Fear No Fear

“As Jesus went to Jerusalem, He passed between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood at a distance. They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned with a loud voice glorifying God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. Jesus said, “Were not the ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Were there not any found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” Then He said to him, “Rise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”” (Luke 17:11-19, MEV). Jesus loves us enough that He isn’t offended by our ingratitude. God doesn’t NEED out gratitude. It is WE who need it. When we don’t choose it, we are not accepting everything that’s on offer. In other words, it is US who deprives US. When the ten lepers came to Jesus, He told them that if they acted in trust they would be cleansed – and they were. The word cleansed is katharizō (kath-ar-id’-zo). It means to make clean, whether that is literally, ceremonially, or spiritually – it depends on the contest. It’s a word denoting purification. But when one leper returns and worships Jesus in gratitude for that cleansing, the word used is made well (cured). It is the word sōzō (so’-zo). It means to save, heal, preserve, and rescue. It had a context of being saved, delivered, and protected – literally or figuratively. It means to be made WHOLE. Leprosy made you unclean ceremonially and the word covered a lot of skin conditions (not just Hansen’s disease). You would be unable to enter the Temple for worship, to atone for sins through sacrifice, or interact with God at that physical, in-person level. Being unclean cut you off from community life. It was NOT a condition you wanted to be in. However, it was possible to be ceremonially clean while still having physical, mental, or emotional issues. If you had a missing limb, you could still bring a sacrifice to the Temple. So the first group of men (the nine) got ceremonially clean. If they had a visible affliction, they were probably cleansed of it. They were able to present themselves to the priests according to the Law and be proclaimed clean and able to rejoin society AND enter the Temple normally. They were restored to functioning citizens. But the one man who returned and showed gratitude was HEALED. Perhaps he shared the same physical cleansing as the other nine, but based on the word used he was able to receive a step more. He received salvation. He was restored to right relationship with God. Not because he acted according to Jesus’ words – they all did that. But because his trust in Jesus went beyond the physical issue he was experiencing. His trust went deeper into an acknowledgement of who Jesus was, which manifested in his giving of thanks. That thankfulness – not for a cleansing, but for being the One worthy of receiving thanksgiving – is what opened the door to the deeper cleansing. He actively expressed gratitude and was able to receive more from Jesus. The nine weren’t thankful in the same way. They did not express their gratitude to Jesus. They were happy and in THAT sense they were thankful. But they limited themselves. Their trust wasn’t in JESUS, it was in what He DID. They were thankful for the cleansing, but not the One who cleansed. Jesus still loved them. He was still happy for them. He was giving thanks to the Father for their cleansing. But they limited themselves because they weren’t able or willing to see beyond the action to the person behind it. To see the love He had for them and to respond to it. Jesus loved them enough to let them make that choice, but He REJOICED at the choice the one man made even more.