Drew Boswell

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Gratitude Sermon Series: Week # 1 “The Man Who Remembered to Say ‘Thank You'” Luke 17:11-19

Gratitude Sermon Series

The Man Who Remembered to Say “Thank You”  

Luke 17:11-19

 Introduction

Jesus tells a story about ten lepers who are healed. Two shocking facts are revealed. The first is that only one of them comes back to say, “Thank You.” The second is that that one who returned was a Samaritan. God’s grace is available to all people, even your enemy. We must be careful to not just receive God’s blessings, but to thank Him for them.

From Exclusion to Inclusion (vv. 11-14)

“On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and 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.” And as they went they were cleansed.

Jesus is on his final journey to Jerusalem[1], “The Lord was still in Perea when word reached Him of the serious illness of His friend Lazarus of Bethany. A few days later, He went to Bethany, raised Lazarus, and, because of the increasing plots against Him, retired to an unknown location. He took the disciples into retirement before going to face the final storm in Jerusalem.”[2]

The words “On the way to Jerusalem” remind the reader to the reader that Jesus is moving toward his passion. From where Jesus is you can almost see the city.

“he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance” – If you were a leper (today it’s called Hansen’s Disease), you had to announce yourself when you approached a person or group, in medieval times a leper would ring a bell, and yell “unclean!”[3] You had to stay at a distance or people would throw stones at you.

There were also varying local customary expectations, “Two rabbis disputing the question maintained, one, that it was not fit to come within a hundred cubits of a leper; the other within four cubits, when he stood between them and the wind. Another would not eat an egg if laid in a courtyard where a leper was.”[4]

 “and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” – In the previous healing of the lepers[5] he touched them and they were healed, but here he tells them to, “14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”[6]

Jesus commands them to do what a cleansed leper was supposed to do. Yet they stood there, looking as though they had crawled from out of a grave, in various stages of decay and disfigurement, clothing torn from constant mourning, skeleton heads and sunken eyes layered with rags soaked in decaying and putrid flesh.

Leviticus 14:2 “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, . .” They are on their way to have the purification rights performed for them by the priests. “If they were cured, they would joyfully undergo an eight-day ceremony and then be reunited with their families.”[7]

“And as they went they were cleansed.” – This reminds us of the Old Testament story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:10,14. “Naaman was a foreigner who was healed of leprosy by Elisha; Naaman was then converted to Israel’s faith.”[8] 14 “And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” . . . “14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” As the men were going about doing what they were told to do, they were cured.

If you are absolutely on the bottom, you have nothing to lose in trying Jesus, and taking Him at His word. So, the consensus was to begin the leper’s pace of hobbling to the Temple, which would have been a considerable walk. There were no mirrors out on the road, but as these ten men begin the trip suddenly, they begin to see each other change.

“From cadaverous faces reemerged ears, noses, eyebrows, lashes, hairlines. Feet – toeless, ulcerated stubs – were suddenly whole, bursting through small little sandals, Knobby appendages grew fingers. Barnacled skin became soft and supple. It would have been like being born again. The dust of a wild celebration quickly began in the bright sunlight.”[9]

From Inclusion to Perception (vv. 15-19)

15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner[10]?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Why does the one turn and head back to Jesus once “he saw that he was healed?” As he is running to the Temple, he realizes that he has been healed, and then realizes that Jesus is something more than he understood and he returns because he perceives that there is more to life, than to be cured and to return to a “normal life.”

So the one leper “turned back” – “ceremony must yield to substance, and that main points of obedience must take place of all ritual complements.”[11] “Christ had ordered it, and the Law demanded it. But the letter killeth. Love overrules Acts of Parliament. The nine held by the Law, but the one got the grace.”[12]

Jacob wrestling with God – you have to deal with your relationship with God. Genesis 32:22ff.

“Now he was a Samaritan[13]” – The lepers were all together, Jews and Samaritans – when you are a leper, politics, racism, Jewish history really doesn’t matter. When you are a social outcast, hated by society, the lowest of the low, and having to beg to eat, there is no hope for you to be anything but a leper, and eventually die.

