Sermon for Trinity 14, September 18, 2022
Luke 17:11-19 11 On
another occasion, as Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along
the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 When
he entered a certain village, ten men with leprosy met him. Standing at a distance, 13 they
called out loudly, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them,
he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
As they went away they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he
saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 16 He fell on his face
at Jesus’ feet, thanking him. And he was
a Samaritan. 17 Jesus
responded, “Were not ten cleansed? Where
are the other nine? 18 Was
no one found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to
him, “Get up and go your way. Your faith
has saved you.” (EHV)
Give
glory to God, faith in Jesus saves.
Dear children of the living God,
St.
John wrote in the beginning of his Gospel account, “He came to His own, and
His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11 NKJ) Here, Luke gives us a clear picture of what
that means. Ten men in desperate
straights came to Jesus pleading for His help, but after receiving this great
miracle, only one of the ten recognized Jesus for who He truly is. The Holy Spirit’s message for us, however, is
this: Give glory to God, faith in Jesus saves.
We often find ourselves quick to criticize the
nine for their lack of giving thanks to God, even though they assuredly
followed Jesus’ instruction to go to the priests to be examined. Thus, there is a very good chance that once
their healing was confirmed by the priests, those men offered up sacrifices of
thanksgiving for the healing they had received, so what really was their
mistake that left Jesus so dismayed? The
answer is His profound sadness that those whom God had chosen for over fourteen
hundred years and blessed with the Scriptures and countless prophets couldn’t
recognize Jesus when He walked among them.
As Jesus lamented as He neared the city, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who
kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not
willing!” (Matthew 23:37)
Large crowds were following Jesus that day. Some followed to hear His teaching, but by
this point, many had decided His teaching was too hard to bear, so perhaps the
majority of those still coming to Jesus were coming because of the countless
people He was healing. They thought He
was a miracle worker of the highest degree—a blessing from God to Israel. Yes, Jesus spoke brilliantly. Yes, He spoke of forgiveness and peace, but
what mostly resonated with the people was the physical healing.
Those ten men had heard what Jesus was doing to
heal suffering people. Desperate as they
were with the horrible affliction of leprosy, it’s no wonder they came to Him. Their disease separated them from families,
friends, and neighbors. The pain and
disfigurement that often accompanied leprosy, along with the removal from
society, left anyone who suffered from the disease nearly hopeless, but then
they heard about Jesus, so they came to beg for His help. They lifted up their voices while still
maintaining the required distance from any others. A leper’s voice was often subdued by
leprosy’s grip on the throat, but together, they raised their voice and Jesus
heard their pleas, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
Now, Jesus’ response might raise our eyebrows a
bit. He didn’t question anyone, didn’t
reach out to touch them, didn’t give them any instructions on things to do to
be cured. To some, it might seem like
Jesus was just brushing off their request.
Maybe even those sick men felt that way for a moment. Still, because Jesus said so, they turned
away to go to the priests.
Then, the most amazing thing happened—even as
they turned away. While they were still
leaving the area, their bodies were transformed. The diseased tissue regained its color. Feeling returned and the pain
disappeared. Any disfigurement they had
already suffered was gone. We can
imagine how exciting that had to be. If
it were any of us, I am sure we would sprint our way to the home of the nearest
priest we knew. Who wouldn’t? After possibly years of suffering, the end of
their shame was in sight.
Ten men turned to go away to the priests, yet
one man recognized a very important fact.
This healing could only mean one thing: this Jesus had to be the
promised Son of God and Son of David that the Scriptures had long foretold. “One of them, when he saw that he was
healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, thanking
him. And he was a Samaritan.” That
Samaritan, former lepper understood that Jesus wasn’t just a prophet or healer
sent by God. Jesus is God in the
flesh. Therefore, that outsider returned
to worship Him. He gave glory to God for
Jesus. Therefore, we too Give glory
to God, for faith in Jesus saves.
