Sunday November 13, 2022
Going Against the Flow
By definition, going against the flow means, “to do things that do not agree with what most other people are doing; to do, think, or believe things that are different or contrary to those of the majority of people; to do or say the opposite of what most people are doing or saying.”
In the second letter to Timothy (2 Tim.3:2-5), Paul gives a prophetic picture of what people in the last days would be like. It’s a very dismal picture. Along with traits like lovers of selves, malicious gossips, and brutal, one of the characteristics mentioned is that of ungratefulness. To be grateful feels much like going against the flow…going against society’s flow.
Gratitude. We say we have it…we say we show it…we say we are bothered when it is not shown to us. But are we truly a grateful people? There is a story in the Bible that puts gratitude in its proper perspective. One day Jesus encountered thanklessness while traversing through the marshes that lay between Samaria and Galilee. The story is found in Luke 17.
Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity (mercy) on us!” (Lk.17:11-13)
Leprosy is very contagious. It is very easy to “catch” leprosy. Even just touching a person who has leprosy or touching something that they touched could make you get the disease. So whenever a person caught leprosy in Bible times, they had to live outside the community. In fact, one of the laws that God gave the Israelites in the Old Testament says,
As long as he has the infection (of leprosy) he remains unclean. He must live alone. He must live outside the camp (Lev13:46).
That’s why the men in our story stood at a distance from Jesus and called out to Him. These ten lepers knew that they could not go near anyone because they had a contagious illness. So Jesus is called aside by the shouts of these men. Surely, they must have thought, if Jesus could cure the blind, heal the lame, and raise the dead, He had the power to help them too. They were already outcasts and had nothing to lose, so they raised their voices in desperate hope. When He saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” (Lk.17:14)…that is what the Old Testament law required.
Then the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the swelling of the sore is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, as the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his sore is on his head. (Lev.13:43-44)
The Master simply tells them to go to the priests, who were the first-century referees as to whether a healing had taken place. Any cure, according to the Book of Leviticus, would need the equivalent of a “Good Housekeeping seal of approval” so that the formerly unclean could be ritually restored to the community.
Now, note the progression: “as they went, they were cleansed.” (Lk.17:14). Their obedience preceded the healing. That is to their credit. So, until this point, the ten lepers had acted in concert: they had lived together, they had cried out together, they had gone off together, and they had been cleansed together…but
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. (Lk.17:15-16)
Now, however, one peels off like a jet leaving formation and heads for Jesus. Whatever has happened, the man knows he has been blessed, and the blessing requires a response. Let me give you verse 15 in a different translation:
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned, and with a loud voice glorified God. (Lk.17:15-16 KJV)
First he sees, then he turns, then he praises. What a beautiful picture of gratitude! After witnessing his own healing and that of the other outcasts, he stops, and turns back to gaze upon the One from whom his healing flowed. In utter humility and gratefulness he poured out his praise to Jesus, his Master and Savior.
But then, with the Samaritan still humbly at Jesus’ feet, come three pointed, rapid-fire questions, which cast a shadow over the celebration. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Though Jesus had already rewarded their obedience, He wanted something more…He sought their gratitude. Gratefulness is a knowing awareness that we are the recipients of goodness.
Didn’t these nine men know what God had done for them? It’s very likely that once the other nine saw they were healed, they ran home to their families and friends. After all, they had been living far away from them for some time. Can you imagine how excited they were? Can you imagine how happy their families must have been to see them again? (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of families)
So, what was the reward for the one who returned in gratitude?
And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well (whole) (Lk.17:19)
Not just healed…made whole!! The word well is sozo: to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, save, do well, be made whole. I wonder how the nine felt when the man, rising from his worship, finally caught up with them, telling of his grateful exchange with Jesus. They had missed the opportunity to deepen their elation by giving thanks.The grateful man received more than the other nine because he had his cure confirmed. Not by a priest…but by Jesus Himself!
Gratitude brings benefits in this world and in the world to come. The nine had their cure…but the one who gave thanks had his cure, plus a relationship with Jesus. Jesus was publicly crucified to heal our sins. We should find the time to publicly thank Him for that amazing gift. We should live a life of thankfulness, just like the one leper who returned to give thanks to Jesus. We should do what Colossians tells us:
Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before. (Col.2:7 NIrV)
Have you thanked Him, not in word only but by the demonstration of your gratitude? This Thanksgiving, let’s remember that we are all the recipients of God’s goodness. Be the one who goes against the flow of the ungrateful crowd.