To be a leper was awful, but to add the fact he was a Samaritan just doubled the fact that he was an outcast. But as the one man was healed, he had a choice to run to the temple, begin the ceremony and rejoin his family, or go back and thank God for his healing. If he waited, he may not be able to find him to thank him.

“It is the Gentile, the Samaritan, the outcasts and sinners, who respond enthusiastically to the offer of the Good News. Unlike the religious and proud, who assume that their piety guarantees their salvation, the outcasts and sinners assume no such thing (see 18:9-14) and eagerly accept God’s gracious invitation (see 14:15-24). The foreigner is the only one who came back to give thanks to God, because only he recognized his sin and his need to repent.”[14]

So, at this point the Jewish 9 separated from the 1 Samaritan. Their illness had drawn them together, but their freedom caused them to separate. What do you do with the freedom that Christ has given you? For these men they are free to go to their homes, begin working again, rejoin society – feel the touch of others, to be accepted by people. That overwhelming desire to belong, outweighed the spiritual obligation to be thankful.[15]

 What marks the difference between the 10 lepers is not that one is thankful, and the other nine are ungrateful. The difference is that one of the them has the perception to understand who Jesus is. If you are cured then you only need Jesus (miracle worker) once, if you seek Jesus for salvation (Son of God) then you need Him every day.

 The nine lepers were cured of their bodily disease (leprosy), they were not aware that they had not been cured of their spiritual disease. 2 Peter 1:9 “For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”

 When you understand God to be right before you, you don’t run away from Him, you throw yourself at His feet. When Mary realizes that it was Jesus after He had risen from the dead, she grabs Him and does not let Him go. John 20:16-17a “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, . . .”

“praising God with a loud voice”— He wanted everyone to know that Jesus had healed him. Earlier, he had pleaded in a loud voice, now he is praising in a loud voice? Who is it that is the most thankful to God? It is those that realize how really sick they are:

Matthew 9:12-13 “And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

“Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner[16]?” – Jesus fully expected that all ten would return. God should be at the center of their gratitude.

But their focus was here and now, temporal. Anyone can be thankful for something, but it is including the eternal God as the ultimate source of all that we have to be thankful for that is essential. Christ wanted these men’s hearts, not just their thanks. The nine missed an opportunity to be with Jesus. The nine missed being saved.

The Jewish people were looking for a Savior, a promised Messiah (Genesis 3), if anyone should have recognized Jesus as the Messiah it should have been the Jewish people, but here a Samaritan is the one who received salvation.

“19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” – “you may proceed to the priest with the assurance that you are thoroughly cured.”[17] The Samaritan leper put God in His proper place in his life, before he started to reorder and put his life back together after his illness. His perception of who Jesus was came from a heart of gratitude.

The other nine are healed, but without God being at the center of their lives and understanding that it is God who heals us, blesses us, saves us, and has a purpose and plan for our lives – then it won’t be very long before the other nine will be sick again – maybe not form leprosy but from a life where God is not the center.

In the original language where it says, “your faith has made you well” it literally says, “your faith has saved you.”[18] The nine had received a cure, the one received a cure and salvation. The one had leprosy on the outside which was healed, but he also had a spiritual leprosy on the inside that was healed as well. Gratitude allows you to be in place of receiving far more than you had anticipated and understanding an even deeper need.

The one is described as both a “Samaritan” emphasizing genealogy and “foreigner” emphasizing nationality. It doesn’t matter what your last name is or where you came from – salvation is received by faith in Jesus.[19] There is an inscription from the limestone block from the Temple of Israel which reads, “Let not the foreigner enter within the screen and enclosure surrounding the sanctuary.”[20]

Where once those who were not Jewish were kept outside – we could not enter into presence of God. But through the healing and cure of Jesus’ death on a cross – we can have salvation and enter into His presence.

