Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” NASB, Luke 17:15-19

 

Gratefulness to God is lost in our society. Just think of the messaging out there. When was the last time you saw a commercial about the good things God has done for us and an encouragement to be grateful? Yeah, the answer is never.

 

In the story above from Luke 17, Jesus has an incredible encounter with ten Lepers. The Lepers approach Jesus and cry out for mercy and healing. Jesus tells them to Go Show themselves to the Priests. He gives them something to do in obedience. All ten do it, and it says that on their way to the priests, all ten are healed. If the story had ended there, it would still be an awesome example of the mercy and healing of God through Jesus. The story doesn’t end there.

 

In verse 15, we read that one of the ten lepers realizes that he has been healed and turns back and runs back to Jesus and falls at his feet and gives thanks to Jesus. Now there is no indication of how far away they were when they realized they were healed. We are given Jesus’s response to the one who came back. Surprise. For two reasons. One that he came back and gave thanks, and two that he was a Samaritan.

 

The fact that he was a Samaritan was notable to others who would have been watching. The message here would be that anyone can be healed and receive the Mercy and Grace of God. Even those who were not part of God’s chosen people, the Jews. This is huge and keeps happening in Christ’s ministry. People from all backgrounds come to Christ, and he doesn’t turn them away; he heals and saves them.

 

The Gratefulness in this passage is the miracle to be celebrated. Parents know this one well. When our kids say thank you or express appreciation of Gratefulness, especially when they are teenagers, we freak out. We are taken off guard, not understanding what miracle prompted the response. In reality, it’s a miracle of God’s Mercy and Grace working in a life that prompted this response. It’s also a noteworthy part of the picture, the man’s faith.

 

There is always a connection between Faith in God and Gratefulness. When we understand the Love, Mercy, and Grace of God, our faith responds with Gratefulness. Christ’s words here are noteworthy, “Your faith has made you well.” The literal translation of made you well is “saved you.” I love what Pastor Jon Courson says about this passage. 

 

“All ten lepers were healed—but only the one who gave thanks was made whole. That is, he was saved spiritually as well as healed physically. Jesus notices those who comeback to say, “Thank you.” Pastor Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: New Testament.

 

Hoping that we all exercise our faith in recognizing the Love, Mercy, and Grace of God toward our leprous state of sin in the miracle of Gratefulness.

 

Pastor Mike