I was glancing over my journal and realized that while I was reading the book of Luke the Holy Spirit had been highlighting some “hard sayings” to me…at least that’s what was being recorded as I journaled. So, as I looked back on the texts, I came to realize that I am to exhort you concerning them. It is the Holy Spirit, who will simply be using my writing herein to exhort you Himself. So, listen up! (smile)
When I say these are hard sayings, I’m telling you the truth!
The first one that I was given to highlight, is from Luke 9:62.
“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
In other words, this man wanted to say his goodbyes.
19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee.
And he (Elijah) said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
Let’s begin with Elijah’s words, Go back again. For what have I done to thee?
I learned that in modern language Elisha was telling him, “Do what you’re going to do! I am not making you do anything! The choice is yours!”
The way Elijah said it, I’m sure, made Elisha more than acutely aware of what was being asked of him in way of commitment. I’m sure everyone had heard of the prophet, Elijah. He was being given a great honor in being called to follow in his footsteps…to carry on his mantle. But Elijah didn’t want someone following him that wasn’t 100% committed either, so I have a feeling Elisha knew more by Elijah’s body language, than his words, just what Elisha was communicating.
Verse 21 tells us then what Elisha did…He made His decision.
And how do we know his thoughts?
Elisha slew the oxen he had been plowing with…boiled their flesh and the instruments of the oxen…and gave the meat away to the people. In modern language, we would say he “burned his bridges behind him”. He didn’t give himself opportunity “to turn back” from his new commitment… or to return to his old life…, for without oxen and instruments, his “livelihood” was no more! He made it so he could not ever “change his mind”! Going forward with his decision was now the only option he left himself with.
And what was that decision? We see from verse 21 that he went after Elijah and would from then on minister to him and learn all he could from him. He made his deliberate choice to accept that mantle, to FOLLOW HIS NEW MASTER, and not ever change his mind! He was 100% committed.
So, now, back to Luke, and Jesus’s words:
“No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
I heard the Spirit say to me: “To Be Fit, You Have to Commit.”
The second hard saying that the Holy Spirit highlighted to me from Luke is found in Luke 11:23.
This is what that scripture says:
“He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scatters.”
14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. 15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. 16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
If you took this verse “out of context”, you still could get the jest of what is being told to the disciples. And that is, you and I can’t remain neutral when it comes to Christ Jesus and our commitment to him.
What the context does is shows us the reality of the intense spiritual warfare that is in play. The strong man, in this scripture, is the devil who keeps someone bound, and has literally taken control of a man’s life. In this case, the man just delivered had a devil that was causing him to be unable to talk! He had no voice! But the stronger one – Jesus’s power – when he cast that devil out of the man – caused the man to have a clean house, so to speak. The devil inside him left and suddenly the man was able to speak. Oh, what joy! We call this “deliverance” in Christendom today.
Many of us have been delivered from demons (devils) of various kinds and have experienced the joy of being set free! Hallelujah! Jesus is teaching us all from this passage though, that if a person doesn’t allow Christ to fill that particular place in their life, that the devil had occupied, and they don’t begin living “for God” and gathering people to Jesus, that person then leaves themselves WIDE OPEN for other spirits MORE WICKED THAN the first one they were delivered from, to come right back in! Why?
Because that void will be filled with something!
We will either be full of God or full of the Devil.
It appears the choice is ours once set free!
Let me explain it with an illustration:
Let’s say a man came to Christ and he had an addiction to pornography. Jesus delivered him from a devil that had been continually taking him into lust. Jesus removed that spirit of lust and forgave his sin, removing his guilt, and he was delivered from sitting for hours at his computer looking at porn. The desire was gone. He was free. Well, for a while he was okay. But if he went forward without really making a commitment to being “with” Christ and gathering in others to the Kingdom, soon he would be “feeling the void” that that vice in his life had filled. Perhaps bored on day, he’d sit back on his computer and that devil would whisper into his ear, “no one need know!” …for that spirit of lust desires to go back to his originally dwelling place. So, the man clicks on a familiar website from his past. He should have replaced that computer time with using his computer to study the Word of God, or simply obeying something that God led him to do to fill that void. But as it was, his compromise opened the door to not only the return of that devil, but because he was swept clean and yet he didn’t fill that void with giving the Holy Spirit place…, other, more powerful devils, who could then “come in” by lying to him and saying, “Why just watch this on the computer, when you can go out and have a real-life sexual encounter?”, and another one would say, “Your wife need never know if you just go out on your wife when traveling”, etc. Many other spirits could then come in causing you to become “a liar” (to cover your tracks), “a partier” (so you could meet up with women), and even “an abuser” (for devils distort true affections). Do you see the progression? The downward slippery slope? In my illustration here, the man didn’t choose God’s side! And he found out really quickly, that he could not stay in-between! He couldn’t go forward on his own, because what is not God’s rightfully, Satan claims as his own!
