Jesus Heals All
Saint Luke 17:11-19
September 22, 2019 anno Domini – Redeemer
Pastor Nathan’s sermon really ticked off King David. Do you remember that sermon? Nathan told the story of a very rich man and a very poor man. The rich man had thousands of sheep and the poor man had a single lamb. That lamb was almost like family to the poor man. One day the rich man had company for dinner and instead of serving up some of his own mutton he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and fed it to his guests. When David heard this sermon he was enraged. He thought Nathan was telling him about an injustice in his kingdom. So David, as King, was going to right this wrong. David declared, “The man who did this deserves to die.” Then Nathan concluded the sermon, “David, you are the man. For you killed Uriah and took His wife Bathsheba for yourself.”
The story of Jesus healing the Ten Lepers is similar to the sermon Nathan preached to David. At first you get mad. If you’re running the numbers Jesus only gets back 10% of what He gave to those lepers. Only 1 in 10 returned to give Him thanks. He gave them everything. He restored their bodies, their marriages, and their work. They could get home in time for Sunday brunch, kiss their wives, hug their kids, grab a cold beer, and watch the Vikings beat Oakland. Jesus gave them all that and what do they return to Jesus – nothing. It was a miracle, worked by the Only One who could help them, the Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus did this for them and they take it all with gladness and joy in their hearts, but don’t even bother with a thank-you. The men who did this deserve to die.
But what’s the problem with getting angry at the 9 lepers? Couldn’t Jesus easily say, “You’re the man?” We are quick to complain when God lets one little thing be taken from us. In the midst of trouble we forget to give thanks for the manifold blessings that we still possess and enjoy. When God blesses us with an abundance of material wealth we run and enjoy our personal pleasures and worship them instead of Him.
Jesus does not want or need our thanks. He wants us to have faith. He doesn’t commend the 10th leper for his thanks, but rather for his faith. Jesus said to him, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”
All Ten Lepers had some faith in Jesus. That’s why they sought Him out. Lepers weren’t supposed to be out and about. They were to keep their distance from others. They were to shout “Unclean. Unclean” when anyone drew near because leprosy was contagious and deadly. But these guys had faith, not faith in some generic god, but faith in a guy named Jesus of Nazareth. They had heard His name on the pipeline of the poor and pitied. That Name gave them a real hope for the future. This fellow Jesus was casting out demons, giving sight to the blind, healing the sick, even raising the dead. Since He was in the area, these lepers, by faith, went looking for this Jesus fellow and when they met Him cried out, “Lord, have mercy.”
But what happened to their faith? Their faith was only in their health and well-being. Their faith was in kissing their wives, hugging their kids, and getting back to work at the olive oil factory. With family and food their faith was content. So finally their faith was not in Jesus. Their treasure was not in heaven. Their faith was in their own hearts. When their sickness had turned to health, when their loneliness was lost, their faith was satisfied. If that’s all you want from God that’s all He’ll give you, but that faith won’t save you. That faith won’t make you well.
Faith in Jesus saves. Faith in Jesus makes you well. Jesus is God in the flesh and He has come to make all people well. Jesus knew that 9 lepers would go their merry way. 9 lepers would take His gifts and run, but that doesn’t stop Him from giving out His gifts. He is gracious and merciful to all – all ten men were cleansed of leprosy. All ten men were restored to their homes and villages and families and work. In the same way Jesus dies for every sin of every sinner. He doesn’t die for only those who will believe. He doesn’t die only for those who manage to beat back some sin in their lives. He dies for all. He dies for you. And when He ordains His apostles into the Church’s ministry He sends them to “make disciples of all nations” by baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity and by teaching them all God’s Word. Jesus doesn’t just die for every day ordinary sins. He dies for the ones you don’t want anyone else to know. He dies for the ones the Devil keeps bringing up. He dies for that one with which you wrestle and are often stuck. He dies for the most disgusting sinners we see in the news and the one we see in the mirror.
The 10th leper, that outcast Samaritan, “turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.” It wasn’t that his faith put Jesus first. His faith was all in Jesus, only in Jesus. Jesus alone was the reason his body was cleansed. Jesus alone was the reason he could go back to work. Jesus alone was the reason he could ask that cute young woman down the street out for a date. Everything he received was given by Jesus and all of it now would be received and enjoyed in Jesus. His faith wasn’t in Jesus first, but in Jesus alone, and that faith received even more from Jesus. “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.” That word “well” means more than healthy, because the leper was already healed. It means saved, forgiven, righteous, alive forever, promised the resurrection. It is exactly the same word used in Scripture for “saved” – your faith has saved you. Not because of your faith, but because of Jesus.
10% wouldn’t be a bad return in the stock market, but Jesus isn’t in it for a little profit. He’s in it for you. He didn’t just save part of you. He took on flesh and then your sin to save all of you – to save your sin stained soul and your deaf ears, your dimming eyes, and your arthritic back. There’s no part of your life outside of His mercy. By His saving work you can now save your marriage by forgiving each other. You can save your children by teaching them of Jesus. Your work as a Christian is now God’s work – for by your work you serve your neighbor. You don’t need to feel guilty enjoying the gifts of this world, the beauty of nature, a good book, an exciting ballgame, because they too are gifts from God. There is no part of your life Christ has not saved. Jesus doesn’t want 10% of you. He doesn’t want you one hour a week. He doesn’t want part of you or some of you. He saves all of you and He wants all of you to believe in His name. Amen.