The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
\nOctober 9, 2016
\nLuke 17:11-19<\/p>\n
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.\u00a0 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.\u00a0 They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”\u00a0 When he saw them, he said, \u201cGo, show yourselves to the priests.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 And as they went, they were cleansed.\u00a0 One of them, when he saw he was healed came back, praising God in a loud voice.\u00a0 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him\u2014and he was a Samaritan.\u00a0 Jesus asked, \u201cWere not all ten cleansed?\u00a0 Where are the other nine?\u00a0 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Then he said to him, \u201cRise and go; your faith has made you well.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 (NIV1984)<\/p>\n Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n Were you at all surprised by our sermon text for today?\u00a0 Did you perhaps wonder if I got a little \u201cconfused\u201d last week and thought that it was time to roast a turkey, bake a pumpkin pie and celebrate Thanksgiving?\u00a0 After all, the account of the Ten Lepers is very often the Gospel lesson for Thanksgiving Day!\u00a0 Most of us have probably heard more than one Thanksgiving sermon centered on the words, \u201cHe threw himself at Jesus\u2019 feet and thanked him\u2014 and he was a Samaritan.\u00a0 Jesus asked, \u2018Were not all ten cleansed?\u00a0 Where are the other nine?\u00a0 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?\u2019\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Since this is a very common reading for Thanksgiving and since we are not celebrating Thanksgiving today, you may indeed have been somewhat surprised by our sermon text for this morning.<\/p>\n At the very same time, however this sermon text, this familiar account of the Ten Lepers, fits in very well with the sermon series that we have been following for a number of weeks now.\u00a0 Today then let\u2019s see how the account of the Ten Lepers reminds us of this truth:\u00a0 As Disciples of Jesus\u2014 We Trust in Our Divine Healer.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 We trust in His mercy.\u00a0 We trust in His power.<\/p>\n Jesus was now making His way to Jerusalem for the very last time.\u00a0 Soon He would offer Himself as the <\/strong>sacrifice of atonement to completely pay for all the sin of all mankind.\u00a0 As Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem Luke tells us, \u201cAs he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.\u00a0 They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, \u2018Jesus, Master, have pity on us!\u201d<\/em> or that cry for help could be translated, \u201cJesus, Master, have mercy on us!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Since leprosy was a contagious incurable disease the Law of Moses required that anyone afflicted with leprosy must be isolated from the rest of society.\u00a0 That is how leper colonies came into existence.\u00a0 That meant that these men could not gather together with their families for any reason whatsoever.\u00a0 That meant that these men could not participate in the worship life of God\u2019s people.\u00a0 That meant that if these men did find themselves anywhere near someone who did not have leprosy, they were required to warn that person by crying out \u201cUnclean!\u00a0 Unclean!\u201d<\/em> (Leviticus 13:45, 46).<\/p>\n Being a leper was a very painful existence.\u00a0 Being a leper was a very lonely existence.\u00a0 For who knows how long these men could only count on other people fearing them, shunning them, avoiding them.\u00a0 Then they heard that Jesus of Nazareth was coming to the unnamed village here in our text.\u00a0 So what did they do?\u00a0 They boldly went out and \u201cmet him.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Standing at a distance as the Law required they joined their voices together and cried out, \u201cJesus, Master, have mercy on us!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Somehow these men had not only heard about Jesus, but somehow they had also come to trust in Him as their \u201cMaster,\u201d<\/em> as their \u201cTeacher,\u201d<\/em> as Someone who was filled with \u201cmercy\u201d<\/em> for the helpless and the downtrodden.\u00a0 Had they heard about the \u201cmercy\u201d<\/em> that Jesus had shown to the two blind men?\u00a0 (Matthew 9:27ff).\u00a0 Did someone tell them that this Rabbi from Nazareth had even shown \u201cmercy\u201d<\/em> to a Canaanite woman by healing her demon-possessed daughter?\u00a0 (See Matthew 15:21ff)\u00a0 In the end it doesn\u2019t make any difference how these ten lepers came to trust that Jesus, their Master, was a Man of mercy.