“Could God deliver this man again?”
“This time from all those additional spirits that came in too?” you ask.
Well, I asked the Lord… for you…because I know many readers will question that.
And this is basically what I heard from the Holy Spirit. It is definitely a word of warning:
I looked up Matthew 12:45, a parallel passage, and Matthew ends with these words:
“He that is not with me is against me: And he that gathereth not with me scattereth.”
No neutrality or compromise is allowed.
The next hard saying in Luke that the Spirit of God highlighted is found in Luke 12:47.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”
We will look at Luke 12:41-48 first… The context of this teaching of Jesus Christ:
41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”
“No, Elizabeth, that’s not what I’m saying! Let me explain to you what I am saying:
Men and women can choose to ignore their callings, their mandates, their to-dos, and the things I’ve entrusted them with… but I will tug at their hearts if they are my servants.
Let’s say, I spoke to a particular servant of mine and gave him the gift of administration and specifically, while in that position, I put upon his heart the task to bring forth additional support of missionaries worldwide. He knew he was to work on a divine strategy, and that missionaries out in the field were needing extra finances to continue, that would result from his fulfilling his mandate. I gave him skills in computers, in programming, in relating to people one-on-one, and in finance. In other words, he was given all he needed in way of skills to fulfill the task. In addition, I opened a door up for him to make a living while he was working on this task for the Kingdom of God. In other words, he was provided for. The spiritual gift, he was given was in the area of administration and he had the gift of wisdom as well. So, understanding this, do you think that I, His Lord, have the expectation that he will fulfill his mandate? That I will find him “so doing” when I return? I put him “in place” and “in provision” and “equipped him” and “made it clear what I expected”… …so as my servant, do I desire to have him fulfill his purpose in my Kingdom?”
YES! But just as in the parable, there is free will involved.
What happened to the servant in the parable?
Exactly – He lost focus on his purpose!
And he began to eat and drink, and to be drunken!
So now let’s talk about Saying 3…
“That servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.“
3. Neither did according to his lord’s will
Okay, Lord, so back to your illustration. What do you mean he prepared not “himself”?
Glad you asked…and you can answer… You are my servant. How do you prepare yourself?
Exactly. Different stewards will prepare differently, but mainly they make themselves ready for when I come! They keep their hearts pure. They stay in communication with me. They take care of their health and finances and seek to be the best at what they do and who they are. They maintain a focus on their purpose to me. They let me in. They don’t run away from me. They want to please me! To make me happy! They want to be the best at what they do! Excellence is part of who they are!
Genesis 39:1-23 Joseph as a Steward
13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
“Lord, I know each person may take note of their own observations, but what I see at my conclusion of my reading this passage, is that you, God, will cause good stewards to prosper; because their faithfulness to you means that they can be trusted and will manage that prosperity the way it should be managed. They will have their lord’s will first and foremost in their hearts. Did you want me to glean that?
Yes… and now I pose a question:
“Well, God, seems to me this scripture actually gives us the answer! …for Potipher actually judged Joseph as being “untrustworthy” and it says in verse 19 that “his wrath was kindled”, and that “he took him and put him in prison” … in fact “the king’s prisoners were bound there”.
In fact the parable in Luke tells us that the unfaithful servant will be visited when not expected and his Lord will “will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.”
Yikes! That is a severe judgment! And Christ is talking to and about us, his own followers! Oh my!
Lord Jesus, help us to be faithful stewards to you! To be serving you faithfully every moment of every day, not just “some of the time with lukewarm hearts and inconsistent actions.”
Please, Lord, give us the proper mindset of how to live our lives in a way that we are seeing after “your will” and “your kingdom”!
I shall group the next two hard sayings together. For Christ is telling men and women that if they don’t follow these particular guidelines they “Cannot Be Christ’s Disciple”.
Listen up. It’s worthy to note that Christ Jesus himself is speaking these words. Trust me, they are completely foreign to worldly men and women, but they need to be understood by everyone who is serious about following Christ Jesus.