The big idea of this passage is that there were people who were excluded, kept outside (because of a disease) that were allowed to enter back into society by being healed, which was emphasized by the fact that one of them was a Samaritan. Then one of the ten were allowed into God’s eternal presence through salvation that came through faith in Jesus.

We should show gratitude toward God because we have been healed of our sin and are now allowed to come into the presence of God and have eternal life. From Exclusion to Inclusion. We show genuine gratitude because it gives us perception to understand that all things come from God and He involved with every aspect of our lives.

This story also shows us that faith and salvation have to merge together. The nine men believed in God, they obeyed what was commanded to them, but once physically healed we don’t have any indication they ever came back. In order for a person to be saved, faith and Jesus have to come together. Just believing in God is not enough, we have to have a relationship with Jesus. We have to perceive that life is more than just getting what we want here and now, but there is an eternal purpose and plan for our lives.

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[1] Luke 9:51

[2] John Phillips, Exploring The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Kregel Publications, 2005) 225.

[3] Leviticus 13:45; Numbers 5:2; 12:10-12

[4] George R. Bliss, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Mark and Luke (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1881) 261.

[5] Matthew 8:1-4

[6] The is no written record that this ritual was ever even performed (Phillips, 226).

[7] R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word, Luke (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 604.

[8] Fred B. Craddock, Interpretation. A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, Kentucky; John Knox Press, 1990) 204.

[9] Hughes, 604.

[10] This is the only time in the New Testament that this word (foreigner) is used (Green, 626).

[11] J. Willcock, B.D. A Homiletic Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Luke (New York, New York; Funk and Wagner Company; 1896) 472.

[12] Ibid, 472.

[13] “The region of Samaria in Old Testament times (tenth to eighth centuries BC) was inhabited by the ten northern tribes of Israel. Following the death of Solomon, the northern tribes seceded from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south. The southern kingdom became known as Judah, while the northern kingdom was initially known as Israel, until it eventually came to be called Samaria after its capital city. In the eight century Samaria was overrun by the Assyrians. Its inhabitants were exiled, and in their place foreign peoples were settled. In the centuries that followed a half-Jewish and half-Gentile race of people emerged with which the Jews of Judah to the south and of Galilee to the north frequently quarreled and whom the Jews loathed” (Evans, 258).

[14] Craig A. Evans, New International Biblical Commentary, Luke (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson, Publishers, 2005) 256.

[15] “The story anticipates what is yet to come in Acts: a growing blindness in Israel, a receptivity among Gentiles. Why was this the case? Israel’s special place in God’s plan for the world had turned in upon itself, duty had become privilege, and frequent favors had settled into blinding familiarity (Phillips, 203).”

[16] This is the only time in the New Testament that this word foreigner is used (Green, 626).

[17] Bliss, 262.

[18] Hughes 606.

[19] Joel B. Green, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997) 621.

[20] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Luke (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 228.

Have You Lost Your Edge? 2 Kings 6:1-7

axheadThere once was a young man who wanted to be hired by a lumber company, and so he went to the foreman and asked for a job. The foreman asked, “young man, do you have your own axe?” the young man said, “yes” – then the foreman said, “this is Bill, if you can keep up with him, then you can have a job.” The young man looked Bill over, he saw that he was obviously an old man and the boy thought, “no problem – I know I can cut down twice as many trees as this old man!”

So the two men started cutting down trees. The old man would cut a tree and then the young man would cut a tree. About every few trees, the young man would notice that Bill would sit down and stop cutting. At those times the young man would swing even harder – “now is my chance to get another tree down.”

Hour after hour went by, and at the end of the day, the foreman went back and counted the trees. Bill had twice as many trees as the young man. “What, how?” said the young man, “I worked twice as hard, I never rested, I just kept cutting, and kept cutting.” And at this point, Bill said, “May I see your axe, and he held it next to his axe – son,” Bill said, “you didn’t stop to sharpen your axe. Boy, you can swing away, but it will take you forever to cut down a tree with this dull thing.”

