Article by:
Rev. Kelcey A. West, MDIV
Luke 17:11-19 - Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy
Contrary to popular belief, because Luke was a physician, he trained to understand the difference between the practice of medicine and the practice of miracles.
The Bible teaches us in verse 11 how Jesus (first and foremost) went where he wasn’t invited.
Did you read what I just wrote? I know we like to take pride in being able to declare and decree – Come by here dear Lord, come by here, but you do know that because the Lord is sovereign, He does not need our devotional, promotional, and/or emotional invitations for Him to meet rejected, dejected and subjected people who are living on the edges and the borders of life.
In other words, the Lord does not need our permission to stop by churches and to bless people whose lives feel and look like leprosy, and/or “sick” people who “healed” people don’t want to get next to and/or people who are living on the edge to the point where their favorite message really is don’t push me because I’m close to the edge and I’m trying not to lose my head.
Contrary to popular belief, many people are trying not to lose their heads because they are being lumped in and classified with others despite the fact our condition is not quite the same. And I say this because during bible days acne and eczema were the same, just like shingles and hives would have been considered the same, as well as sunburn and a mere diaper rash. And for that reason, let us be mindful of how we sentence people to certain sections of the church or community seeing how not everybody who served time in jail was actually guilty of a crime.
The bible also teaches us in verses 12-13 how Jesus not only went where he wasn’t invited, but he worked where he was inclined.
The word incline means to have a tendency to do something. And because somebody reading this article just missed a reason to shout, please note that life has taught some of us that the Lord has a tendency (propensity and proclivity) to not only come and to see about us but to answer our prayers. And for that reason, we have a tendency to respond by singing – I love the Lord, who heard my cry, and pitied every groan. Long as I live and troubles rise, I’ll hasten to God’s throne.
Jesus was inclined to visit that particular village that had not 3, 5, or 8 men, but 10 men who had leprosy. And whereas the number three means completion, and the number five means grace, and the number eight means a new beginning, please note that the number 10 means testimony, law, and responsibility. Ten equals man’s responsibility to keep the commandments, and if giving 10% the number ten means man’s testimony surrounding his faith. And let us never forget how the Earth had only seen 10 generations before the flood.
Those 10 lepers remind us of how we have a right, reason, and a responsibility to ask the Lord to have pity (mercy, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, and empathy) on us. Today is a great day for us to pray for us, seeing how nobody will ever love us like us.
The bible teaches us in verses 14-17 how Jesus not only went where he wasn’t invited and worked where he was inclined, but He wandered where He went and worked intentionally.
Watch this - Jesus was intentional in telling the 10 lepers to GO and obey the Old Testament law and see the priest for healing. However, please note and always remember how the bible says that as they went, they were healed by New Testament grace.
The overall purpose of this article is to encourage people to understand that Leprosy stops being contagious the moment the treatment begins. Therefore, the moment the lepers became doers and not just hearers of God’s word (James 1:22-25), they were cleansed.
Seeing how Jesus wondered about the 9 who didn’t come back to say thank you, the closing question for the article is how many people will fail to come back and say thank you unto Him during this holiday season for being healed according to their faith and not their finances, fortune, or fame?