Ten Lepers

The purpose of God’s compassion to us is to turn us into worshipers filled with joy and thanksgiving for Christ. We have a surprising story from Jesus ministry to consider this morning. It’s a story of Jesus miraculous healing, which is not surprising at all. We’ve seen plenty of that throughout the Gospel of Luke. What’s surprising about this story is that it wasn’t given to us primarily to teach about Jesus power. It does display Jesus power. And so we’ll talk about that. But this story is primarily about the reason Jesus does anything miraculous or kind or generous at all. When I was a missions pastor in Pennsylvania for, I guess about 15 years ago now, I worked a lot with the poor in our downtown community. We had a program called Circles, which partnered people from our church with those who were taking steps to work their way out of poverty. It was a fantastic program. I made a lot of friends. We saw whole families become financially independent and sustainable over time. And I got to share the gospel with a lot of people. At the same time that I was working in this, this ministry, I was also studying at Westminster Theological Seminary, writing a dissertation on the topic of how culturally middle class churches can lovingly embrace and include the generationally poor. And what I ran into over and over again in my research was the complex relationship between preaching the gospel and making disciples of Jesus on the one hand, and meeting the physical needs of people on the other. There’s a slew of literature out there written for church consumption that says things like Jesus loved without an agenda, or Jesus calls us to be his hands and feet, implying that we are not also his voice as we share the gospel. And these writers focus on the parts of Jesus ministry where Jesus meets physical needs, but they generally leave out what Jesus has to say about his own ministry. For example, here’s what Jesus says when he’s confronted with Jewish authorities in John chapter five. “For the works that the father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the father has sent me.” So Jesus is very clear that everything he does throughout his ministry does, in fact have an agenda. He did not come simply to perform good deeds and to help people out of their problems as an end in itself. God the father gave Jesus these works to do to testify to the identity of Jesus as God the Son. They are pictures of a restored creation in the Kingdom of God over which Jesus reigns as king. So the intention is that when we look at the works of Jesus, we will not just see compassion for the sake of kindness, but we will see Jesus and some aspect of his gospel, some aspect of his good news. And the good works that God has prepared for us to do according to Ephesians chapter two should do the same. They are also intended by God to point people to the wholeness, healing, love, and forgiveness that is found exclusively in Jesus. But as we’ll see today, the purpose of Jesus ministry doesn’t even end with seeing him for who he is. There is a step beyond that, even in what Jesus wants to see happen. The purpose of God’s compassion to us is to turn us into worshipers, filled with joy and thanksgiving for Christ. That’s what it’s about. It’s turning us into worshippers. Now, you might feel some tension with some of the things that I have to say today. But what’s new? Really? Right. What’s new? If you have developed over time a very strong feeling that a truly loving act would never have an agenda behind it. I understand that impulse in you. I understand, I get it. As a Christian. But let me just say, it’s not biblical. It’s not biblical. If we truly want to become like Jesus in every way, that would have to include seeing and doing compassionate work the way he sees and does it. And I believe that when we adjust our minds and our hearts to include Jesus purpose for his good works, we become more compassionate, not less. So when we’re in Luke chapter 17 today, we’re going to be in verse 11. I’ll take us through what happens in this account. I’m going to show you Jesus response to what happens. And then we’re going to I want to end with a couple of thoughts on how this should impact our compassionate work as Christians. So, here’s what happened on the way to Jerusalem. He was passing along between Samaria and Galilee, and as he entered the village, a village, he was met by ten lepers who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, master, have mercy on us. When he saw them, he said to them, go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. So Jesus is traveling through the regions of Samaria and Galilee on his way south to Jerusalem, which is in Judea. So think of three regions. You got Galilee in the north. It’s pretty good. You got Judea in the south. That’s even better. And then you got ...