanks:
and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not
ten cleansed? but where
are the nine?"
"Where are the nine?" asked our
dear Lord?
Only one out of
ten was grateful.
Nine apparently
were not.
Folks, into which
category must we be placed today?
Grateful?
Or ungrateful?
Excuse me ...
while I go "thank" the Lord for some things!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3, SATURDAY,
OCTOBER 1, 2005:
I have still been thinking about the
ten lepers Jesus healed in Luke chapter seventeen.
That great
miracle apparently occurred in Samaria.
"And it came to pass, as He (Jesus) went
to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and
Galilee. And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him
ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off." Luke
17:11-12
Samaria was a
district of the "Holy Land" that most Jewish folks avoided.
Due to
its very history and the wickedness of the population,
"the Jews had no dealings with the
Samaritans." John 4:9
Early
this morning I did a little study on Samaria.
I was
amazed to fine that, although it was a land of great sin and a
questionable past, the Lord again and again showered it with His
amazing Grace!
Let me
show you what I mean.
Revival
Number One ... Jesus made it a point to pass through Samaria ...
on His way to the Cross! We've just read Luke 17:1-2. It was
on this occasion that the ten lepers were healed ... and one of
them was saved! "And He said unto him,
Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." This
is an example of personal Revival!
Revival
Number Two ... Jesus again went through Samaria in John chapter
four. That now famous trip brought Him to a well-side. There
the Samaritan Woman came! She too got saved and went and told
the whole City of Sychar about Jesus and ...
"many of the Samaritans of that city
believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He
told me all that ever I did." (John 4:39) Now that is
city-wide Revival!
Revival
Number Three ... Philip the Evangelist preached!
"Then Philip went down to the city of
Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one
accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing
and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits,
crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed
with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame,
were healed. And there was great joy in that city."
(Acts 8:5-8) However, this Revival met with some definite
opposition! "But there was a certain man,
called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery,
and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was
some great one." (Acts 8:9) Yet God gave the victory!
"But when they believed Philip preaching
the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus
Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." (Acts
8:12) This is entrenched Revival! God gives overcoming
devil-chasing Revival!
And the
Lord did all this for a bunch of old sinners!
He
saved them!
He
blessed them!
He
revived them!
This
sure makes me glad!
Glad
for the Grace of God!
No
wonder that Samaritan leper, the one Jesus healed, was so
careful to give Him thanks!
Have I
thanked Him as well?
Have
you?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4:
Luke 17:12 tells us that one day
Jesus "entered into a certain village,
there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off."
That "village"
was somewhere in the land known as Samaria.
Or ... at least
one (but perhaps more than one) of the lepers was a Samaritan.
You probably know
the "outcome" of this Bible event.
Jesus healed all
ten lepers of their dreaded disease.
The
Greek noun for "lepers" here is "lepros" and means that which
peels or flakes! This describes their extremely scaly skin, one
sign of leprosy!
That
little noun "village" (in Greek = "kome") means a place where
one can "lay down" at night and rest! Almost always it
indicates a place much smaller than a real "city."
And the
noun for "men" is not the more general word "anthropos," but the
more specific term "aner." These ten are men in the sense of
being former husbands or fathers ... their disease separating
them forever from loved ones! "Aner" means the "male" of the
species. No women were in this group.
And the
reason the lepers stood afar off? They were required to do so
by the Law of Moses! "And the leper in
whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his
head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and
shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague
shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean:
he shall dwell alone;
without the camp shall his habitation be."
Leviticus 13:45-46
There
is surely nothing attractive about this poor crowd of dying men!
Yet
Jesus still entered this village!
The
sight of ten sick men did not deter Him!
He was
on a Mission!
In
reality He was on His Way to the Cross, to die for sinners!
But ...
He enters this place long enough to send ten men home ... well!
I have
found two places in the New Testament where Jesus at least
attempted to enter Samaritan cities!
One
nearly ended in disaster!
The
other ended in Grace!
Watch:
"And it came to pass, when the time was
come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face
to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face: and
they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make
ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face
was as though He would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples
James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that
we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even
as Elias did?" (Luke 9:51-54)
Two
Disciples, the most loving ones of them all, wanted to send fire
and destroy the whole place!
That
would have been terrible!
Then
... our text here in Luke 17:11-14 reads:
"And it came to
pass, as He went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst
of Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered into a certain
village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood
afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said,
Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them,
He said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it
came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed."
Jesus
wanted to send, and did send, healing and love and grace
to this little village!
That's
just like Him!
Now,
here's my point ...
Aren't
you glad that the day Jesus passed by your heart ... "Grace" was
offered? That is ... full and marvelous and amazing and
manifold Grace!
Had the
Disciples (or others like them) been in control, we might have
only been offered Fire and Judgment!
Than
God for Jesus!
Thank
God for Mercy!
Thank
God for His everlasting Love!
By the
way, I also have found one more place in Scripture where we are
specifically told that Jesus "entered into a village." Again
it's Luke who tells us: "Now it came to
pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and
a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And
she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and
heard His word." (Luke 10:38-39) THIS TIME when Jesus
entered a little town (Bethany), HE was received with love and
kindness! Someone (Mary) cared for Him and adored Him and
worshipped Him and sat at His Feet, hearing the Word of God!
And someone else (Martha) served Him diligently, preparing a
meal for His tired and hungry body!
Loving
Jesus!
Now ...
look at the three "options" these Bible Texts present.
Jesus
tried to "enter" in Luke 9 and was rejected!
Jesus
did "enter" in Luke 17 and healed ten lepers, a disease that
pictures sin in so many ways!
And
Jesus also did "enter" in Luke 10, to be loved and appreciated
sincerely!
Hating!
Healing!
And
Helping!
"Call
down fire!" (Luke 9)
"Leprosy be gone!" (Luke 17)
"Lord,
we love Thee!" (Luke 10)
Bible
student reading here today, what is your heart
attitude this Lord's Day morning? In what mood will
you attend Church?