Prayer, Bible Study, and the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives keeps our spiritual life sharp, but we have to stop the work of ministry and service to him; we have to stop taking the kids from this to that; we have to stop being busy, and sit back (preferably every day) and sharpen the axe. If we don’t we end up working very hard, but getting no where. It is so easy to work, work, and swing away, thinking that we are getting ahead, only to realize that we are getting further and further behind. Let’s look at the importance of being sharpened by the Spirit, and strengthened by His Word.

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The school of the prophets had grown to the point that they needed to provide new facilities.  As they are in the process of cutting down trees to build their new home, one of the prophets loses his axe head in the Jordan River. He becomes distraught because the axe head was borrowed.  He cries out to Elisha and the great prophet performs a miracle and the axe head floats to the surface and the man puts out his hand and picks it up.

The man who lost the axe head, is engaged in a great work.  He is busy!  Yet, if there is a flaw in his activity, it is found in this: he was working, but he was not watching!  As a consequence, he lost the axe head and was unable to continue his work. He had lost the cutting edge.

How Do We Get Our Cutting Edge Back?

“1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live.” And he said, “Go.” 3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?” “I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh, my lord,” he cried out, “it was borrowed!” 6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.”

3281521861_209db31fed_oIf we think of the axe head representing the power to get the job done then no man can chop down tress by flailing at them with an axe handle.  It takes the sharp, biting power of the axe head to eat through the wood and fell the tree.

In the church we need to realize that without our cutting edge, that is the power of the Holy Spirit, we will never be able to serve the Lord properly, nor will we be able to make a dent in this world for the gospel.  We need God and His power to get the job done for His glory.

Many times there are people who are so good at what we do that they can operate in the power of the flesh and no one notices the absence of God.  However, while we may be able to operate our churches, our programs and our lives apart from the power of God, we will never make inroads into the world apart from the power of God.  We will never be able to serve the Lord in an effective manner until we perform that service in His power alone.

Care That You Have Lost Your Edge (v. 5)

As soon as this man feels the axe head fly off, he cries out in despair.  He knows that he cannot continue what he is doing until he recovers the axe head. The first step in recovering the power of the Spirit is coming to the place where we know we do not have it.  I am convinced that many people walk through this life thinking they are filled with the Spirit, when they have lost His power and do not even know it.  They are trying to live for God and to do His work in power of the flesh and do not even realize that He is nowhere around.

This condition of many modern churches, and modern church people, rivals that of ancient Laodicea, Revelation 3:15-20 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Do we care enough to search our hearts, our lives and the life of our church and discover whether or not what we are doing is of man or of the Spirit?  Are we concerned about the presence and power of God being in the midst of His church? We are always congratulating ourselves on the fact that Matthew 3:20 “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” The Spirit of the Lord is in us.  When we show up at church, He shows up at church!  I am not talking about His mere presence.  I am talking about His manifest presence.  Where God not only shows up, but when He also displays His mighty hand! Do we care?

Confess That You Have Lost Your Edge (v. 5)

When this man realized the axe head was gone, he immediately told Elisha what had happened.  He confessed the fact that he had lost the cutting edge.  By admitting that the axe head was gone, he was also admitting to the fact that it had become loose and he had not bothered to tighten it.

After we discover that we are lacking something, we must come to the place where we can admit that lack to the Lord and to one another.  This is a very hard thing, for us to do is to admit that we have allowed this happen in our lives.

We want everyone to think that we are spiritual giants; we need nothing; and that we are in control.  Where are the honest hearts that will cry out and say, “I just don’t have the fire I used to have!  I am not as close to the Lord as I used to be!  I need the power of God operating through me to get the job done!”

What we need are honest hearts that will tell the truth about our condition.  We just need to come clean and tell the Lord the truth about where we are!  He already knows, but He wants us to know as well. Before we will ever recover the cutting edge as individuals and as a church, we must first come to the place where we can honestly admit that we can’t do it, but God can!  We must find that place of total and absolute dependence upon God and His power!  When we do, we will see souls saved.  We will see the manifest power of God in our services.  We will experience His power in our midst!