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.“
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Read these through several times, and then we will focus ourselves first on Saying 5:
When Christ wrote this mandate, he was letting his disciples know that if or when it would come time to choose between doing His Will…versus the will of his own father, mother, wife, child, brothers, or sisters, and even his own will…a true disciple must “choose” Christ’s Will over all their wills individually, or even collectively. It will be as if he would hate them, because frankly, that’s how they may interpret him choosing Christ’s will over theirs! In their hearts, attitudes, and maybe even words, they would say, “Aww, you don’t love me! Or you’d do this, or that!” They may never ever understand your choosing God’s will over theirs. And it would be like hating even your own will, for you’d have to deny your will and maybe even give up your own life, to choose Christ’s IF it was different than yours and his plans would be dangerous. I have read many-a-missionary-story that required that person to deny themselves to go to lands unknown to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mary Slessor and William Carey come to mind immediately! They had to leave all behind to receive God’s calling. But they did it because they were true disciples of Jesus Christ. God may not ask that much of you or I, but to be willing to put his will about all else is still a prerequisite to being a disciple.
Now look at Saying 6, and you will see it goes right along with this mindset.
“Whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
What was the cross to Jesus Christ?
And yet it became the place of his victory.
2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Friends, when we strive against sin, and against the powers of darkness in this world, we are carrying our cross.
We have Christ, who DID IT! He was victorious, and He lives within us to enable us to bear our crosses too.
It is a mindset we must embrace. No one, meaning no other person, can bear your cross…only your own self.
Each of us must bear our own cross.
Yet we see in Luke that the main way to do that is that we must follow Christ! We can’t leave out the middle of our verse in Luke here: “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Christ will be Faithful to Lead!
And you will “Feel Your Cross” for you will experience suffering.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
Our choices will not be understood by those around us who are not believers. Best way to get away from your persecutors is to lead them to Jesus! (smile) Amen?!
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
Christ Jesus continues his discourse of who cannot be his disciple, with a couple illustrations.
The first one is found in the verses leading up to Christ’s statement. Let’s look at Luke 14:28-30:
Clearly these verses imply that a builder better make sure they count the cost first, to see if they can actually finish! And this should be done before they even start! Otherwise, they will be mocked by others… if they could not finish it. People will notice… they started and couldn’t finish! I’m sure that the builder would prefer not to be mocked and ashamed. The worst torment would be upon himself! … him seeing how much time and energy, and money, that he wasted over time, on something he couldn’t finish! There is a cost to commitment. It must be considered!
The second one is found in verses 31-32:
So, how do these illustrations lead up to our Hard Saying 7? which says,
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
I prayed and pondered, and this is what I received from the Lord:
Now imagine if they had left all that behind, and yet not having counted the cost, they don’t truly follow Christ, giving Him their life fully. They could end up losing everything having to do with their former life, and then not have it pay off in the end because they never counted the cost, so they didn’t finish their race! They didn’t continue on! Their enemies grew larger in number than their Christian companions! They didn’t complete their purpose. They would have a double whamee loss, in other words. A loss on the front end of their faith journey, and a loss at the end of their faith journey. (too tragic to even ponder!)
Being Christ’s will give you everything you need yet will cost you everything you have.
You’d best “count the cost” – Prepare your heart – Think things through as best as you “can plan” and are able to consider. If miscalculation comes, be ready to have it cost you everything! Consider peace with your enemies…i.e. humbling yourself before them. Better to humble yourself before them than to be mocked by them I’d say. I’m not talking “compromise” of your faith, but I am talking of discovering common ground wherein you can enjoy dwelling in peace together. Everyone is warring way too much!
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
The next focus that was highlighted to me was found in
“Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”
“There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.”
How is that a hard saying, you may ask?
And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
There are several things worthy to note here:
First, that Jesus did have mercy on all ten lepers, in response to them simply asking, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Jesus responds in compassion to anyone who comes to him for mercy, as he did to all ten of the lepers that approached him. They had stood afar off, as those with leprosy were to do, and made their plea from the required distance; And yet, they obeyed Jesus’s instruction, by faith, to “Go show themselves to the priests.”
This was understood by them to mean they would be touched, for it was the priests that had pronounced them, in their present state of disease, as “unclean”. This is why they were dwelling “outside the camp”. Their obedience was “an act of faith” on their part, and Jesus responds to faith. They knew that to be considered “clean” again, a priest would have to pronounce it so.
The Word tells us that, as they went, all ten of the lepers were healed! This is truly amazing! Picture it for a moment!
Each one of these lepers was healed of the same thing at the same time by the same amazing Jesus!