Are you
angry? (Luke 9)
Are you
in need of Jesus' Kindness yet one more time? (Luke 17)
Or ...
are you ready to go to Church and worship Him, exalting the
Saviour with all your heart? (Luke 10)
I do
pray that He "enters" the place you worship today. Remember, He
promised: "Where two or three are
gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them."
Matthew 18:20
And
when He "enters" do respond properly!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5:
The ten lepers, the ones Jesus
healed in Luke chapter seventeen, did not specifically ask to be
healed from their dreaded disease.
Rather, they
asked Jesus for mercy!
Just mercy!
Listen to their
prayer: "And they lifted up their
voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." Luke
17:13
The great British
Preacher of bygone years, Alexander Maclaren, said of these sick
men: "One symptom of advanced leprosy was the simple fact that
the human voice was weakened. Most lepers could not speak above
a whisper!"
Yet
these men cried out, best they could, to Jesus!
Maybe
their "sounds" were no more than attempted "squeaks" ... begging
God for help!
Let me
mention this today. When calling upon Jesus, it is not the
level of one's voice that counts! It's the position of one's
heart! Is that person trusting Christ our Lord with
faith believing? If so, "creaking" or "speaking," he
or she will be heard!
Next
... notice what they called Jesus!
"Master!"
Our
Lord is often called "Master" in the New Testament, but usually
with a different Greek noun behind that name!
"Didaskalos,"
which simply means "teacher," is used of Jesus forty times by
the New Testament writers! I mean that each of those forty
times it is rendered as "master!"
And the
Greek "rabbi," used fourteen times of Jesus, means "great one"
and is a term of respect. It is translated eight times as
"master" (having reference to Jesus) in the King James Version
of the Bible.
"Kurios,"
meaning lord or Lord, is used of Jesus and rendered as "master"
several times too!
So does
the word "despotes," meaning one in absolute control, appear as
"master" in our Bibles!
BUT ...
our word for "master" in Luke 17:13
is different yet!
It is "epistates."
This noun combines "epi" (meaning "upon") and stasis (a
"standing") ... to picture one who is in charge of everything!
One who oversees all! One who stands above the situations of
life!
It was
Jesus as "epistates" in Luke 5:5 Who told the disciples to cast
their nets on "the other side" of the ship! Whereupon they
caught more fish than they could handle!
It was
Jesus as "epistates" in Luke 8:24 Who told the winds and the
waves to "be still," and a great storm calmed immediately!
In Luke
8:45 it was Jesus as "epistates" Who knew someone (a bleeding
woman) had touched Him! BY the way, when she did so, she was
healed!
In Luke
9:33 it was Jesus as "epistates" Who had been "transfigured,"
shining as brightly as the noon-day sun, in the presence of
three of His disciples, not counting Moses and Elijah!
And,
finally, in Luke 9:49, it was Jesus as "epistates" Who forbade
the disciple's unkindness to a man who was casting our demons
(in Jesus' Name), but was not one of Jesus' particular
companions that day!
Look at
the significance of that word ..."epistates!"
It
describes the Lord Jesus Christ as One Who could ...
... control the fishes of the sea!
... calm the winds and the waves of a raging storm!
... heal a sick and weak body!
... radiate the brightness of the very Glory of
Almighty
God!
... reverse human emotions from anger to kindness!
... and, in our Luke 17 Text, cleanse ten lepers of their
plague!
What a
God!
What a
Saviour!
What a
Lord!
What a
Master!
What an
Overseer!
What an
"Epistates!"
But ...
just maybe ... a greater act than all of these ... is Jesus'
giving MERCY to these poor lepers!
Mercy!
The
verb "have mercy" is "eleeo" and
means to "show compassion" on someone! One dictionary says it
means "to compassionate!" (In the New Testament "Grace"
deals with one's guilt! And "Mercy" deals with
one's misery! (Hear the two "G" sounds and the two "M"
sounds?)
I am so
glad Jesus cares how we feel!
Of
course our misery is due to our guilt!
God's
Grace (through the Blood of Jesus) takes care of the guilt ...
so that God's Mercy (through His sheer Love) can care for our
misery!
The ten
sick lepers asked for mercy!
And
they got it too!
An old
publican asked for Mercy ... and he also was not disappointed!
"And the publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner."
(Luke 18:13) That man went home "justified" says Jesus in the
very next verse!
In
Psalm 57, with Saul and his army "closing in" for the kill,
David (hiding in a "cave") merely asked God for Mercy!
"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful
unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy
wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."
Psalm 57:1
Did
David get any "mercy" that day? Listen to verse ten of the same
Psalm, "For thy mercy is great unto the
heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds."
He got
a whole earth-full of mercy!
Friends, when you are in despair or discouraged or in danger or
sickly or scared, cry out!
Cry out
to God!
And,
when you obviously don't have time to give Him your ten point
program for safety, plead for His MERCY!
That,
His great Mercy alone, will meet your needs!
The
first time the word "mercy" is used in our English Bibles, it
comes from the lips of Lot, who was being rescued from the
doomed city of Sodom! See Genesis 19:19.
The
next time it is used ... a Bride for the Son of Abraham is being
found! Just read Genesis 24:27!
Even
when God is angry, exercising His holy wrath and righteousness,
the best thing to do is plead for His great mercy!
Habakkuk did!
"O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was
afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in
the midst of the years make known;
in wrath remember mercy."
Habakkuk 3:2
Yes!
"Lord, we need
Thy Mercy!"
More than
anything!
And that Mercy
today comes only one Way, straight through Jesus, God's only
begotten Son!
"Mercy ... In
Jesus' Name, Amen!"
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6, OCTOBER 4,
2005, FROM KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE:
The words to an old godly song say:
"Only trust Him. Only trust Him. Only trust Him now! He will
save you. He will save you. He will save you now!"
That's so true
when applied to Jesus!
Faith, trust,
belief!