\u00a0 What is important is that when these ten lepers knew that Jesus was near this village they went out to meet Him, trusting in His mercy.\u00a0 What is important is the example that these ten lepers have left for you and for me.<\/p>\n While none of us has leprosy there may have been times in our life when we experienced something similar to what these ten lepers lived each and every day.\u00a0 For one reason or another someone may have treated us as though we were \u201cunclean.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Perhaps they said unkind things to us or about us because of something we did in our past or because of something they \u201cheard\u201d <\/strong>we had done.\u00a0 Perhaps they shunned us as though we had some kind of contagious incurable disease that they were afraid of catching.\u00a0 If\u2014 when\u2014 that happens to us, what do we do?\u00a0 We follow the example of the ten lepers here in our text, we turn to our dear Lord and Savior and we cry out, \u201cJesus, Master, have mercy on us!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 And guess what, my friends?\u00a0 He will!\u00a0 I looked up every single time someone came to Jesus pleading for pity or asking for mercy.\u00a0 (Mercy = Matthew 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30; Mark 10:47; Luke 18:38; Pity = Mark 9:22; Luke 17:13).\u00a0 Guess how many times Jesus turned them down?\u00a0 Not once.\u00a0 Not even once!\u00a0 Even if no one else is willing to show us mercy, even when no one else has even an ounce of pity for us\u2014 as disciples of Jesus we can turn to Him at any time and for any reason (Pointing to the cross) and trust in His mercy.\u00a0 As disciples of Jesus we can turn to Him at any time and for any reason and ask Him to have pity on us.<\/p>\n Hand in hand with giving us a good example of how important it is to trust in Jesus\u2019 mercy, these ten lepers give us a wonderful example of how important it is to trust in Jesus\u2019 power.\u00a0 Look at what Luke reveals to us, \u201cWhen he <\/em>(Jesus) saw them, he said, \u2018Go, show yourselves to the priests.\u2019\u00a0 And as they went, they were cleansed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The moment Jesus looked at these men it was obvious why they were crying out to Him to \u201chave mercy\u201d<\/em> on them.\u00a0 And so as the all-powerful Son of the Almighty God Jesus very simply told them, \u201cGo, show yourselves to the priests.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 According to the Law of Moses only a priest could pronounce these men \u201cclean.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Only a priest could give them permission to rejoin their family and friends and to gather together and worship the Lord in His holy Temple.\u00a0 Only a priest could give them their life back.\u00a0 So what did these lepers do?\u00a0 Trusting in Jesus\u2019 power they immediately started making their way to the priests!\u00a0 I\u2019ve always pictured them running to try and find the nearest priest.\u00a0 \u201cAnd as they went,\u201d<\/em> Luke tells us, \u201cthey were cleansed.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Imagine that scene in your mind.\u00a0 Imagine these men running toward the village or running to wherever they thought they would find a priest and as they ran they could see the leprosy disappearing from their hands and fading away from their arms.\u00a0 Did they stop to take the cloth off of their face and feel that the tumors were gone?\u00a0 Did they jump up and down with tears of joy in their eyes as they assured each other that they were indeed healed?\u00a0 We don\u2019t know, but it wouldn\u2019t surprise me at all.\u00a0 In the end, however, it doesn\u2019t make any difference, does it?\u00a0 What is important is that all ten of these lepers immediately went to show themselves to the priests\u2014 even before they were healed.\u00a0 What is important is the example that these lepers have left for you and for me.<\/p>\n Now we need to take this example and we need to apply it to our own hearts and to our own lives\u2014 on two different levels.\u00a0 The first level is the physical level.\u00a0 As we journey through this world we encounter a variety of problems along the way\u2014 problems that are far beyond our control, problems for which there seems to be no \u201ccure.\u201d\u00a0 The most obvious of these problems \u2014 especially considering our text for today\u2014 is medical in nature.\u00a0 Just because we are disciples of Jesus doesn\u2019t mean that we are \u201cimmune\u201d to things such as:\u00a0 heart disease or strokes or cancer or diabetes or a whole host of medical issues.