Oh what power and authority is given to Jesus Christ our Lord!
Can God heal “corporately”? Why, of course!
What happened to the ten lepers proves it is possible to God! Hallelujah!
Secondly, the Word of God points out that only one of the ten returned to Jesus to give him glory and thanks! Scripture specifically identifies this person “as a Samaritan”. So let me talk about that with you for a moment:
In those days, the Jews didn’t have much to do with Samaritans, yet it seems that because these ten men shared the same “disease” they were inclusive of one another and walked together in unity due to their “shared disability”.
This set of verses tells us so much about the Lord Jesus, and people will miss it, if they just quickly read over these few scriptures.
First, we are talking about a marginalized group – the ten lepers; and then we are talking about a person even within that group that is “considered less than the others” in acceptance within their norm. In modern definition, the Samaritan was considered a “half breed”, whose discrimination was as it used to be in olden days, before races were mixed as they are today or accepted as the norm.
We see this throughout the Word of God, and in modern day life, that the cry of every man’s heart is for another to “see them”. That they matter! That they are valuable! That they deserve to exist and have a place in society, etc.
Friends, Jesus saw all ten! He even saw this “one” who stood in the midst of them.
Jesus did not differentiate who He would respond to, nor did he discriminate.
Each man was an individual in Jesus’s loving eyes of compassion. He responded to each one’s faith!
Didn’t we already note the amazing work of Our Lord! That all the lepers were healed of the same thing at the same time by the same amazing Jesus!
YES! And such an awesome miracle deserved praise! Amen?!
And that’s what “the one man” did! He praised God! And he was The Samaritan!
Now we get to something very, very interesting… even more insightful than what has been mentioned:
Again let’s read what happened:
Do you see what the Word is declaring? In no uncertain terms?
“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at His feet giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.”
The Word is saying that Jesus IS GOD.
The man, declared a Samaritan, recognized who Jesus really was!
He fell down on his face at his feet! To Worship!
But upon receiving “this experience of a supernatural touch from Jesus” it is important to recognize, as the Samaritan clearly did, that God was the one touching them, not a mere man.
Jesus, the Son of God, is himself God. This passage makes this clear. It declares it! Some modern translations have divided it with punctuation, yet it is clearly stating that He glorified God and knelt at His Feet. (That would mean “at God’s feet”…yet it is clear in the verse, he was knelt at Jesus’s feet, letting us all know from the word that Jesus is God.)
Oh friends, do you see it? If not, let me share some more! This is so exciting! (smile)
The Holy Spirit took me to God’s own words of Psalm 50:23.
So, let’s look at the remaining verses of our scripture passage, okay?
So, let’s look at this scripture too, in more detail…
Friends, we have established He is God. God is telling us His Will. He is clearly disappointed in the nine that did not return to give him glory or thanks! He changed their lives “forever” with the miracle they received from him! No longer did they need to stay outside the camp, be ostracized, miss their loved ones, not be able to enter the temple, go to the marketplaces, and be marginalized!
They literally received NEW BEGINNINGS in Jesus Christ, as do we all when we encounter Him!
Yet these nine did not think to even turn around to give glory, or to give thanks, to Jesus.
I asked the Holy Spirit some questions:
Was it because they did not recognize Him as worthy?
Was it because they doubted whether their healing would last?
Was it because they were in a hurry?
Was it because they were too excited!
Was it because they were just trying to obey Jesus to get to their destination?
And to this, I received this reply:
“It was because they were under the law and not under grace.”
In almost disbelief that I was hearing right, I asked the Lord, “What do you mean?”
I mean, sincerely friends, it was the last thing that would have entered my own mind!
The Spirit illuminated the fact that only one of the ten turned back to give glory to God. To thank Him! And Jesus refers to him as “a stranger”.
Therein lies our clue, and the beginning of the Spirit’s reply to my inquiry:
Yet then, I was taken a step further into revelation, by the word “stranger” itself, as I pondered the Spirit’s statement that the other nine were “under the law and not under grace”. To them “obedience to the letter of the law” – was of the “highest priority!” – and that law said that a man must show himself to a priest to be declared either clean or unclean.
Note, before Jesus came, the Law of Moses ruled the Jews. Yet these lepers were now receiving “grace” and “mercy” from Jesus Christ. They had “come to Christ” to ask for this “mercy”. And they received what they asked for. Yet they remained “under the law” in their practice, even after their encounter with Christ.