"For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: not of works lest any man should boast." Ephesians
2:8-9
This
quality of "faith" is so well illustrated in Luke 17:11-19.
There Jesus meets ten lepers. "And when
He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto
the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were
cleansed." (Luke 17:14)
First
notice Jesus "saw" them! By law, they HAD to be standing far
away! They could not closely approach anyone! Their disease
often could be contagious!
And
leprosy, which is one of Scripture's most complete symbols of
sin, well depicts the principle of "loneliness!" Sin
separates one ... from his loved ones, from his real
friends, and even from the Lord! I believe one of the terrible
things about Hell (even including the fire and brimstone and
weeping and wailing) will be eternal separation from God and His
Love!
I'm so
glad that I too, when a sinner (a "leper" spiritually), was seen
by the Lord Jesus Christ! That verb "saw" in our Text (in Greek
= "eido" or "oida") means to see and understand! "To discern!"
Then it comes to mean "to pay attention to someone!"
While
we were yet sinners, Jesus "saw" us and "paid attention" to us
... and even died for us on Calvary!
Next
our Lord did a strange thing! He told these lepers to go "show
themselves" unto the priests!
The
priests, you see, served as "inspectors" of leprous men. Only
the Jewish priest, a son of Levi, could pronounce a man
"defiled" and banish him from society! In fact, the last time
these men saw a priest ... that's exactly what was happening!
But to
"show themselves" (in Greek = "epideiknumi") means to exhibit,
to put oneself on display or to demonstrate!
Jesus
is about to heal these ten men!
But He
additionally wants the priests to know that Someone is around
Who can cleanse from leprosy!
Jesus
is here witnessing not only to ten sick men, but also to a whole
company of priests!
Once
ten completely healed lepers appear at the Temple ... being
examined and pronounced "cured," some questions just have to be
asked!
A
groups of priests that day kept wondering: "Who is He?"
This
Jesus of Nazareth!
I'll
answer that right now: He is God the Son!
Now ...
it took some real faith to leave Jesus' presence that day
and proceed to the Temple area of Jerusalem, where the priests
were to be found!
Yet the
lepers began to obey the Lord!
Turning
and walking away ... something began to happen!
Here's
our verse for today one more time: "And
when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves
unto the priests. And it
came to pass, that,
as they went, they were
cleansed." (Luke 17:14)
"As they went ...
they were cleansed!"
As they
exercised believing faith ... the leprosy was removed!
They
trusted.
They
obeyed.
They
were delivered of a life threatening malady!
The
verb "cleansed" (in Greek = "katharrizo") means to be made free
from any defilement! They were "purified!"
The
verb is in voice "passive" too!
The men
did NOT heal themselves! It was something done UNTO them or FOR
them! An action taken UPON them!
And the
time sense of the verb is glorious too! It's a "aorist" verb.
The action is begun and completed immediately! They were healed
instantly ... and thoroughly!
What
power has believing faith ... with an Almighty God!
Jesus
even later told one of the lepers: "Thy
faith hath made thee whole!"
Friends
today, thank God for faith!
Thank
God that He can still cleanse old sinners, making them pure and
spotless and holy! No more "leprous" blemishes!
Our
Verse today, while describing a literal event in Jesus' Life, is
almost a "parable" ... a parable teaching soul salvation ... by
faith!
Are you
saved?
If so,
thank God for His precious Gift to you!
If not,
listen to Jesus' words from John 5:24.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
Jesus
can save you now!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7:
The words are "striking!"
They indicate
absolute "assurance" in the life of an old Samaritan leper!
He had been
associated with a group of ten such men ... until one day they
met Jesus!
They begged our
Lord for "Mercy!"
But, instead of
"touching" them or "speaking" a healing word on their behalf,
Jesus just told them to "Go" and show themselves to the local
Jewish priests.
That's
when it happened!
Our
verse for today, Luke 17:15, tells us:
"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back,
and with a loud voice glorified God."
The
"healing" apparently occurred as the men were obeying the Lord
... obeying Him purely by faith!
(Had
they appeared before a priest still in their dreaded leprous
conditions, they would have certainly been in violation of
Jewish Law!)
But as
they walked away from our Lord ... and toward Jerusalem ...
noticeable things began occurring!
Their
skin became clear once again! It had been splotched and scaly.
Their
internal pain began to subside too!
The
"sores" that had erupted on their bodies dried and disappeared
as well!
The
swelling that had accompanied the disease began to disappear
also!
Their
voices became stronger!
Their
physical strength returned!
The
sentence of "death" had obviously been removed!
All
this having happened without even a "touch" from Jesus!
Without
a direct "word" of healing from the Master!
He just
WILLED it so ... and it was done!
These
"symptoms" of leprosy had been eradicated so rapidly and so
thoroughly that each leper knew, beyond doubt, a cure had been
successfully effected --- a complete cure!
That's
why our verse says:
"And one of them,
when he saw that he was
healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified
God."
Luke 17:15
"When he saw that he
was healed!"
He was
sure it had happened!
No
doubt about it!
If
anyone questions it ... just let them look!
And now
to the application of today's Lesson ...
Leprosy
in the Bible is a "picture" of sin!
Being
delivered from it ... by Jesus' Power ... is a "picture" of a
lost sinner being "saved" by the Grace of God!
"KNOWING" you have been delivered ... is a "picture" of the
assurance of one's salvation!
And
these lepers KNEW that healing had come!
When
one gets "born-again," usually the "change" is so marked, so
clear and so drastic that both the ex-sinner and even those
around him can tell!
The one
leper our verse mentions surely KNEW!
The
verb used for "saw" ("He saw that he was
healed") is "eido" in Greek. It means to see with
understanding or perception! He not only observed the symptoms
physically
disappearing, but also recognized that full healing had been
administered to his old sick body!
He was
positive!
But ...
can one really know for SURE that he or she is
saved?
John
the Disciple sure taught so!
