Faith That Returns (Luke 17:11-19) [2026-3-22]

Good morning church family. Let me welcome you to Grace and

Truth Baptist Church once again, if you'll please find a seat.

If you are new here, my name is Frank and I'm one of the elders

here at Grace and Truth Baptist and I am glad and zealous this

morning to be giving you a message.

Pastor Matt and his family are not here this morning and so we

will not be in the book of Genesis as we have been these

past few weeks. This morning we will be in the

book of Luke chapter 17, verses 11 to 19, and it is the passage

Luke 17:11–19

about the 10 lepers. As usual, we'll begin with a

reading of the text and I'll go through the exposition and then

application. So if you will now follow along

in God's Word as I read from Luke chapter 1711 to 19, on the

way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and

Galilee and as he entered the village he was met by 10 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. Then one of them when he saw

that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice,

and he fell on his face at Jesus's feet, giving him thanks.

Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, we're not

ten cleansed, where are the 9? Was no one found to return and

give praise to God except this foreigner?

And he said to him, rise and go your way.

Your faith has made you well. Please pray with me.

Father, we praise you this morning because we have been

recipients of your mercy in Christ Jesus God, I pray that we

would be filled with a sense of joy knowing that your mercy

welcomes sinners and welcomes us in this morning.

I pray now for your help, God, that I would speak with

tenderness and truthfulness that is from you.

Please help me now and help us to hear from you this morning.

Please speak, O God, in the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

We have a lot to get through this morning, so we will begin

with an exposition of the passage.

I'm going through section by section to understand it, and we

will start with verse 11 to 12A. On the way to Jerusalem.

He was passing along between Samaria and Galilee, and as he

entered the village, he was met by 10 lepers.

And so the setting is here and he is referring to Jesus, and

Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem.

Luke takes time here, as is a theme in his gospel account, to

point out where Jesus is going, where his ministry reaches its

climax. Jesus always knew where he would

be going and what would happen in Jerusalem.

It would be there where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will die

and sacrifice himself on the cross for sinners.

Luke writes that he is passing along on the way to Jerusalem.

Somewhere between Samaritan territory and Galilee is

northern Israel, and this is important because this is the

setting for where the rest of the account unfolds.

And we do not know exactly where geographically this village is

and where Jesus is, but the fact that he is between two

territories implies that this village is made-up of Jews and

Samaritans. Certainly the group of lepers is

a mixed group. It implies that this village

maybe as well. Relations between Samaritan and

Jew were complicated to say the least, and and not in a positive

manner. It was.

It was a very tense relationship.

Samaria in Samaritan history reaches us far back as the Old

Testament, when Israel was split between the northern and

southern Kingdom and God uses Assyria as his tool of judgment

for his people's idolatry and the the 10 tribes of the

northern Kingdom of Israel are conquered by Assyria and

assimilated. And so even to this day, from

the Old Testament to now, Samaritans and Jews, they had

two central places of worship, which is a point of contention

already. For Jews it was Mount Zion,

Jerusalem, and for Samaritans it was Mount Gerizim and Shechem.

Samaritans considered themselves to be true Israelites.

Jews did not, and considered Samaritans to be essentially

Gentiles. So there's real animosity

between Samaritan and Jew. But here, Jesus passing along

the territory of both, we see a picture of our Savior bridging

this divide. At least I see that it is here.

On the outskirts between Samaria and Galilee there is a village,

and Luke says that as he entered, likely near the

entrance or on the edge of the village, Jesus has met 10

lepers. Misery and suffering has brought

these lepers together and we should see this.

It's just a sign of how serious leprosy was in those days, Maybe

hard for us to imagine today, but in those days leprosy was

very severe. Leon Morris writes this.

Normally Jews and Samaritans have little to do with one

another, and it is a mark of the horror of leprosy that those

suffering from this disease had lived together, ignoring

distinction they would otherwise have seen as compelling.

So a leper in those days is someone who had some sort of

skin condition that was likely chronic.

It's a wide term. It's not just the the narrow

like modern day leprosy is known as Hansen's disease.

Leprosy in the Bible covers a wide range of skin conditions.

