Grateful: Giving Thanks to God in All ThingsSample

The Gratitude of One

By Wendy Bello

Today we will read Luke 17:11-19. As Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51–19:41), He had an encounter with a group of men who suffered from leprosy. The law of Moses required that lepers live outside the city (Num. 5:2-4) and not be allowed to mingle with the rest of the people. The law also commanded that a person afflicted with any skin disease had to be examined by a priest. This examination would determine if the person was clean or not. If clean, the person was allowed to return to a normal life with the rest of the people (Lev. 14:2-32).

When Jesus commanded the men in chapter 17 to go show themselves to the priests, they were still sick and unclean. Their healing took place while they were on the way to the priests. Jesus hadn’t even touched them, yet they witnessed the power of the one true God!

After the healing took place, Luke notes that one of the men returned praising God. The text emphasizes the nationality of one man, the Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews were not on friendly terms. The Jews despised the Samaritans and considered them unclean. The groups had a long history of racial and religious conflict. But it was the Samaritan leper who came back with a grateful heart. The mercy of Jesus had changed his life, and he could not remain silent. He returned shouting and praising God.

Jesus made a connection between gratitude and giving God glory. Giving thanks to God is honoring Him, a way of glorifying Him as we acknowledge what He has done. When we realize how merciful the Lord has been to us and the magnitude of our salvation, giving thanks should be the natural response of the heart. Jesus was bringing that to the attention not only of the cleansed Samaritan but also of His disciples who were watching the episode unfold.

The ten lepers came to Jesus looking for healing, but the last verse reveals that the Samaritan received more than he asked for. Jesus told the man “Your faith has saved you” (“. . . has made you well” ESV, NIV). The Greek word for saved is sozo, a word used in the New Testament to speak of salvation from sin.1 His healing went beyond the physical realm. The power of Jesus not only transformed his body but also his heart.

Read Luke 17:11-19, and pray that God would help you live a life of thanksgiving.

1. John MacArthur, Luke 11–17, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2013), 394.