He
wrote one whole Book of the Bible to give such assurance to
Believers in Christ. Listen to him near the end of his first
little epistle: "These things have I
written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;
that ye may know that ye
have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of
the Son of God."
1st John 5:13
Isn't
that clear?
John
wrote that whole Book (1st John) to give "assurance" to the
followers of Christ Jesus!
"That ye may know
that ye have eternal life!"
Amen!
If you
are today doubting your salvation ... memorize,
meditate and act upon the Epistle of 1st John.
Internalize and obey its teachings. If you have truly trusted
Christ Jesus ... I predict that assurance, if lacking now, will
have arrived by the time your "project" is completed!
You too
can "know!"
Now
before any of you spend more endless hours in doubt this week,
before you pace the floors another night, before you worry
yourself into sickness ... try what I've advised.
Memorize 1st John!
See if
you have passed the "tests" the old Apostle administers ...
tests that indicate whether one is saved by God's mighty Power
and Love! Washed in the Blood of Jesus!
Then
... if no "help" comes, keep on worrying!
After
all, you will be worrying about the greatest issue you'll ever
face in this life, your very soul's salvation!
You
will be wrestling with your eternal destiny ... heaven or hell!
That's
certainly worth the "concern!"
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8,
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2005, FROM KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE:
Today's Lesson is still about
giving thanks unto the Lord.
One old preacher aptly said that there is a difference between
"praise" and "thanks!"
He believed that "praise" was the higher quality of the two!
When defined, "praise" basically means giving God Glory for Who
He is! We praise Him for His Grace and His Love and His Holiness
and His Eternality and His Immutability and His Omnipotence and
so much more!
Then
... We "thank" Him for the things He has done! We thank Him
when He answers prayer and saves souls and lifts burdens, for
example.
Not
only in these days is mankind failing to praise God properly, we
have also lost much of the art of thanking Him too!
We are
becoming more and more an ungrateful people!
Paul
said that was one of the traits to expect ... in the last days
of planet earth! "This know also, that in
the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful,
unholy ...." 2nd Timothy 3:1
One day
a man deliberately took time to thank Jesus for something!
His
action so impressed the Lord that certain comments were made,
revealing words from the lips of our Lord! These words show us
Jesus' actual attitude toward thankfulness ... and its opposite!
The man
in focus today is a leper, a former leper anyway!
Jesus
had just healed him!
Then
... "When he saw that he was healed,
turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down
on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a
Samaritan." Luke 17:15-16
He had
already left Jesus' presence ... but once he recognized that
healing had come ... he returned to the Lord!
"Turned back" (in Greek =
hupostrepho) means "to twist back around" ... or to change one's
direction! That little prefix, "hupo," literally means "under"
and may insinuate that the giving of thanks is humbling to one's
soul! It is something that today's liberated self-centered man
will NOT often do! It's too demeaning!
Then
the man "glorified" God!
"Doxao"
means to value one with esteem or great worth! The semantic
trail of this word goes back to a stem that means "to think" or
"to seem." Glorifying God is telling Him what you think about
Him ... in a worshipful sense!
Note
that the former leper glorified Jesus with a
"loud voice!" Look at this Greek
term: megas phone! It's our English word megaphone! A
magnified voice! This is proof that the leprosy is gone! It
always affects the human voice, rendering it weak and raspy!
These symptoms are now absent for sure!
The
recently cured man then "fell down at
Jesus' feet!" Here's another sign of humility! The
first time those words, in English, are used in the Bible ...
"And his brethren also went and fell down
before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy
servants." Joseph's brethren are in the presence of the
one they wronged so cruelly! (Genesis 50:18) Joseph is here a
Type of Christ as you already know.
The
words "giving thanks" translate the
major Greek verb "eucharisteo." When its two components are
fused together, the word literally means "good" ("eu") and
"grace" ("charis"). Good Grace!
It here
depicts one who is saying good things about the Lord Who freely
heaped Goodness and Blessing upon his miserable soul!
Being
in present participle form, "giving thanks" means that our
ex-leper kept on thanking Jesus! He just couldn't quit!
Folks,
are we thankful today?
As
thankful as we should be?
The
Psalmist tells us ... "O give thanks unto
the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
Psalm 106:1
Paul
adds that we are to be ... "Giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20
And
John reminds us in Revelation 11:16 that in Heaven some day we
will still be ... "Saying, We give thee
thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to
come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast
reigned."
Let us
all join today in a spirit of thanksgiving to the One Who loves
us so!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9:
I have been told that Matthew Henry,
the British Preacher who wrote that great Bible Commentary,
preached an extremely long series of sermons to his church
people.
He did so at
their mid-week service.
His Text each
Wednesday night dealt with one of the "questions" of the Bible!
He started with
Genesis 3:1 where the devil literally questioned God's Word!
"Now the serpent was more subtil than any
beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto
the woman, Yea, hath God
said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
And he
ended in Revelation 17:7 where John the Disciple writes ...
"And the angel said unto me,
Wherefore didst thou
marvel?
The
whole series of sermons took Pastor Henry twenty years to
complete!
On one
of those Wednesday nights, he preached from Luke 17:17. There
Jesus asked a question. Here's how Luke puts it:
"And Jesus answering said,
Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?"
"Where are the
nine?"
Jesus
had just healed ten lepers ... but only one, and he a Samaritan,
took the time to say "Thank You" to our Lord!
Upon
hearing those words of deep appreciation ... Jesus wondered out
loud ... "What about the other men who were healed?"
Our
Lord observed that not one of the others expressed a single word
of gratefulness!
"Where are the nine?
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I believe one of the sins we
commit ... one about which there is little preaching or concern
or conviction ... is that of ungratefulness.
Once
Jesus, in Luke 6:35, seems to equate the sin of "unthankfulness"
with other forms of "evil!" And the word He uses there for
"evil" (in Greek = "poneros") means the worst kind of
wickedness! The kind that spreads and destroys and kills!
