Reflective Bible Study

Over the past several weeks of podcasts, we have been focusing in on a section of Luke’s gospel where Luke includes lots of Jesus’ teaching. For this episode, Luke shifts out of sharing big truths Jesus taught in order to share with us a powerful miracle that teaches us a powerful truth.

Let’s read about what happened and then look a little closer to discover some big things we can learn from this event.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 17, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 11, Luke tells us:

¹¹ While He [referring to Jesus] was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; ¹³ and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? ¹⁸ Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

Whenever I read this event, I always get the picture in my mind that the nine who didn’t return to thank Jesus must not have been very grateful. However, I then look closer at the details of this event and suspect that these other men simply had a different focus when they realized they were healed, and this other focus doesn’t mean they were not thankful, but that they didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their healing.

However, before getting to what their focus may have been, as we read this passage and learned about this event, several details jump out that I believe are significant and worth paying attention to.

The first of these details is Jesus’ message to them. Jesus doesn’t promise them healing, He simply tells them to go and show themselves to the priests. There is an implication that they would be healed, but it really isn’t promised. After all, they could go and show themselves to the priests and receive the verdict that they still were unclean lepers.

Jesus’ message to these men is significant, because often times we might expect God to speak a direct message to us about our current situation, and instead, we receive instructions that don’t sound very related. It was this way with the Old Testament man known as Naaman, who had leprosy, and who was instructed to do something simple, and who almost missed out on being healed because the task given to him seemed too simple and too insignificant. To learn more about this story, you can find it in 2 Kings, chapter 5.

When we receive simple or seemingly unrelated instructions from God, we would be wise to trust that He knows best. If the instructions don’t contradict any law included in the Bible, we should be willing to follow the instructions because chances are we will see a positive result.

I wonder if Naaman was on the minds of these lepers as they heard Jesus’ instructions. Jesus’ instructions were simple and His instructions only made sense in a situation that assumed they were already healed. Because of these two reasons, these lepers likely immediately set out to see the priests.

This brings us to the second big portion of this event that stands out in my mind. Luke tells us in verse 14 that “as they were going, they were cleansed.” These lepers were not cleansed before they started on their trip to see the priests; they were cleansed after they began their trip.

Often times, when we want to see God moving and working in our lives, we need to be like these lepers and begin moving – specifically following the instructions we have been given. Only when we start moving will we likely discover the next steps to take after we have started. Often, like traveling through a fog, we cannot see the ultimate destination. Instead, we are only able to see the next few steps. We should trust that God has the end in mind and that He is leading our steps as we continue to step forward with Him!

While the men were going to see the priests, they were cleansed. The implication I read in this passage is that they were cleansed relatively quickly after their trip began. I suspect this because this man is easily able to find Jesus and give thanks to Him.

However, the passage says in verse 15 that this man “turned back”. This Samaritan turned back from going to see the priest because He wanted to thank his Healer. A case could be made that these men had not traveled very far, because Jesus expects to see nine more people with this man giving praise and thanks.

The obvious answer to Jesus’ question about where the other nine men were is that they were following through with the instructions Jesus had given them. They were going to see the priests to get an official “all clean” verdict.

In some ways, we could flip this situation around and say that this Samaritan leper risked losing his healing because he deviated from following the instructions Jesus gave.

However, giving thanks and glory to God is never outside of God’s will. Jesus honored the gratitude and praise this Samaritan gave and Jesus tells him that his faith had made him well. This was the faith that left to see the priests, and the faith that likely directed Him to return to his journey to see the priests after thanking Jesus personally.

I am certain that the other nine men who were healed were thankful and that they praised God. Perhaps they finished their trip to see the priests before coming and thanking Jesus personally, or perhaps they praised God for Jesus and this miracle without returning. It is also possible they wanted to find Jesus after having seen the priests, but they were unable to locate Him.

Whatever the reason for these other men not returning, I am certain that it wasn’t because they were not grateful. Instead, I am certain they wanted to solidify the healing their faith in Jesus and God had blessed them with.

This leads us to one last big truth we can learn from this event: When we do nice things for others, sometimes we will be thanked directly for what we have done, but other times, we might not receive gratitude from those we helped. Whether we receive thanks or not, we should continue to help others because this is what God does.

We best reflect God and His character when we help others. Sometimes our help will be rewarded with gratitude, other times, our help will appear to fall on ungrateful people. However, God has called us to be a blessing to the world around us and regardless of whether we receive thanks for what we do in this life, God will reward those who blessed others in His name regardless of whether they received gratitude before.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to give God thanks and gratitude for all the ways He has blessed you with. If you haven’t done so recently, simply say “Thank You” to God for what He has brought into your life. Having a grateful attitude is one of the best decisions we can make in our lives with God!

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. Through the pages of the Bible, discover a God who loves you more than you can ever imagine, and discover how we can open our hearts and let Him into our lives!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or neglect where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue focusing on Jesus’ crucifixion during our year looking at prophecies and connection points between Jesus’ ministry and the Old Testament, we come to a very plain prophecy tucked within a very prophetic chapter – and a chapter we have already briefly looked at in an earlier episode. However, while it would be easy for us to step back to look at this chapter as a whole, doing so would make it too easy to overlook the specific details of one verse that focuses us on Jesus’ crucifixion.