Leviticus 13 describes all of this in its gory detail.

And in summary, it affects your life physically and

relationally. Being a leper meant that you are

considered unclean and you must be ostracized from the rest of

society, from those who are clean until you are declared

clean by a priest. So these 10 leopards are here

likely because they had a chronic disease that categorized

them as unclean. And so they are separate.

Not only are they separate on the outskirts of like, you know,

in the village, but they're separate even in the village.

Likely, you know, apart in the near the entrance or kind of on

the edge. It's thinking about this week.

It was hard for me. I really wanted to and just kind

of like preparing for the sermon, trying to just

understand and empathize with the suffering of someone with

leprosy of these 10 lepers. And it's hard because modern

medicine has, by the grace of God, come a long way, and so a

lot of skin conditions are are not as severe today as it was in

those days. The closest thing I could think

of, it's not comparable by any means, was a time when I

discovered I was allergic to Vick's vapor rub.

And I, I had, I had congestion and like the natural thought was

like you, you like have Vicks and it like helps clear

congestion. And so I had Vicks vapor rub

like all my chest, my neck, you know, and, and I slept with

Vicks vapor rub and in the morning it was all red and I was

like, I had hives that on like my neck on like my chest.

And it was, it was irritating because every time I would wear

a shirt, it would, it would irritate.

And so I'm like, well, I can't not wear a shirt throughout my

so like I'm like wearing a shirt and like, and then it would get

worse and then some liquid would start coming out and, and then

like I couldn't sleep because it was like I could just feel it.

It was just irritating. And I was so itchy.

It was, it was stinging. And so then my sleep was

affected and then I just felt unwell.

It took about two weeks for all of that to go away and I thought

about that. I thought about how there's

something to physical ailing of your body that hits you

differently. I think about Job.

The last thing that Satan strikes Job with says that Satan

strikes him with loathsome sores from the sole of his of his foot

to the crown of his head and and Job taking a piece of broken

pottery, scraping himself as he sat in the ashes.

So I imagine that not for weeks, but for years possibly, and at

the same time, being apart from my family, being apart from the

church, being a separated from society because I am unclean.

That is my life. And often if you were a if you

had chronic leprosy, it's hard to not feel like that's just

what defines me. It's in those days like that's

your identity. You are a leper.

And this is the suffering that these 10 lepers bring to Jesus.

Look at verse 12, B to 13, who stood at a distance and lifted

up their voices saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

There are three observations that I have.

So notice the disposition and position of these lepers. 2 who

the lepers believe Jesus to be, and three, notice what the

lepers ask for. We'll take them one at a time.

Notice their disposition and position.

These lepers, they stood at a distance and they lifted up

their voices. By law, those who are unclean

need to be apart from those who are clean, and so forth.

Physical and spiritual cleanliness.

It meant that these lepers cannot just go up to someone

who's clean, so they keep a distance.

They do not dare to get close to someone who is clean.

And So what do you do when you're at a distance?

You cry out and that's what they do.

They raise up a voice and they call to Jesus.

Luke 531 says those who are well have no need of a physician but

those who are sick, and they knew that they were sick, so

they cried to Jesus. And that's their disposition and

their position to notice who they believe Jesus to be.

They apparently know of Jesus. They have heard of Jesus.

They call Jesus master. This word master literally

translates to master or Lord 6 times in the New Testament.

This word exact word is used of Jesus.

Peter called Jesus master on the mount of Transfiguration and he

says Jesus master. It is good that we are here.

John the beloved disciple call Jesus this word master.

And the disciples in the boat during a storm while Jesus is

asleep, they cried to Jesus saying Master, Master, we are

perishing. This is not the only word for

Lord in the New Testament. But what I do want us to see is

that the six times in the New Testament we see this exact word

used, five of them are from Jesus's disciples like Peter and

John. The one time, the lone time this

word is used from someone not of that group is here by these 10

lepers. They refer to Jesus as master.

And these 10 lepers are right. They did not see Jesus like some

of the crowds would see Jesus as as a as a rabbi, as a as a

teacher or as a as a miracle worker or a meal ticket or or

even a prophet. They saw Jesus as master.

