The Ten Lepers: It Takes More Faith to Receive Salvation than to Receive Healing
And it came to pass, as [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: 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
Overview
Focus on The Healer, not the healing.
Faith when sick is good, Faith when well is better.
Don’t just be healed, be Whole.
In Scripture, Jesus often uses miracles as object lessons. Here, in the Healing of the Ten Lepers, He teaches us the important differences between:
submission and exploitation;
faith and opportunism;
wholeness and superficiality.
Submission vs. Exploitation
Ten lepers see Jesus passing by and plead to be healed. Jesus agrees and sends them (according to Mosaic Law) to be examined by the priests. While on the way to the priests, they were healed.
This is the crucial point in the story. Their responses to being healed reveal their attitudes and (spiritual) outcomes. Nine of them moved on with their lives; just one returned to glorify and thank Jesus.
…Call upon mein the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.
Jesus explained the importance of this point in verse 18, when He said: “There are not found… to give glory to God…”. The point Jesus was making is that the nine who kept going did not have the right attitude toward the miracle or towards God.
When God works a miracle in our lives, the point of the miracle is to bring Glory to God. The miracle should reveal to the miracle receiver and the witnesses that God is in control of everything. Therefore, He is to be worshiped. And we must submit ourselves to Him.
He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.
On the contrary, nine of the ten lepers focused on themselves rather than on God. Hence, once they received their healing, Jesus was no longer needed. Jesus was no longer relevant to them.
They received His healing, but did not receive Him. He was not worthy of their submission. For them, Jesus was essentially a means to an end. Jesus just was exploited to accomplish a goal: their healing.
What about us?
By application, we must ask ourselves:
“Is Jesus our Master or just a means to an end?”
“Am I serving God for my gain or to glorify Him?”
“Is my focus on my healing or The Healer“
If we treat Jesus as just a tool/appliance then both the rewarding and the withholding of miracles or blessings will drive us away from Him. In John 6, Jesus fed five thousand men. Yet it is clear (John 6:15, 26-27) that great miracle didn’t help them to understand Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 16:21-23).
They wanted him to become their earthly King because they didn’t understand the redemptive work of Jesus. And they didn’t accept that He was already King. Hence, the great miracle did not draw them any closer to God.
What if God says no to your request?
Later in the chapter (John 6:28, 30-31), the people ask Jesus to prove himself to them again. This time Jesus refused to perform a miracle (John 6:29) and instead challenged their theology, their understanding of God. So many deserted Him.
The people were not drawn closer to God, whether Jesus performed a miracle or not! To those who abandoned Him, Jesus was a means to an end. When He didn’t deliver what they wanted, He became redundant, unnecessary.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
On the other hand, as His disciples showed (John 6:66-69), we can only truly come to Jesus when we accept Him as Master. The Disciples didn’t understand Jesus’ theology any better than the people (John 14:1-11). And they were often surprised by His miracles (John 6).
But they remained with Him because He was their Master, not just a means to get something they wanted. They focused on who Jesus was, not on what He should do for them:
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, “Will ye also go away?“ Then Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. “And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Celebrate the Healer over the healing
When Jesus is our Master, we focus on how we can glorify Him, not on how He can satisfy us. This does not mean we don’t have legitimate needs. But it does mean that our relationship with Him does not depend on those needs being met in the way we want.
Neither does Jesus’ importance/relevance begin or end when those needs are met (or not). Instead of celebrating the healing, we must celebrate the Healer, like the tenth leper did (Luke 17:15-16). Instead of celebrating the blessing, we must celebrate the Bless-er.
Faith vs. Opportunism
In His response to the tenth leper (Luke 17:19), Jesus next teaches us about faith: “…thy faith hath made thee whole.” Only, the tenth leper had enough faith to be made whole. He was made not only disease-free, but also sin-free! Salvation had come to his life. He now had a new heart to go along with his new skin.
Clearly, the other nine lepers also had a measure of faith. They had enough faith to be cured from their leprosy. As opportunists, they, like many of us, cried out eagerly to Jesus when they were in trouble. When the trouble passed, however, they quickly forgot about Jesus, the Son of God, as they moved on to fresh opportunities.
But Jesus shows us that that such opportunistic, situational faith was not enough for their salvation. Often, we think that we need more faith to see/experience God’s miraculous power. However, Jesus turns that notion on its head. More faith is needed for salvation, than sanitation; and only the tenth leper had enough.
It takes more faith to come to Jesus when there is nothing (earthly) at stake, than to go for healing when everything is at stake. It takes more faith to call on Jesus when all is well, than when our very lives are in danger. It takes more faith to give our lives to Jesus than to receive healing.
And He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Wholeness vs. Superficiality
Finally, Jesus makes a clear distinction between being healed and being whole/healthy. The tenth leper was the only one with enough faith for salvation. And so he was not just healed, he was made whole. He was made healthy in body, soul, and spirit. The other nine of the lepers settled for being healthy in body only.
Likewise, we often seek only material/physical miracles from God. We often forget to seek out spiritual miracles. But His word reminds us that the inner man is more important than the outer man:
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
To do the will of our Master, Jesus, we must be transformed inwardly. Being healed of leprosy in our flesh is of little consequence if we still have leprosy in our spirits.
Will we cry out to Jesus for the healing of our souls as much as we cry out for the healing of our bodies or the healing of our finances?
Do we have the faith to receive salvation and grow in sanctification? Or do we only have enough faith to seek out the goodies we desire?
Ten lepers went for sanitation. One returned with salvation.
Ten lepers in a pew, which one are you?
Think it over
Is it more important for God to meet my need than for me to serve Him?
When do I call out to God most? What do I want from God the most?
Is it good enough to be whole in God’s sight, even if my body is broken?
