Where are the nine?
Scripture Reference: Luke 17:11-19 (KJV)
Luke 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 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. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
The first thing I want to do today is imitate a doctor and share some medical research that I found of the internet and in the dictionary with you about leprosy.
Leprosy - Chronic granulomatous communicable disease occurring in tropical and subtropical regions; characterized by inflamed nodules beneath the skin and wasting of body parts; caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae
Chronic - Being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
Granuloma - A tumor composed of granulation tissue resulting from injury or inflammation or infection
Communicable - (of disease) capable of being transmitted by infection
Node (nodule) - Any bulge or swelling of an anatomical structure or part
Bacillus - Aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
Mycobacterium - Any bulge or swelling of an anatomical structure or part
Some of us are wondering why is it that we believe, pray and have faith yet we never see a change in our situation.
We feel hopeless and helpless. We feel that there is absolutely no way that anything can be done to fix my relationship with my children, wife, parents, boss or cure me of this fatal illness or bring me out of this depression (You pick the situation). We are utterly and hopelessly lost.
It is truly amazing how we are prepared to spend bundles of money with doctors, lawyers, psychiatrist, etc.
Please don’t get me wrong if you are led to use these resources placed by God then by all means use them and follow their instructions.
However when we use these supplemental resources we must always remember the true and primary source of our healing. (Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.)
There are still some sicknesses and disease that man in his finite wisdom cannot heal but the bible declares and I believe that Jesus can heal every sickness and every disease. (Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.)
This is why it is so important that we fully understand the true power of God over our bodies. He has the power to heal us immediately and without any type of medicine known to the finite mind of man.
So many of us have been confounded and restricted by sickness and disease and we have yet to try God.
Evidently these ten men believed that there was something about Jesus that could heal them which also meant that they had to have some knowledge of God in order to be persuaded of this truth.
It is amazing how Jesus used a simple act of obedience that is written clearly in the bible to start the process of making them whole. (Leviticus 13:9 When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;)
Understand that by shewing themselves to the priest Jesus knew that these men would have been declared miraculously cleansed which in itself would have been a sermon for everyone around to hear from the mouth of the priest. But these men should have already been to the priest. That should have been the first thing that they should have done.
Jesus should have said go and shew yourselves to the priest (again) or they should have said that they had been to the priest already but they should have certainly already made contact with the priest in reference to their sickness.
Have you made contact with the man of God in reference to your sickness
The men were just like you and I searching for healing looking for a breakthrough. However it wasn’t just a healing that was being performed on this day.
Jesus desire was to make them whole.
Some of us are in no way sick or diseased and yet we are not whole. We don’t know what it is we are missing and we are not sure what it will take to fill that void but there is certainly something that is stopping us from being whole. We need Jesus to fill that void.
Many historians believe, teach and preach that the other nine went forth to see the priest. The bible does not say this so I am not sure but if they went and saw the priest then the priest were just as dumbfounded by their healing as anyone else was. If they went to the priest then the priest probably followed their Jewish traditions and told them to wash their clothes. Now we have nine men with clean clothes healed of leprosy.
I would like to share this story with you that I received from over the internet. It is entitled Winston Churchill
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby ! bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.
There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son’s life."
"No, I can’t accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.
"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.
"I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did.
Farmer Fleming’s son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.
What saved his life this time? Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son’s name?
Sir Winston Churchill.
I pray that this story was a blessing for you as it was for me.
But the moral to the study and what I am trying to get you to see today is that there is a blessing is in giving thanks. Instead of rushing off to do things with the things that God has blessed you with let’s take a moment and say thank you.
So many of us use the money, cars, houses, and all of the other stuff that God has blessed us with nicely but who will turn around and remember God and give thanks.
The bible says that we should do this in remembrance of him. He did four things right here
1. Took bread
2. Gave Thanks
3. Brake It
4. Gave it to them
(Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me)
Out of these four things which of them gives God the most glory.
Actually many of us are doing fine with the parts about the bread but it is the part about the thanks that we need to work on.
Jesus wants us to remember to give thanks and be humble like the tenth that came back.
In doing this we too can be made whole
Conclusion
Some of us are healed and clean but what we need to do is be made whole. That is what Jesus is offering us today. He is offering us a chance to be made whole.
Are we willing to give thanks that we receive this blessing from God or are we part of the nine that are lost?
They are certainly lost because Jesus asked, “Where are the nine?”
Don’t be the nine be the tenth.
Let’s Pray
Thank You. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Amen
Your Friend
Minster Juan D. Lane