They refer to him in a way that we only see Jesus as disciples

refer to him. Three.

Notice what they asked Jesus for.

They lift their voice and they cry for mercy.

I find it interesting they don't ask for healing.

I don't want to press this too much because there are a lot of

situations we see in the New Testament where people come to

Jesus and ask for mercy. And it's it's implied they have

a condition they desire healing. But what I will say is this,

what you ask for from someone does stem from who you believe

the person to be. I have not gone to my doctor

when I'm sick and asked for mercy.

I asked for a prescription. I'd have not gone to a teacher,

someone I saw as a teacher or a professor and asked for mercy.

I've asked them for knowledge, ask them for understanding.

These 10 lepers, they ask for mercy.

And I like what Daryl Bock writes about this.

The call for mercy is a request to someone of superior position

to show compassion. Let's continue to verse 14.

When he saw them, he said to them, go and show yourselves to

the priests. And as they went, they were

cleansed. Jesus responds to their cry for

help, and his response is gloriously surprising.

He says go and show yourselves to the priest, All of them.

And when were they healed? As they went?

Not before. Showing yourself to the priest

is not the first step, it's kind of the last step.

Like when you are healed of leprosy you show yourself to the

priest to be confirmed by the priest as you are clean and you

are able to re enter society. Jesus tells them to go and show

yourselves to the priest. And as they went, they were

cleansed, meaning that they were still leprous when they heard

the words from Jesus to go. Jesus tells them, and it's not

like, oh, I'm healed, I should, yeah, I'm going to go show

myself to the priest. They look down and they still

see it. And we get no indication that

they go to Jesus and they're like, wait, what?

Heal us first. Make no mistake about it.

Jesus can heal them on the spot by His word.

Chronic diseases conditions are healed at the word of Jesus.

Should Jesus choose that. The centurion 6th servant

rightly says to Jesus, just say the word and let my servant be

healed. Jesus did not need to go to the

centurion's house to perform the miracle.

And at a distance, at his word, the servant is healed.

So I want us to see that these 10 lepers go, and to go takes a

measure of faith, to believe Jesus at his word, to go and

show themselves to the priest. We will talk about the faith of

one specific leper shortly. But I do want us to see that all

10 did believe Jesus, and all 10 went and all ten were healed.

Take a look at verse 15 to 16. Then one of them, when he saw

that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice,

and he fell on his face at Jesus's feet, giving him thanks.

Now he was a Samaritan. One of the 10, upon seeing that

he was healed, had a different thought and followed a different

route than the rest of the 9. Let's look at the actions of

this one. When he was healed, he turned

back. Don't miss that.

I sometimes give the other nine a lot of grief because I'm like,

why didn't the other nine turn back?

Like why? Why was why is it just one?

But Jesus did give them instruction.

They say go and show yourself to the priest.

So were the other nine just simply obeying Jesus?

They're like Jesus told us to go, go and show ourselves to the

priest. Maybe they had intention to go

back to Jesus after showing themselves to the priest.

Or were the other nine simply eager to move on, eager to

rejoin society? Glad that they were healed.

Their life has changed and they wanted, they want to move.

They want to go make up for lost time.

We don't necessarily know. We don't know the actions of

from the other nine besides this story.

What we do know is that one man, when he saw that he was healed,

he turned back. Luke loves using this word,

returning back. He turned back 32 times.

Luke uses this word in his writings and Luke in Acts.

It literally means to turn back or to return.

And notice that this one leper does not turn back, does not

return begrudgingly with like it was his duty or just an

obligation. Like, yeah, you know, it'd be

good manners to go back to this person.

Thank you for healing me of, of my chronic disease.

Thank you for giving me my life. This man was praising God with a

loud voice, a loud, great, mighty voice for a great and

mighty God who has healed him. This man recognizes it is God

who has done this. God is the one who has worked

this in his life. So to God he praises and he

comes and he falls on his face at Jesus feet and gives him

thanks. I love this.

I I would like for us to see the beauty of this this morning,

that this man recognizes that he has been healed.

And previously this man, like all lepers unclean, could only

be at a distance crying out to Jesus.

And now he is healed and no distance is needed.