But, we note in this scripture passage, that it was the one who was not “under the law” that returned to give thanks to Jesus Christ, recognizing him, as God.
“And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
Friends, this isn’t what Jesus meant!
Modern translations are watering down the gospel!
And yet the literal meaning of “salvation” by “faith”, is what I believe Jesus is conveying.
I say that because it had “already stated that the lepers were healed”. All ten of them. So why would Jesus then tell the Samaritan at his feet, again, that “thy faith hath healed you”?
Tis true it did, initially, bring him physical healing along with the other nine because they obeyed Jesus to go on their way to go to the priests. But, do you hear what I’m saying? Jesus is singling out this man to reveal to all of mankind something very significant. Let us interpret scripture by scripture.
We will look at that Old Testament scripture one more time that the Spirit gave me:
God’s own words of Psalm 50:23. It reads:
How this applies to the leper who was at Jesus’s feet, is what I will not reveal:
Note: “Conversation”in this verse refers to “manner of life”; one’s deportment or course of life. This word is never used in Scripture in the sense of verbal communication from one to another.
The words of Psalm 50:23 of what “would come to such a one” is the declaration of God himself to that one: “will I show the Salvation of God.” So, we can then see that this passage of Luke 17:19, doesn’t mean just healing or whole, but does mean Jesus was offering this non-Jew, stranger, Samaritan SALVATION BY FAITH.
Yes friends! True salvation! … as in justification before God, forgiveness of sin, the ability to go on his way free and without care, and no need to do any further works for that salvation! He had encountered Christ, who is himself God! He was as Abraham had been… declared righteous by faith!
So now, let’s return to the Spirit’s declaration TO ME, that the reason the nine did not return, is that they were under the law, and not under grace. Again, we can interpret scripture by scripture…as we see some lessons spoken of in other portions of the Word of God.
I will share some verses that come to mind, from the Spirit:
The first passage comes from Galatians 3:21-29…especially note the verses that I have bolded:
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
But those “under the law” don’t always recognize “God with them” – in other words, Jesus.
Jesus, when he came, was announced as “Immanuel” – meaning “God with Us!”
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The sad thing about the nine lepers who didn’t come back is… they didn’t “recognize” Jesus. They knew he healed them. They knew he taught good things. They even recognized him as a Rabbai (that’s why they called him Master). But they did not see In Christ “their Salvation”, nor that “He was God”, nor that He was “worthy of glory”, even though they got healed. In essence, the Law blinded them.
And yet, isn’t this the way it is with modern men and women?
II Timothy 3:1-5 describes the last days, and the “conversation definitely not aright” like this:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
However, knowing modern man, and I even include myself in this… Sometimes we “are healed by the Lord Jesus after praying” and yet we never tell a soul, or go to him in thanks, or glorify his name in worship! We just “take it” like its owed to us. Surely the mentality of men in these last days is that the world owes them. Thankfulness is further from their minds than even God!
The Samaritan…the One Leper who returned to glorify God and worship Jesus at his feet and to give thanks, was the ONLY ONE of the ten who Jesus clearly states WAS GIVEN SALVATION. The other Jews, under the law and not under grace, received a physical healing and a return to their loved ones, but they MISSED OUT ON THE MOST VALUABLE GIFT THEY COULD EVER HAVE HAD: Salvation! Closeness With God! Awareness that Jesus WAS GOD! And that IN HIM was where their true salvation could have been.
They went their way… even after their encounter… receiving “The Gift”… but not “The Giver”!
Modern day Christendom must become alert to Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Jesus was God with Us. I John 5:12 tells us, “He that hath the Son hath life; He that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
The One Leper received Jesus! Described specifically as a “stranger” – a “Samaritan” …He is a picture of one who is “under grace”, and not “under the law”! He Received and glorified Jesus as God! He was given Life! His Faith led to his Salvation!! The law cannot bring anyone salvation. Those nine surely missed out!
What is your faith bringing you?
…That He should be glorified as God?
…That He should be thanked regularly for the many blessings that are yours, in Him?
…are you coming to Him and obtaining grace and mercy?!
…and then, are you returning unto him with a thankful heart?
…Are you as the nine who are occupied in the law, in self-righteousness, in trying to keep every ordinance, without realizing the you could be enjoying all Christ has done for you?
You are not under the law, but under grace, if you have met and received Jesus Christ! Ask for his touch! Ask for his healing! Ask for his salvation! It takes faith! But Jesus made a way! That’s what “his cross” was all about! Making the way for all mankind to receive salvation under grace! This IS the GOOD NEWS!