Thursday, February 11, 2021

A 'Grateful Samaritan' Luke 17:11-19

 Backstory: God promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world. They multiplied in Egypt, but became enslaved. God raised up Moses and delivered them with miraculous signs and formed them into a ‘holy nation’. God gave them His law and instructed them to build the Tabernacle as a mobile sanctuary for God to dwell among His people. They entered their promised land under Joshua, but they didn’t take full possession of it until the time of David. David made plans for and Solomon his son, built the Jerusalem temple as a more permanent sanctuary for God to dwell in their midst. They were to be a ‘light to the nations’ they became idolatrous like the rest of the nations. The Northern kingdom was defeated by the Assyrians and scattered, while the Southern Kingdom was taken into 70 years of captivity in Babylon. God preserved them because he had promised to bless the world through Abraham and He had promised David a perpetual kingship over God’s people. When the Persians defeated the Babylonians, God’s people were allowed to return to their land, but the return from exile and the rebuilt temple fell desperately short of the ‘kingdom’ promised by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others. They remained in their land, but they dominated by various ‘pagan empires’. At the time of the Roman Empire they were longing for God to send them an ‘anointed conquering king’ and God sent them JESUS!

 John the Baptist introduced Jesus at his baptism and the voice from heaven confirmed Jesus to be the ‘Son of God’. The Spirit anointed him to preach ‘good news’ to the poor, liberation for captives, and recovery of sight for the blind, to set free the oppressed and to proclaim the ‘year of the Lord’s favor’. The Spirit led him into the wilderness were he overcame Satan’s temptations. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit preaching God’s kingdom, and demonstrating his authority over demons, healing the sick, cleansing lepers, and even raising the dead. Yet, he incited the religious leaders against him by claiming authority to forgive sins, failing to adhere to their Sabbath regulations and eating with tax-collectors and sinners. Jesus formed a new 12 around himself and when his disciples recognized him as ‘God’s anointed King’ he proceeded on a journey to Jerusalem.

Luke 17:11–19    Jesus was continuing on his way to Jerusalem to fulfill his Exodus in his death and resurrection (Lk 9:31). Jesus was traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee and making himself accessible to both Galileans and Samaritans. Jesus entered a town which was his normal practice since he had come to preach the kingdom of God (Lk 4:43). As he enters this town he met ten lepers who were keeping their social distance. They were shouting out in a loud voice, “Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!”  They cry out to Jesus to pity them and to show them mercy; hoping to be cleansed by Jesus. Jesus sees them has pity and says, “Go. Show yourselves to the priests.” They are challenged to go to the priests and even though they were still leprous they went and as they went they were cleansed. They hear Jesus and they obey what Jesus told them to do. As they went, they were healed (Luke 11-15). One of the ten, a Samaritan, saw that he was healed and he returned to Jesus praising God in a loud voice. He had cried out with the ten for mercy, but he alone cries out in praise to God for the mercy he had received (17:16). This grateful man throws himself at Jesus’ feet and thanks Jesus. The man was a Samaritan (17:17).  Jesus asks him about the other nine?  Jesus is curious why only the Samaritan had returned to give praise to God (17:19). Jesus tells this formerly leprous now cleaned Samaritan to get up from his prostrate position on his face at Jesus’ feet. But he tells him to rise up for the Samaritan’s faith had made him well. But, what about the other nine; hadn’t they obeyed Jesus’ word? We know that Jews and Samaritans had no fellowship together at that time (John 4:9). But would that Samaritan have been accepted at the Jerusalem temple among the Levitical priests? What about the fellowship the ten had in their shared leprous condition? They were outcasts bound together, by their shared uncleanness! Now that the ten were clean would the racial religious barrier between Jew and Samaritan be restored in the lives of the ten? Would the nine return to the old order and the old ways of the Pharisaical Jews and would the racial barrier between Jew and Samaritan be restored? The story shows us that Jesus is God’s Messiah and the savior of Jews and Samaritans. There is a new allegiance that supersedes the alliance to the Mosaic system, the Levitical priesthood and the Jerusalem temple. There is a new order and a new people with primary alliance to Messiah Jesus! God is working his restorative healing power through his Messianic King Jesus who has ushered in the new Messianic age and alliance to Jesus must be our supreme alliance. Jesus is the savior of Jews and Samaritans and Gentiles as well. Jesus becomes God’s new dwelling place where we can meet with our God! King Jesus has broken down the barriers to genuine fellowship with God and with God’s people. Jesus becomes the embodiment of Israel’s God and the very presence of God and we are to fall at his feet in grateful praise and rise up in obedience to his word (Luke 17:17-19)! 

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