He goes right up to Jesus. I can't even imagine what that's

like. He goes right up to Jesus and he

falls on his face in worship. He who was, who could only be

far off at a distance, now boldly, humbly approaches Jesus

and falls at his feet in worship.

Luke confirms that this man is a Samaritan.

And so this note tells us that at least one that was a

Samaritan. We don't know if this group had

more, but at least one was a Samaritan.

And I think Luke includes this because similar to the centurion

and the Canaanite women create examples of commendable faith in

the New Testament didn't always come from places that we would

expect. Certainly in those days Jews

would expect Jews would be the ones demonstrating commendable

faith. But here it's a Samaritan.

Let's look at verse 17 and 19. Then Jesus answered, we're not

ten cleansed. Where are the 9 Was no one found

to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?

And he said to him, rise and go your way, your faith has made

you well. Jesus asks 3 rhetorical

questions. We're not ten cleansed.

We're the other 9 Was no one found to return and give praise

to God except this one foreigner?

And when he asked was no one found to return?

That's the same word of the Samaritan for turning back.

Was was no one found to return, to turn back and give praise to

God except this one? And it's hard to read this any

other way except disapproval of the actions of the nine and

approval of the actions of the One.

The one who was at his feet Jesus speaks to directly and he

he assures him of his faith. But Jesus's questions and

statements raise some important questions for us.

At least to me it did. Why did Jesus heal all 10

knowing that only one would return?

Because because Jesus, he knew that only one would return.

Why did Jesus heal them as they went?

Was it to see who would return? We also don't know how far along

the way, like, you know, they went until they was healed.

They were healed. Could have been, you know, right

after. It could have been, you know,

mid journey. But maybe most importantly, what

does this mean about the faith of the rest of the 9 lepers?

How was the faith of the one different from the 9?

Did all 10 have saving faith? We'll touch on these in our

application. I have several points of

application for you this morning.

I hope that you have many more in your own meditating over this

text. But these are some application

that the Lord gave to me. Application #1 Because of our

sin there was a real distance between God and man, but in

Jesus Christ let there be no distance between you and God.

I want to start with this application point this morning

because I don't presume to know where you are all at with the

Lord this morning. And perhaps there are some of

you who feel a distance between you and God.

And so I want to start here. And if Jesus is not your Lord

Master, is not your trust for the forgiveness of your sins and

the wholehearted acceptance from God, that distance is real.

It is only in Jesus that distance can be closed.

Does that mean that God cannot see you or hear you?

No, he can. But there is a real distance

between Holy God, just God and Sinner that can only be closed

by the finished work of Jesus Christ in Christ through Christ.

Those of you this morning who trust in Jesus in this manner,

brother, sister, let there be no distance between you and God.

May you run right up to Jesus's feet and fall on your face

before Him in worship. Hebrews 415 to 16.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with

our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted

as we are, yet without sin. Let us then, with confidence

draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in a time of need.

Like an unclean leper, we were all kept at a distance from God

until we were healed. And like the father in the

parable of the prodigal son, when the younger son turns from

his sin and turns back to his father, he expects distance

between him and his father, that his father would no longer call

him a son, that at best he would be a servant.

And it says while he was still a long way off, his father saw him

and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

Church family, in as much as it depends on you, let there be no

distance between you and God. Don't wander into the far

country, don't stay in the far country in the wilderness,

thinking that God wants you to be at a distance, thinking that

He would not have you if you turn back to Him.

If you feel like there is distance between you and God,

especially because you feel your sin and you do feel like I have

wandered into the wilderness and I don't, I don't feel close to

God, now is the time for you to return, to turn back to, to go

back to God. It's a church family.

This is the first exhortation from me this morning.

Don't be content to be distant with God, to have distance

between you and God. Boldly and humbly approach him.

Return to Him. There is more mercy to be found

at His feet than when we can imagine.

Application .2. God's sovereignly purposes

suffering, especially lengthy suffering, that you would feel a

need for relief and a deeper need for God.

Let me say that again. God's sovereignly purposes

suffering, especially lengthy suffering that you would feel a

need for relief and a deeper need for God.