Comprehend That You Have Lost Your Edge (v. 5)

One of the reasons this man is so upset is because the axe head didn’t even belong to him.  He had borrowed it from someone in order to be able to help build the building.  Now, losing an axe head may not seem that big of a deal to you and me. We can drive to Lowe’s and buy them by the gross if we wish.  However, in that day tools and other things made of iron were very scarce and in short supply.  This is illustrated by a story from 1 Samuel 13:22 “So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.”

Plus the fact that it was a borrowed tool would require this man to replace the axe head, which he obviously could not do since he had to borrow it in the first place.  The fact that a person would lend this man a tool of such value was a sign that the owner of the axe head trusted the young prophet.  He did not want to violate that trust!

When we are working for the Lord, as we should, we are operating with borrowed power.  The power to serve the Lord does not come from within our own human nature, but it comes from the Lord above, Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Therefore, we need to be especially careful with the power entrusted to us.  May we never take it for granted.  May we never come to the place where we act as though nothing can take our power away.  God help us to never violate His trust!  Just as surely as the Lord gives His power, He can retract it again.

If we are going to serve the Lord and see eternal results from our service, we must accept the fact that we are unable to do the work within ourselves.  We need power from above.  We need borrowed power.  Yet, let us also understand that the same God Who so freely saves the sinner, will also freely give His power to those who seek it and are qualified to receive it.

 Getting Your Edge Back Involves Going Back (v. 6)

As soon as Elisha heard about the problem, he called the prophet back to the place where the axe head was lost.  Before it could be recovered, they had to go to the place where it had been lost. Before we can recover the power of God in our lives and in our church, we must return to that place where we lost the power.  That is, we must uncover the reason why the power has been forfeited.  Is it because of some sin that has been committed?  Is it because our priorities have become misplaced?  Is it because we are guilty of trusting the arm of the flesh instead of the power of the Spirit?  Where did we lose the power?

If we were honest, we could all pinpoint areas of our lives that stand between us and our having the glorious power of God on our lives.  What we need to do is to backtrack and discover where we wandered off course.  We need to go back to that point and make a course correction.

Getting Your Edge Back Involves Confrontation (v. 6)      

Elisha’s response to the situation is to cut down a tree and cast it into the river.  When he does, the axe head floats to the surface.  A miracle occurs when human means are abandoned and divine help is sought.

When we come to the place where we acknowledge the loss of the cutting edge, there is only one way to get it back.  There must be a confrontation with the divine!  First, there must be a tree involved.  The tree I am referring to is the cross of Jesus.  When we get serious about dealing with our sins and shortcomings, the Lord will respond with forgiveness and restoration, 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Then, there must be a total abandonment of all human effort.  Trusting a stick to make and axe head float sounds crazy, but it worked!  For us to stop trying to do the work of the Lord, to just step back, place it all in His hands and trust Him completely is difficult.  However, it is the only solution.

Friends, one of the primary steps in recovering the cutting edge of power in the church is a return to God’s altar.  When the church deals with her sins, and the way between us and the Lord is cleared of all obstructions, we can count on the return of His power and glory in the house of God.

Getting Back Our Edge Involves Commitment (v. 7)

The last thing this young man did was to reach down and take the axe head in his hand.  He committed to receiving by faith that which the Lord had done.  This may be the end of the story as far as the biblical record is concerned, but we can be sure of what happened next.  This young man firmly reattached the axe head to the handle and went back to work chopping down trees.  He had recovered the cutting edge and was able to do what needed to be done.

God has power available for those who will reach out and take it by faith.  When we come to the place where we are tired of the same old same old and are willing to handle our loss of the cutting edge in God’s manner, He will give us back the power to do His work His way.  However, it is not for the faint-hearted!  It is for the faith-hearted, alone.

Where is the cutting edge in your life? For most of us, it is at the bottom of the river, totally beyond our reach and beyond our ability to recover.  Can we get it back?  Yes!  If we will take the steps we have been given in Scripture.  Are you willing?

"Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts." Rick Warren

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