(Read Luke 17:11-19)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.” Since we dealt with a Samaritan woman yesterday, I thought it fitting to close out the week looking at what Jesus did with a Samaritan man.
In Luke 17 Jesus encounters 10 men who formed a coalition of outcasts; they were all lepers. Leprosy is an infectious disease that attacks the skin and central nervous system and it causes multiple legions on the skin that produce a terrible smell. Lepers, for obvious reasons, were social outcasts. Lepers were considered unclean and since there was no cure, they were condemned to live the rest of their lives in leper colonies. Beyond the obvious physical damage, the treatment of lepers could easily cause psychological harm. They died a slow physical, mental, and social death.
So they were, 10 lepers, dying a slow death together, and one of them was a Samaritan. Under normal circumstances you would never see a Samaritan in the company of 9 Jews. Samaritans were considered half-breeds whose ancestors had deserted the faith and polluted the racial purity of the Jews by taking foreign wives. But racial and social stigmas took a bad seat to the leprosy. The 10 lepers kept together and kept the law as best they could, even following the commands from the scriptures that demanded they keep a safe distance between themselves and the non-lepers. That’s why they hollered at Jesus from across the way, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” They were looking for mercy, compassion… grace. Jesus complied without fanfare. He did not walk towards the lepers, He did not touch them, and He did not look up to heaven and pray. All Jesus said was, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” Under the law of Leviticus you were not considered cured from leprosy and allowed to reenter mainstream society until a priest pronounced you leprosy free.
Healing flooded their bodies when Jesus made the statement and they all took off in a hurry, looking for the first priest they could find. But wait! There was a problem. One of the 10 was a Samaritan. There was no way on God’s green earth that a priest would even talk to the man. The Samaritan could have been leprosy free from birth and a Jewish priest would never pronounce him clean. He was a half-breed, making him unclean, and there was nothing any priest would do about that. No amount of healing could change his race. So he did the only thing he could do and it was what his heart was yearning for him to do. The Samaritan went back and prostrated himself before the only Jewish religious leader who had compassion and mercy on him. This man laid at Jesus’ feet because Jesus extended to him an amazing grace that no one else would. For years I thought this story was one of gratitude, and it is, but there are layers of grace here that must highlighted. Jesus looked down at what He called a “foreigner” and pronounced him whole. In-so-doing Jesus performed an act of grace the man would not have received from the Jewish priests. And with that, the man got up and reentered mainstream society.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. God’s grace is freely available to all men, regardless of race, creed, gender, age, or etc.
2. Be careful not to look down on others because of some perceived imperfection, because upon closer review, you are not perfect either.
3. God looks past the stigmas the world has placed on us in order to meet our true needs.
4. We could never earn what God freely gives us; all we can do is receive it by grace.
5. Adoration and praise is the proper response to God’s amazing grace.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for this Word. As I learn of the treatment the Samaritans were given by the Jews I take self-inventory to consider the treatment I give others. I never want to disregard, deject, disqualify, or devalue anyone, because I know You can use us all. The reason I am convinced of this fact is because You use me. If I know me the way I know me, and You still use me, then I know You can use anyone for Your glory. Help me Father to build people up and to never tear them down. Help me to release any stigmas I have in my heart towards others, because of race, religion, creed, age, gender, or anything that will hinder Your love from flowing through me. You extended Your grace to me and for that I will forever give You glory, honor, and praise! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