None of us here are lepers as far as I'm aware.

But even in this gathering, I know that some of us are sick.

Some of you are physically acutely sick.

Some of you are chronically sick.

Some of you are suffering and have been suffering in trial

relationally or emotionally, and you hide it very well or think

you do. I know that there are those of

us here that are like that this morning.

And I find it to be true of my own life that like, I know I

have a lot of needs, but it's knowing I have needs is

different than feeling my need. I know I need more wisdom, but I

feel my need for wisdom when there's a, a messy relational

situation and I I what's left, right up and down, you know,

this is a Gray area. I know I need to be more humble.

That's different than feeling my need to be humble.

I know that I need God always. It's different when I'm in the

hospital and I feel my need for God.

So suffering makes me feel the needs that I know I have.

And when suffering comes, we feel our need for relief, don't

we? Deliverance from the suffering.

Can't. Lord, please heal me of my

hives, of my condition? I need sleep.

Lord, please give me relief. This passage tells us that while

we may feel our need for relief pretty naturally when we suffer,

not all feel their need for something deeper.

And praise God if you feel your need for something far deeper.

Jesus graciously answers all 10 lepers plea for mercy and gives

them healing. They are delivered from their

physical need. They have their physical needs

met. And one after the pain of the

physical need is gone, felt a different need, a need not just

for healing of their skin, but a need for Jesus.

So he goes back to the one who has saved him.

I know many of us are also in a season of waiting in our in our

church, waiting for a job, a spouse, waiting for God to put

my life together and and to organize my life.

And suffering often comes and is found in this waiting.

What is God's purpose for your suffering?

Have you perhaps, have you considered that perhaps God, in

his infinite wisdom, graciously withholds that which you are

seeking, because He knows sovereignly that if I give you

this, you will receive it and you will be on your way?

That if I give you exactly what you want, you will receive it

with joy and you will move on. There's a song I love.

It's the world behind me the the cross before me.

It is possible for some of us to treat Jesus in such a way where

it's the cross behind me and the world before me.

It is possible that God wants you to wait and that in your

suffering that you would feel a deeper need for God.

Application .3. It is possible to have a kind of

faith that calls Jesus. Lord believes He is able to heal

you and change your life and not be saving faith.

There is some debate as to whether the nine are truly

saved, like salvifically, not just physically, but you know,

spiritually. We know that took faith from all

10 to go to the priest and to believe Jesus.

I don't know. I hope that all ten are in

heaven. I, I, I would rejoice.

I can see arguments for the one being saved and arguments for

all 10 being saved. But I will say this, we know

from scripture that it is possible to deeply feel the

pains of your condition to go to Jesus believing he is Lord and

Master and able to save you, and for you to not have saving

faith. And that's if you treat God as a

means to an end. Jesus is who he says he is.

I, I have these needs, Jesus will give me what I'm ultimately

looking for, will give me a life that I can enjoy, that, that I

can just be on my way. I can rejoin society.

Jesus can give me a white picket fence and family and and and

security if you treat the Lord as a means to an end.

Matthew writes in Matthew 721. Not everyone who says to me Lord

Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven on that day.

Many will say to me, Lord Lord, did we not prophecy on your name

and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your

name and then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart

from me, you workers of lawlessness.

So if you take this passage this morning at face value, not

having any other details of the other nine and what happens in

their life, I see this as a reminder that while it took

while it took faith for all 10 to be healed, 1 seeks a

relationship with Jesus. One wanted to get to know Jesus,

and so he turns back upon being healed.

He did not look down, marvel, and go on his way.

When he saw that he was healed, he wanted to go back to the one

who saved him. True faith finds delight in the

God who gives mercy, not merely the mercy.

When I give Sam flowers, I hope that her primary delight is not

in the flowers. Oh yeah, like these are great.

I now have flowers in my possession.

I have been made much of because he, Frank, gave me flowers.

I hope her delight is in her husband.

And when Rena is seeking forgiveness and I give and I

forgive her, I hope that her delight is not great.

I can now go back to play time or meal time.

I can now eat again. I hope that her delight is in a

reconciled relationship with her Father.