"But love ye your enemies, and do good,
and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be
great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is
kind unto the unthankful
and to the evil."
And
Paul, writing in 2nd Timothy 3, associates "unthankfulness" with
sins like blasphemy, lying, pride, sensuality and idolatry!
One of
the sins that every man commits in his early rejection of God is
that of not being thankful. Again Paul teaches us:
"Because that, when they (mankind) knew
God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart
was darkened." Romans 1:21
The
Bible's greatest Psalm of Praise commands us to worship God with
sincere thanks in our hearts! "Enter into
his gates with
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him,
and bless his name." Yes, every time we step into
God's House ... we should do so with hearts of gratefulness!
Furthermore Paul the Apostle prescribes "gratefulness" as a way
of life for the Christian! "And let the
peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are
called in one body; and
be ye thankful." (Colossians 3:15) The verb Paul
uses in the clause "be ye thankful" is a present tense
(on-going, habitual action, not a one-time thing), middle voice
(the actual giving of thanks impacts the subject, changing him
in some good way), plural (all of us Believers must be involved)
imperative (a command, not a request)!
"Be ye thankful," people of God!
It is a
sin if we are not!
Thank the dear Lord
for cleansing you from leprosy! (In Bible "type" and "symbol,"
leprosy is a picture of sin, the sin Jesus' Blood washed away
when He saved us!)
THANK
THE DEAR LORD for the precious Word of God!
Thank the dear Lord
for answering that last prayer you prayed!
THANK
THE DEAR LORD for the indwelling Holy Spirit!
THANK
THE DEAR LORD for your Church and Pastor!
THANK
THE DEAR LORD for you loved ones!
THANK
THE DEAR LORD in everything!
The
Apostle Paul wrote: "In every thing give
thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you." 1st Thessalonians 5:18
And he
practiced it too! Again and again he said things like this:
"But we are bound to give thanks alway to
God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord ...."
What a
lifestyle!
A
Spirit-filled lifestyle!
And if
you are worried about "thanking" the Lord too much, you may calm
your fears! Scripture says that the Lord expects us to be
"abounding" in thanksgiving! "Rooted and
built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been
taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving." The verb
"abounding" here (in Greek = "perisseuo")
is used of a river when it overflows its banks!
We are
to live literally "overflowing" with thanks ... unto the Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10:
There are many ways to "glorify"
God!
In fact, the
Apostle Paul believed that all of life, if lived in a godly
manner, could bring "glory" to our dear Lord!
Listen to First
Corinthians 10:31 --- "Whether therefore
ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
God."
See what I mean?
Eating one's
meal, drinking a glass of water, or even washing the dirty
dishes those two activities created ... can be done in such a
way to bring "honor" and "glory" to the One Who died for our
sins, Jesus Christ God's Son!
An
example of this principle can be found in Luke 17:11-19. There
Jesus had just healed ten lepers!
And, of
the ten, only one returned to give Him "thanks" for His
kindness!
Here's
the exact text. It is describing that one grateful ex-leper!
"And
he (the leper) fell down on his face at His
(Jesus')
feet, giving him thanks:
and he was a Samaritan."
See that word "thanks"?
This
Samaritan was a recipient of God's Grace ... and he rightly
wanted to return some acknowledgement of that Grace to the very
Lord God Who healed him!
Grace,
the noun, in Greek is spelled "charis."
Thanks,
also a noun, in Greek is spelled "eucharistia."
Do you
see the "connection?"
Thanksgiving is, grammatically at least, an expression of one's
receiving God's Grace in some special way!
God to
mankind: "charis!" (GRACE!)
Man to
God: "eucharistia!" (THANK YOU FOR THAT GRACE!)
So ...
back to our original thought this Saturday in October ... one
more way to "glorify" God is through our thanksgiving to
Him!
Now let
me prove that from our Luke 17 Text.
Let's
connect verses 15 and 16. Here they are:
"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back,
and with a loud voice
glorified God, and fell down on his face at his
feet, giving him thanks:
and he was a Samaritan."
Luke
here equates "glorifying" God to "giving thanks" to Him!
He, in
the act of glorifying God, gave Him thanks!
Need
more proof?
Jesus,
in verse 18, speaking of this lone grateful ex-leper said:
"There are not found that returned
to give glory to God,
save this stranger."
Of the
ten, only one was "found" who returned to give God (Jesus)
Glory! And just HOW did he do that, glorify God?
By
giving thanks ... at Jesus' feet!
Additionally Paul, in 2nd Corinthians 4:15, links "thanksgiving"
and God's "glory!" "That abundant
grace
might through the
thanksgiving of many redound to the
glory of
God." I have underlined the three "key" words!
Does
anyone reading these paragraphs today plan to glorify God?
There
are many ways you can do so!
But one
of the major ways is to ... GIVE GOD THANKS ... all day long!
No
wonder the Old Testament teaches us to always ...
"enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless
his name." Psalm 100:4
You
folks may be tired of hearing about "thanksgiving" this week.
But
even if you are ... I am still "thankful" God gave me this Luke
17 Passage of Scripture ... to study and teach.
I do
not want to be "ungrateful!"
That
sure puts one in bad company!
"This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents,
unthankful,
unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than
lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof: from such turn away." 2nd Timothy 3:1-5
See
what I mean?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 11:
"Thy faith hath made thee whole!"
That's what Jesus
said to the Samaritan beggar! He had been a leper thirty
minutes earlier! But our Lord had just healed him!
Jesus' exact
words were: "And He said unto him, Arise,
go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." Luke 17:19
Now here's a
thrilling thing! This man is not the only person in Scripture
to whom our Lord spoke these words.
