We know that God loves everyone .. He said so in His Word – but this wonderful truth has been twisted to mean that He would never limit His grace by claiming Jesus is the only way to be saved. Jesus said: I am the WAY, the TRUTH .. and the Life – READ John 14:1-13 ..
Why did Jesus have to die? Why must you and I have to accept Him as our Savior in order to be reconciled to God? Bible Study: Luke 17:11-19 .. find out in your heart where you fall in the story.. Ten (1) leprous men stood at a distance ( which the law required them to do ), begging Jesus to have mercy on them. The Lord instructed them to show themselves to the priests—the health inspectors of sorts in the Old Testament – the priests are the ones who could pronounce the disease healed or not (Lev. 14:7). Ironically, even amazingly – Jesus did not heal them on the spot. WHY? .. because they were being invited to exercise faith, as none were yet “clean.”
Picture these lepers, hobbling, limping .. some with visable decaying limbs and rotting skin, all the stink and smell of uncleanliness .. going to show the priests that their leprous bodies had been healed – when they weren’t yet healed? That’s why it’s called faith. But as they obeyed, the hobbling and limping became less noticeable, and their skin started to renew itself, as the power of the living God marvelously regenerated their bodies.
Jesus wanted them to personally experience faith, which is an invitation to join God in a miracle. JESUS IS EXTENDING THE SAME TO YOU RIGHT NOW! We step out in faith, and Jesus will meet us .. Yet in this parable – only one leper, when he realized he had been entirely healed and made clean, was so overcome with joy that he rushed back to say THANK YOU to Jesus – ONLY ONE! .. And it was a Samaritan. Jesus tells the man, “Your faith has made you well.” What is the invitation in this word? What is meant by acceptance? If you are looking for “salvation of body and soul” .. this is your time.
Try To Reflect this Holy Week ..
1. Most of Jesus’ healings were instantaneous, but that wasn’t the case with the 10 lepers. How did the delayed cure build their faith in Him? How might your faith be stretched or strengthened if you aren’t healed right away?
2. Though 10 men were healed, only one returned to give thanks. How many times over the last year has God answered a prayer of yours or given you some good thing? How have you returned to Him in gratitude and thanks?
3. Jesus sent still-leprous men to report to priests that they’d been healed. Scripture tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). Can you remember a time when you had to step out in faith and God met you there? In which areas is He currently asking you to walk by faith?