So when you feel your sin and you go to God for mercy for you

to be forgiven, don't just delight that there's mercy for

you. Delight in the one who extends

mercy. It is a relationship.

Church family, let us take heed of this Samaritan man who showed

a kind of faith that goes back and seeks Jesus.

The last point of application this morning.

When God works, glorify Him with intentional plan, disrupting

heartfelt gratitude. When God works, glorify Him with

intentional plan, disrupting heartfelt gratitude.

JC Rowell writes The best of us are far too like the 9 lepers.

We are more ready to pray than to praise and more disposed to

ask for what we have not, but to thank Him for what we have.

That's that is so true. I'll take it even further.

Like not only am I disposed to ask more for what I don't have,

I'm disposed to ask God for what I don't have.

God will graciously give an answer and I'll just move on to

the next thing I don't have. Church family.

When God works in your life, do you turn back to Him?

Do you go back or do you just move on?

You just go on to the next need. What else is the missing of my

life? Do you return to God with thanks

and Thanksgiving? I confess I, I, I'm guilty of

this. We are a new church as of

January. We are Grace and Truth Baptist

Church, and as a new church, there are many, many needs.

If you see a Deacon or an elder, you know, just just know there's

a lot going on. And even if you're not Deacon or

elder, I know that honestly, we're doing a lot.

And it's easy for me to just go on to the next need and pray for

God's help for the next thing and totally forget that we are a

new church and that the past few months and years God has worked,

hasn't he? God answered our prayers.

God is worthy of Thanksgiving and mighty praise and not just,

well, God. Here's the next thing.

Gratitude to God is not a small thing.

Church Family Psalm 5023 The one who offers Thanksgiving as a

sacrifice glorifies me. Psalm 116 I will offer to you

the sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Psalm One O 7 Let them offer

sacrifices of Thanksgiving. Giving thanks to God is not a

matter of courtesy or good manners, gratitude and

Thanksgiving to God. It's a matter of worship.

If our aim is to glorify God, and it is, we glorify God in

Thanksgiving, what does it say about my faith when God works?

Answers and gratitude is missing or light.

What does that say church family consider the the kind of

gratitude the Samaritan shows it was intentional.

He set aside time effort, commitment to to go and give

thanks to Jesus. It was not convenient.

It was planned disrupting he he was instructed to go to the

priest once being declared clean, his whole life is in

front of him. He went back, he turned back.

I assume that he went to the priest after at at some point,

but but his priority was to go back.

His priority was not to go to the priest.

His priority was to show gratitude to Jesus and it

interrupted His plan. Many of us here are are plan

driven, organized, scheduled, efficient people.

I thank God for you, I really do.

One of the dangers of being such a such a person is that

gratitude may end up dying by the wayside in favor of keeping

the schedule or moving on to the next thing or just being

efficient because it's like, well, time's a ticket.

You know what, I got a lot, a lot more things to do.

The the Samaritan's man, Samaritan man's gratitude was

not just intentional and plan disrupting, but it was also

heartfelt. So it wasn't just like, hey,

thanks, much appreciated. You know, how much how much

longer do I have to stay? This man closes the distance,

falls on his face in worship. This is beautiful, humble

gratitude. This is a sacrifice of

Thanksgiving. What could he offer?

But I have my whole He doesn't go to Jesus with anything except

the sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and this glorifies Jesus.

So when the Lord answers your prayer for healing and relief in

one area of your life, thank Him.

Even though there are many other areas that are still painful,

When the Lord answers prayers and gives you a child, give

thanks to him before you start planning for the next year, five

years, 18 years, next appointment.

When the Lord gives you sleep through the night, praise Him in

the morning before knowing how the rest of the day unfolds.

When the Lord works and answers prayers and gives a new church

called Grace and Truth Baptist, praise him and thank Him before

we continue on our way to the many things that need to be

done. Church family, let's glorify God

with Thanksgiving. That is intentional, plan

disrupting and heartfelt. I'll close with this Psalm 5014.

Offer to God a a sacrifice of Thanksgiving and perform your

vows to the Most High and call upon me in the day of trouble.

I will deliver you and you shall glorify me.

Please pray with me.