One out of ten lepers appreciate Jesus
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Modern medicine has an effective treatment for leprosy but back in ancient civilizations it was greatly feared and those that were affected had to isolate themselves from society.
There were different methods that Jesus used when he healed somebody, in this situation he told the guys to go see the priest before they were actually healed. The Old Testament law said that they were to go to the priest after they were healed so that he could verify the healing and offer an animal sacrifice as part of a cleansing ritual. (Leviticus 14:1-32)
The ten left Jesus to go to see the priest and then on the way there they were healed. Out of ten that needed relief, there was only one that returned to Jesus and this one happened to be a Samaritan, the people that the Jews despised. The crowd must have groaned when Jesus pointed that out to them.
We can never thank God enough for his kindness
Psalm 95:6-9 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did.Ninety percent of the men healed that day did not acknowledge that God had blessed them and changed their lives. That statistic probably stands true for every generation that has ever lived. We do not acknowledge God's love and compassion for all of the blessings that we have been given. His chosen people took him for granted and we all do the same. Worship was the appropriate response to the touch of Jesus in his life, Luke's gospel says that the man fell at Jesus feet and said “Praise God!” How often do we remember to stop and run to Jesus feet?
Reasons why people forget God:
- Easy circumstances - Deuteronomy 6:10-12
- Idolatry - Judges 8:33-34
- Pride and stubbornness - Nehemiah 9:16
Consequences of people forgetting God:
- Spiritual adultery - Hosea 1:2
- Social decay - Hosea 4:1-3
- The destruction of the nation - Deuteronomy 8:19-20
- The death of the sinner - Psalm 9:17
God has healed me and provided for every need that I have ever had, he has blessed me a lot more than I have ever said "thank you." I need to remember that I was made to worship him and I have more than enough reasons to do so.
Thank you Lord for all of your blessing. From salvation from my sins to the awesome planet that you chose to create for my pleasure to the daily provisions that you have provided, there isn't anyway to adequately say thank you.