So with that said, let’s read this specific verse, and unpack what we can learn about Jesus’ crucifixion from this prophecy. Our passage is found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 53, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible. In verse 12, Isaiah writes about the Messiah, saying:

¹² Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

In this verse that describes the Messiah’s death, tucked within a chapter devoted to the Messiah’s ministry as a whole, we don’t have any ambiguity over whether the Messiah would die. In this verse, the reason that the Messiah would be lifted up, and the reason He would be honored, was because He “poured out Himself to death”. This verse tells us that the Messiah would give all He had for God’s mission all the way to death, and that while He was moving towards this death, He would be carrying the sins of many, and interceding on behalf of those who had broken God’s law.

This verse in Isaiah’s prophecy is an amazing picture of God’s Messiah found within the Old Testament. Moving into Jesus’ ministry, and the time He spent on the cross, Mark’s gospel draws our attention onto Jesus’ life and crucifixion being a fulfillment of a phrase found within Isaiah’s prophecy. In Mark, chapter 15, and starting in verse 22, Mark writes:

²² Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. ²³ They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. ²⁵ It was the third hour when they crucified Him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷ They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. ²⁸ [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”] ²⁹ Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. ³² Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

Tucked within these verses describing Jesus’ death, Mark draws our attention to the detail that Jesus’ death on a cross, being placed between two robbers, fulfilled this prophecy. Because Jesus was killed with criminals, it could easily be said that Jesus was numbered with transgressors.

In my own mind, as I piece together this event, and some of the details that led up to this moment, one could make the case that Jesus actually did take the place of a law transgressor. During Jesus’ trial before Pilate, several gospels point out how Pilate asks the crowd whether he should set free a rebel known as Barabbas, or whether the crowd wanted Jesus.

While Pilate may have believed before asking this question that the crowd would have picked Jesus, the crowd instead shouted in unison for Barabbas. In an amazing turn of events, while there were always going to be three crosses on Calvary that weekend, if it weren’t for Jesus stepping in to take the place of Barabbas, there would have been three guilty rebel-sinners dying that weekend, and it’s unlikely we would have any knowledge of them. We barely know anything about the two people who Jesus was crucified with, and if it weren’t for Jesus, the memory and knowledge of the lives and deaths of these two men likely wouldn’t have extended beyond the end of the first century.

This means that in a literal way, Jesus stepped into the role of transgressor and was punished with those who broke the law without having done anything wrong. While I have no reason to believe Barabbas lived differently after being freed, in a symbolic and spiritual way, we all have the choice after being freed whether we will continue to do the things that condemn us from the perspective of God’s law, or whether we will turn away from them.

In an interesting framing for salvation, Jesus stepped into Barabbas’ life to take the punishment for his past sins. However, if Barabbas decided to break the law again as significantly as he had done before, doing what he had done to mark him for crucifixion, there would be no guarantee he would escape punishment again. If Barabbas had placed himself in prison with a death-by-crucifixion sentence on his life after being lucky the first time, Jesus wouldn’t be present to save his life a second time.

However, in a spiritual and symbolic frame, this is the reason why Jesus’ death on the cross is so powerful for us. While our frame for salvation does not allow for pardon from our future sins, every moment that our future moves through our present and into our past, we are being given a gift that Jesus can step in to fix. Some people might take this framing of Jesus’ death and use it as an excuse to sin, or as a reason to believe grace is cheap – and on one hand it is.

However, anyone who knowingly moves towards sin after having accepted Jesus’ pardon for their past sins doesn’t just cheapen the grace they once received; they also cheapen the life Jesus gave. By devaluing the gift Jesus offers to sinners by continuing in sin, those who persist in sin actively choose to bring punishment on themselves for their actions, and they forfeit their salvation, similar to what would have happened to Barabbas in our hypothetical scenario involving multiple offences.

While I don’t know or claim to know where the line between legalism and cheap grace is found, or how wide of a path exists between these two extremes, the big thought that is better to focus energy on is this: Jesus’ life, ministry, and mission make Him the best possible person to intercede on our behalf.

Jesus robbed Satan of his claim on all sinful humanity, and when we realize our need for someone to come to our defense regarding the sin in our past, Jesus is the only place where a true solution can be found. When we come to Jesus for a solution, the way we best value His gift, and the best way we can say thank you to Him for the gift He offers to us is by turning away from the sin in our lives. When we turn away from sin with God’s help, Heaven celebrates, and we move one step closer to eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, continue to seek God first in your life and choose to turn away from sin after accepting Jesus’ gift of salvation. Value the price Jesus paid for redemption by actively moving away from sin and into a closer, stronger relationship with God.

Also, while you do this, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn more about who Jesus is, what He is like, and how we can best model His love in the world we live in. While our world today looks significantly different from the first century, when we lean on God and His Holy Spirit for help modeling His love, we will discover that we can love others like Jesus loves, and we can be representatives for Jesus in our world today.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!