This morning, we are again confronted with the
truth of eternal salvation. It cannot be
earned. It cannot be received based on
nationality, race, or bloodline. It
comes only by faith in Jesus. As the
Holy Spirit caused St. John to write, “Everyone who denies the Son does not
have the Father. But the one who
confesses the Son has the Father as well.” (1 John 2:23)
To His disciples and the crowd that surrounded
them at the return of that lone Samaritan, Jesus responded, “Were not ten
cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give glory to
God except this foreigner?” Then he said
to him, “Get up and go your way. Your
faith has saved you.” Many
translations assume that Jesus is saying the man was healed by faith, but the
word Jesus used also means saved. Faith
in what they had heard about Him brought ten lepers to Jesus, and seeing what
Jesus could do brought faith that receives forgiveness and eternal life to a
Samaritan.
So, what about you and me? What does this example show us? God’s Son came into the world to meet us face
to face, to live and die to free us from sin and the devil’s control, to
satisfy the law’s demand for holiness and to throw open the gates of heaven for
all who believe. Yet, how do we so often
react? Do we go about the business of
life knowing what Jesus has done for us, but fail to return to Him giving
praise to God and thanking Jesus for what He has done? Do we find it too easy to let the
distractions and busyness of daily living keep us away from the Savior who
loved us enough to live and die in our place, who washed away our uncleanness
in Baptism and presented us fully restored and holy to His Father in heaven?
Do we remember daily that we need Jesus’
healing gift of forgiveness? When Sunday
morning rolls around, do we remember that Jesus is here in Word and Sacrament
ready to heal and feed us again? Do we
remember that when the Lord’s Supper is offered, it is Jesus who is meeting us
at the altar with His body and blood to refresh and heal our souls?
Far too often, even believing Christians go
church shopping to see which music they like better, or whether there are more entertaining
programs for kids, or maybe where do more people attend so it feels more
exciting. The better reason to decide
which church to attend is to ask the question, “Do I meet Jesus here?” Is His Word really proclaimed in its truth
and purity? Is it taught unequivocally that
Jesus is really and truly present in the bread and wine of His Supper? Is Baptism recognized as “the washing of
rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace,
we might become heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life.”? (Titus
3:5-7)
By the power and mercy Jesus showed those ten
lepers, that one, restored, Samaritan, former leper understood the truth that
Jesus is God in human flesh come down to earth to save people like you and me,
people with ordinary problems, frail bodies, and the same temptations, fears,
sin, and guilt as everyone else. Thus,
rather than coming to earth just to heal physical infirmities, the primary
separation Jesus came to cure is the separation between us and our loving
God. To His disciples, Jesus explained, “I
am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No
one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) Therefore, Give
glory to God, faith in Jesus saves.
Dear friends, many of you have been coming here
for years, decades, maybe even your whole life.
Why do you come? I pray that it
is because you too recognize Jesus as He is, the Son of God who took on human
flesh as the Son of Man and gave His life on a cross of shame so that you could
be reunited with His Father in heaven.
After He lived the life of perfect obedience to His Father’s will, and to
the full extent of the law, so that you could be counted holy as His Father in
heaven is holy, Jesus carried your sins to the cross to suffer death and
separation from His Father so that you never again have to suffer the agony of
separation from God and His loved ones.
When that leper experienced the miracle of
healing, he gave thanks to God in person for everything he had learned about
Jesus. Now, dear friends, remember the
restoration of Jesus on Easter morning. Crucified,
died, and buried for your sins, Jesus rose from the grave triumphant over sin,
death, and the devil, so that you could see who He is, true God as well as true
Man, with power over life and death, even His own. (John 10:17-18) That Samaritan was saved by faith in Jesus,
just as the Holy Spirit has declared about you and me: “God, because he is
rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive
with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians
2:4-5) All your sins are forgiven for
Jesus’ sake. Give glory to God, faith
in Jesus saves. Amen.
Amen.
Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and
ever. Amen.
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