To a lady who had
been bleeding twelve years ... "But Jesus
turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of
good comfort; thy faith
hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from
that hour." Matthew 9:22
This
particular miracle is also recorded in Mark 5 and Luke 8 ...
with the same words! "Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee
whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
Mark 5:34
Doctor
Luke relates our Lord's response:
"Daughter, be of good comfort:
thy faith hath made thee
whole; go in peace." Luke 8:48
Then
yet again ... Jesus spoke these special words. This time to a
blind man! Bartimaeus heard ... "Jesus
said unto him, Go thy way;
thy faith hath made thee
whole. And immediately he received his sight, and
followed Jesus in the way." Mark 10:52
In each
of these cases (with a leprous man, a
hemorrhaging woman
and then a
blind man) Jesus used the Greek verb "sozo" when He pronounced them
"whole!"
What's
so special about "sozo?"
It's
the verb the Holy Spirit uses to denote salvation!
"Sozo"
means "to save!"
In the
passive voice, "sozo" means "to be saved!"
For
example, in Acts 16:31, where Paul points a repentant jailer to
Jesus ... his words are: "Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
"Shalt be saved" translates our
little verb here ..."sozo!"
Our
leper in Luke 17 ... falling at the feet of Jesus and thanking
Him, has just been saved!
Get
this carefully: "And one of them (the ten
lepers), when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a
loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at
his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan ... and
Jesus said unto him, Arise, go thy way:
thy faith hath made thee
whole." Luke 17:15-19
Through
believing faith three New Testament prototypes (examples) have
been born again! Two were men, the other a lady!
But ...
their faith had to be placed in The Right
Person ... the Lord Jesus Christ!
Just
think. One of ten lepers ... and only one apparently ... was
saved! All ten were healed of the disease! But only the one
who could not stay away from Jesus got saved!
I say,
"Praise the Lord for salvation!"
Folks
today, let me ask each of you ... ARE YOU SAVED?
Have
YOU been made whole?
If not,
come to Jesus!
He
indeed can do so!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 12:
Jesus once during His earthly
ministry healed ten lepers at the same time!
The miracle
happened in a place near the Galilean and Samarian border.
The "group" of
lepers included both Jews and at least one Samaritan!
That's an unusual
combination for at that time "the Jews had
no dealings with the Samaritans." John 4:9
Furthermore,
Jesus did not heal these men by means of His direct "touch!" He
did that with a leper in Luke 5:13.
Neither did He
cure these men with a quick straightforward statement like, "Be
thou healed!"
The
Lord simply commanded them to ... "Go and show themselves unto
the priests."
Then
... the miracles began to occur!
"And it came to pass, that, as they went,
they were cleansed," Luke 17:14 tells us!
So ...
what happened next?
Presumably the nine (who were Jews) went to Jerusalem and
appeared before the Priests there.
They
continued to obey our Lord. I mean ... to "the letter" of the
Law!
But ...
what about that Samaritan?
Folks,
he could NOT go to Jerusalem and appear before the Priests
there! No provision was made for a Gentile, a foreigner, to
receive such benefits! (The "Law" of the cleansing of the leper
is precisely given in Leviticus 14. I read it carefully and see
no "clause" that would include a Samaritan!)
Now ...
if this newly healed Samaritan leper could NOT go to the Priests
in Jerusalem, where could he find a Priest?
One
Preacher suggested that maybe he could go back home to Samaria
and consult one there. But would Jesus send a man like this to
a heathen priest for validation? No, He wouldn't!
Then
... where can this healed leper go to find his Priest?
Try
this ...
GO TO
JESUS!
HE IS A
PRIEST!
HE IS A
HIGH PRIEST!
HE IS
THE HIGH PRIEST!
HE IS
THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST!
And
"going to Jesus" is exactly what this Gentile ex-leper did!
Luke
tells us: "And one of them, when he saw
that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified
God, and fell down on his face at Jesus' feet, giving Him
thanks: and he was a Samaritan." Luke 17:15-16
He went
to the Priest all right!
The
nearest Priest!
Jesus
Christ, the Son of God!
And
Jesus "saved" him that day too!
Read
the rest of Luke's account: "And Jesus
answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are
the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory
to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy
way: thy faith hath made thee whole."
I guess
a lot depends on the Priest you consult!
I
wonder what would have happened if they all (all ten healed men)
had fallen at Jesus' Feet!
I do
believe that Jesus, the High Priest of all history ... past
present and future, would have pronounced them ALL clean and
whole!
ALL of
them could have heard the assuring words:
"Arise, go thy way:
thy faith hath made thee whole."
I am so
glad today that I do not have to find a Levite, a Jewish Son of
Aaron, an earthly Priest of Israel ... in order to commune with
God! Nor do I have to come before any other kind of
human
religious Priest or Father or Rabbi either!
I can
come before Jesus! Hebrews 4:14 clearly tells us ...
"We have a Great High Priest, That is
passed into the heavens, Jesus The Son Of God."
He
alone can forgive sin!
He
alone can pronounce one whole!
Appear
before Him today!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 13:
He had been a leper!
Perhaps for many
years!
Jesus healed him
... along with nine of his companions!
Then ...
"When he saw that he was healed, he turned
back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on
his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a
Samaritan." Luke 17:15-16
The old ex-leper
fell at Jesus' Feet and worshipped!
I began
to think of others in Scripture who had also placed themselves
"at Jesus' Feet!"
The man
who was demon possessed, Legion by name, was miraculously
delivered from his oppressors by the sheer power of our Lord!
Then the local people ... "came to Jesus,
and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed,
sitting at the feet of
Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were
afraid." Luke 8:35
A man
named Jairus also came to Jesus and ...
"he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he
fell down at Jesus' feet,
and besought him that he would come into his house: for he had
one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a
dying. But as he went the people thronged him." And
before we know it ... "Jesus answered him,
saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole."
Luke 8:41-42 and 50
Then
Jesus, having died and been buried and victoriously raised from
the grave, met His Disciples one day. You will remember that
our Lord remained on earth for forty days after His
Resurrection, prior to His ascending to Heaven. The Twelve
immediately ... "came and
held him by the feet,
and worshipped him." Matthew 28:9
But,
perhaps best of all, Mary of Bethany ... the sister of Lazarus
and Martha ... illustrates how one can live at Jesus' feet!
