The One Who Came Back
Luke 17:11-19
We are often better at asking God for help than we are at returning to thank Him.
Luke 17 introduces us to ten men who were each living with the same terrible condition. All ten cried out to Jesus. All ten obeyed His instruction. All ten experienced His healing. But only one came back.
1. The Cry: Those Kept at a Distance Cry Out for Mercy
- According to the law of Moses, a person with a defiling skin disease was examined and declared unclean. They lived outside normal community life and warned others not to approach them.
- Suffering had removed many of the differences that might otherwise have separated these men. At least one was a Samaritan, while the others appear to have been Jewish.
- Normally, hostility existed between those communities, but shared misery had brought them together.
- They stand at a distance because the law required it, but distance does not keep their voices from reaching Jesus.
They cry, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
What is mercy?
• Biblical mercy is God’s compassionate response to people who are suffering, guilty, helpless, and unable to rescue themselves. Mercy sees misery and moves toward it with help: it sees guilt and offers forgiveness through Christ. It is not something we earn, but something God freely gives because of His compassionate character (Exodus 34:6; Ephesians 2:4–5; Titus 3:5).
2. The Command: Grace Calls Us to Trust Jesus Before We See the Outcome
- The passage does not describe Jesus touching the lepers or announcing that they were immediately healed. He tells them to go and show themselves to the priests.
- The healing happened on the road of obedience.
- Their obedience did not earn the miracle. Jesus’ mercy was the source of their cleansing. Yet their movement showed that they took His word seriously, even before they could see the evidence.
All ten were eager to receive their lives back—but only one realized that before going home, he needed to go back to Jesus.
3. The Comeback: Saving Faith Returns to Jesus with Gratitude and Worship
- The feet of Jesus are the right place for our need and the right place for our thanks.
- Familiarity with spiritual things does not guarantee a grateful heart. We can know the songs, understand the language, attend the services, and still become accustomed to grace.
- Blessings do not automatically produce worship. Sometimes blessings simply reveal what already rules the heart.
Personal Survey:
• What do you have today that was once an answer to prayer?
• What form of mercy has become so ordinary that you no longer notice it?
• What would change if you stopped viewing your life mainly through what is missing and began remembering what God has already given?
4. The Culmination: Saving Faith Receives the Greater Gift
- The tragedy is not that Jesus failed to receive proper recognition. The tragedy is that the nine received something from Jesus and then continued without Jesus.
- Jesus is not merely a crisis manager. He is Lord.
- He is worthy when we need something and worthy after the answer comes. He is worthy when the door opens and worthy when it remains closed. He is worthy because of who He is, not merely because of what He gives.
- The deepest problem in our lives is not sickness, financial pressure, family conflict, or disappointment—as real and painful as those things are. Our deepest problem is sin, which separates us from God.
The story leaves us with a question: In which direction are you walking?
Series Information