\u00a0 While we thank the good Lord for the wisdom and the skills that He gives to doctors and nurses, while we thank the good Lord for the discoveries that He has allowed medical science to make\u2014 the medicines and the surgeries that may have been unthinkable just a few years ago, but have now become commonplace\u2014 in the end we know where to turn, don\u2019t we.\u00a0 In the end we trust in His power to help us and to heal us.\u00a0 Some of us have already experienced that truth firsthand.<\/p>\n For example, I know people who were told that there was \u201cno hope\u201d for them.\u00a0 There was no medicine, there was no surgery, there was no \u201ccure\u201d for the physical problem(s) they were enduring.\u00a0 And yet, they and their family turned to the Lord in prayer, they and their family begged for His \u201cmercy,\u201d<\/em> they trusted in His power and He healed them!\u00a0 (Pointing to the cross)\u00a0 I had a member in one of my previous congregations who was shot in the lower abdomen area.\u00a0 The doctors said after their body had some time to heal they would need to have specialized surgery to correct a problem the bullet had caused.\u00a0 When they went back to the doctor in preparation for the surgery the doctors were simply stunned!\u00a0 There was no need for surgery!\u00a0 Somehow this person\u2019s body had already been healed!\u00a0 Yes, my friends, I have seen and heard of a number of cases where someone has turned to the Lord, begged for His \u201cmercy,\u201d<\/em> trusted in His power and He healed them!\u00a0 You may know of similar situations as well!<\/p>\n But what if it doesn\u2019t work?\u00a0 What if we don\u2019t get better?\u00a0 What if we or our loved one dies?\u00a0 Does that mean that our trust in His power was misplaced?\u00a0 Does that mean that there are some things that not even God\u2019s power can heal?\u00a0 Not in the least.\u00a0 This is where we need to take the example that these ten lepers left for us and apply it on a second level, on a higher level, on a spiritual level.<\/p>\n Far more serious than any physical problem we could ever possibly encounter here on this earth is the spiritual problem with which every human being is born.\u00a0 That spiritual problem is summed up in one word\u2014 sin.\u00a0 The original sin that infected us from the time we were conceived and born (Psalm 51:5) together with the actual sins that we commit against the God of heaven every single day of our life (Matthew 15:17ff; 1 Corinthians 6:9ff) guarantees that one day we will not escape the powerful grip of death.\u00a0 On our own we are helpless.\u00a0 On our own we are hopeless.\u00a0 There is no work we can perform to make up for even one<\/strong> of the sins we have committed against a holy, just and perfect God.\u00a0 There is no decision we can make to bring ourselves back into a right relationship with the Almighty.<\/p>\n Thank God, my friends, that as disciples of Jesus we trust in His power!\u00a0 (Pointing to the cross)\u00a0 Yes, we trust in Jesus\u2019 power\u2014 the victorious power that was openly revealed to the world on Easter Sunday.\u00a0 We trust in Jesus\u2019 power\u2014 the saving power that transforms ordinary water into \u201cthe washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit\u201d<\/em> (Titus 3:5).\u00a0 We trust in Jesus\u2019 power\u2014 the strengthening power that we receive every time we approach His altar to receive His true body and blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.\u00a0 We trust in Jesus\u2019 power\u2014 the comforting power that assures us that the instant our physical life comes to an end we will be ushered into our true life, our glorious, perfect eternal life in our heavenly Father\u2019s home.\u00a0 That\u2019s the guarantee that God Himself gives to everyone who trusts in Jesus\u2019 power!\u00a0 (See John 11:25-27; 14:1-3)<\/p>\n If you were surprised by the sermon text that we have before us today, let me give you a \u201cheads up.\u201d\u00a0 This very same portion of Scripture is scheduled as the Gospel Lesson for\u2014 Thanksgiving!\u00a0 While I doubt that I will choose to preach on this same text in just a few short weeks, there is no doubt that this portion of Scripture has value that goes far beyond encouraging us to give thanks to the Lord.\u00a0 My prayer this morning then is that as disciples of Jesus we will follow the example that all ten of these lepers give to us and trust in our divine Healer.\u00a0 Trust in His mercy.\u00a0 Trust in His power.<\/p>\n To God be the glory!<\/p>\n Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost October 9, 2016 Luke 17:11-19 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.\u00a0 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.\u00a0 They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”\u00a0 When he saw 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