We see
her kneeling before Him three times in the New Testament!
Read
with me Luke 10:38-39. "Now it came to
pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and
a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And
she had a sister called Mary, which also
sat at Jesus' feet,
and heard his word."
Then,
when her brother Lazarus had died ...
"Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she
fell down at his feet,
saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had
not died." John 11:32
And
just before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion ...
"Then took Mary a pound of ointment of
spikenard, very costly, and
anointed the feet of
Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house
was filled with the odour of the ointment." John 12:3
Three
times!
Mary
sat at Jesus' Feet! She sorrowed at Jesus' Feet!
And she served at Jesus' Feet!
What
worship her life shows!
One
more quick example ... being yet future!
Paul
promises this in Philippians 2:10-11.
"That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father."
Yes, judgment is coming for
everyone, a day of reckoning!
This is
not the first time the Apostle has written these words either.
In Romans 14:11 he quoted the Old Testament, using his famous
"it is written" formula! "For it is
written, As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to
me, and every tongue shall confess to God."
That Old
Testament reference is Isaiah 45:23 where God says ---
"I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone
out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That
unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear."
So, the old
ex-leper of Luke 17 (the man we've been studying for several
days now) ... when he fell at Jesus' Feet to give thanks and
glory and praise ... joined a pretty impressive company didn't
he?
Some day we will
ALL be found there!
"At Jesus' Feet!"
Friend, spend
some time there today!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 14:
Let me re-visit a verse today please.
Something else needs to be said about it.
The Lord asked
"Where are the nine?"
He had just
healed these ten men who were lepers!
One of them, and
only one, had returned to humbly fall at Jesus' feet! He longed
to glorify God and thank Him for what had been done!
This man's
grateful attitude so impressed Jesus that He wondered aloud,
"Where are the others?"
Luke
17:17 records for us these words: "And
Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are
the nine?"
The question
Jesus asked makes us wonder.
Is Jesus implying
that He enjoys such praise and thanksgiving?
Do notice that
the "glory" here is not specifically given to Jesus ... but to
"God!" Read Luke 17:15-16 with me: "And
one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and
with a loud voice
glorified God, and fell down on his face at His
feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."
Of course please
understand that Jesus IS God!
And I believe
that the way the Holy Spirit has led Luke to word this "burst of
praise" ... the ex-leper, although a Samaritan, recognizes
Jesus' Deity too!
Again, does God
SEEK thanksgiving and worship and praise from His subjects?
YES!
For proof I would
simply cite Jesus' Own words again! This time from John 4:23.
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth: for the Father
seeketh such to worship him."
See that?
"Seeketh," the
verb here, can even mean "to crave!"
Jesus just told a
Samaritan WOMAN this time that God "hungers" for worshippers
who will thank Him and glorify him and worship Him!
Dear Believers in
Christ, if you want to please your Heavenly Father today, thank
Him and praise Him as you live for His Glory!
Make such worship
a lifestyle!
You will bring
Him great delight!
"Where are the nine?"
Furthermore ...
this question Jesus asked might indicate His utter surprise at
the lack of gratefulness shown by the majority of these ten
healed lepers!
Now, few thing
made Jesus "marvel!"
I've found only
two!
Great faith did!
In Matthew 8:10
we are told: "When Jesus heard it,
he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto
you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."
This is spoken of a Roman soldier, a centurion, who sought
healing for a servant back home. The verb "marvel" (in Greek =
"thaumazo") here means "to wonder at" or "to admire!"
Another thing
that made Jesus marvel was man's lack of faith, his unbelief!
Mark 6:6 briefly tells us: "And He
marvelled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the
villages, teaching."
But our Luke 17
question today ... "Where are the nine?" ... indeed comes
dangerously close to marveling!
Jesus was aghast
at the lack of thanksgiving shown by the nine formerly leprous
Jews!
"Where are the nine?"
Folks, this
Wednesday in October our Lord "desires" to hear words of thanks
and appreciation and wonder and worship from His people!
He "seeks" such!
He "aims" for that!
And He "wonders"
or "marvels" if such thanks and glory are not given!
"Where are the nine?"
Jesus longs for
them to glorify God too!
"Where are the nine?"
Jesus is amazed
that they did not give thanks!
Friends, today
will we be counted among the "nine?"
Or will we be
like the "one," the one who returned to fall at Jesus' Feet?
The one who fell
at Jesus' Feet ... "giving Him thanks!"
This may be more
important than we realize!
In Philippians
4:6 Paul gives a one verse "summary" of the right way to live
for Jesus! "Be careful for nothing; but
in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known unto God."
See that?
The verse says:
Don't worry! Pray about everything! Stay in communion with
God! And live for Jesus ...
"with thanksgiving!"
Again I say,
"It's important!"
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 15:
Most of you are familiar with the
miracles of our Lord.
The Gospel of
Luke records for us several events in Jesus' Life that the other
Gospel writers omit.
One of these is
the miracle of the healing of ten lepers, all at
one time! Quaint old Matthew Henry said this was the equivalent
of emptying a whole hospital!
Today I
would like to share with you several little "nuggets" about this
great miracle. Some of these I have found while reading other
research materials.
Lepers
could not come into close contact with any member of the
public! The Law required this separation! Leprosy could be
contagious! The old rabbis prescribed at least a distance of
four paces! Another source says that a distance of at least
fifty yards had to be maintained! Still another said that the
leper or lepers had to always attempt to stay downwind from a
crowd!
Sin,
which is symbolized here by leprosy, also causes separation!
Ultimately sin brings upon the wicked man eternal separation,
even from God and His Love! And the place of such separation is
Hell itself, including all its tormenting fire and brimstone and
weeping and wailing!
When
the ten lepers first approached Jesus, still standing afar off,
they cried for "Mercy!" The Greek verb there suggests action
attending to someone's suffering and misery! They actually
cried, Lord "mercy me!" Or Lord, "mercify me!" In reality
that's the heart cry of every truly repentant sinner!
"Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by
the Word of God." So says Paul in Romans 10:17. This
truth is so well illustrated by actions of the ten lepers in
Luke 17. Jesus told them (using His Word) to go show themselves
to the priests in Jerusalem. They all, having heard that Word
... acted upon it ... by obeying it, setting out for the priests
many miles away! Their proper response to Jesus' Word ...
produced faith! The sheer Word of God ... here yielded faith!
Jesus
healed ten lepers with less than ten words! Here's all Jesus
said to the ten men collectively: "Go
shew yourselves unto the priests." Luke 17:14
The one
leper who returned to Jesus to give thanks was no longer
required to go to the priest! At least not according to our
Text. Jesus saved that man right on the spot!
"Thy faith hath made thee whole!"
Luke 17:19 ("Made whole" here is the Greek verb "sozo," to
save!) The Lord told him, "Go thy way!"
That's an example of the liberty we have in Christ Jesus! The
New Testament believer does not have to live under the Law of
Moses! He is free to go his way ... filled with the Holy Spirit
of God!
In Luke
9, immediately after the Transfiguration of our Lord, Jesus
began his six month journey to Jerusalem ... to die for our
sins! Luke 9:51 tells us ... "And it came
to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up,
he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem." He is
"on the way" during the rest of the Book of Luke! For proof see
verses like Luke 9:53 and 13:22 and 17:11 (our incident here
with the ten lepers) ... "And it came to
pass, as he went to
Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria
and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met
him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off ...."
Also Luke 18:31 and 19:11 and 19:28 add to this inspired travel
narrative! When Jesus healed these ten men of their dreaded
disease, itself a sign of sin, He had Jerusalem and the Cross
and Death and Burial and Resurrection on His mind!
And
then the great British preacher Charles H. Spurgeon added some
thoughts about these ten healed lepers. He observed that only
one of them returned to give Jesus thanks, proving that ... More
people receive benefits from Jesus than thank Him! More folks
pray ("Have Mercy," O Lord!) than praise the Lord (falling at
His feet ... with thanks)! More also are willing to obey rules
(go to the priests) than ever express thanks! And surely more
individuals simply believe our Lord than fall at His feet
worshipping Him with grateful hearts!
There
you have just a few more thoughts about the ten lepers who were
healed by Jesus ... and the one leper who returned to give
thanks!
The
Lord said in Psalm 50:23 ... "Whoso
offereth praise glorifieth me."
Let's
all praise and thank Him today!
By
doing so, you will be bringing Glory to His Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 16:
Did you ever, after reading a Text
of Scripture, wonder "What happened next?"
Maybe it's not
the best method of Bible Study, but sometimes I ask that very
question.
The Holy Spirit
chooses sometimes to leave the ending of a Bible Story somewhat
"unfinished!"
Maybe He does
this to further excite our interest!
The
Book of Acts ends that way!
Paul
was "under arrest" in Rome ... yet dwelling in his own hired
house, preaching the Gospel! But what about his
trial before Nero?
So does
the great Book of Jonah! The Prophet is sitting outside the
great city of Ninevah, still pouting and angry! How long
did he sit there before acknowledging the good Grace of God and
... then going back home?
And the
account of the Prodigal Son's older brother! Did that boy ever
get a sweeter attitude? Or did he stay mad the rest of his
life?
Well, I
am wondering today, not too far from the Thanksgiving Season,
what ultimately happened to the one Samaritan leper Jesus
healed. You know ... the only one of that group of ten in Luke
17:11-19 who returned to give Thanks to Jesus!
Jesus
was on His Way to Jerusalem, knowing that there He would be
arrested, beaten, crucified, buried and raised again for the
forgiveness of our sins! "And it came to
pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst
of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain
village ...."
Then it
happened, the miracle. "There met him ten
men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up
their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew
yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they
went, they were cleansed."
Yet
just one of the men showed any thanks to Jesus, glorifying God
the Father for His Mercy! "And one of
them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a
loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at
his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."
Then
Jesus responded so uniquely to the man's lovely attitude of
gratefulness: "And Jesus answering said,
Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save
this stranger." The Lord was apparently amazed that the
others did not say "Thank You" as well!
THEN it
is recorded that our Lord ... "said unto
him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."
Now
those words prompted my original question of the day!
After
Jesus told this ex-leper "Arise, go thy
way," what happened?
Obviously the man was saved! "Thy faith
hath made thee whole!" proves that!
But ...
what next?
Likely
these things ensued:
He made
a quick trip home, bringing great peace and delight to a little
wife and two or three children ... a family that thought they
would never see Daddy again! Jesus has a way of putting
families back together! I would have loved to observe that
reunion!
He no
doubt kept a joyful and grateful heart. One just does not
easily forget that once he was a leper, but now is every whit
clean!
He
certainly went back home and told people about Jesus! Some
things just can't be kept quiet!
And I
am sure He saw the Lord every opportunity He had! Maybe even
bringing others to Jesus too! I can hear him now saying, "Come
and see a Man that spoke ... and my leprosy disappeared!"
He
probably even met
week after week
with a few
fellow
Believers and worshipped the Lord God Almighty in some place
near his dwelling!
Yes, a
life was changed forever that day!
Just
maybe all those things happened.
But, if
you remember, I actually asked at the first of today's Article,
"what ultimately happened to this man who was healed?"
That
one I CAN answer!
Ultimately he died.
And
went to Heaven!
And he
is there now ... where we shall see him some day ourselves!
That
much we KNOW for sure!
All
these possibilities --- I listed five of them!
And
this one absolute --- He IS in Heaven today!
All
because of Jesus!
Let's
all thank Him and worship Him today, our precious Lord and
Saviour!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
We pray you have grown
spiritually as you studied this great passage of Scripture!
At least we all should be more thankful unto our Heavenly
Father!
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