Maybe you’ve wondered, “Are Christians expected to give thanks before they eat a meal?” We see Jesus giving thanks in Matthew 15:36, “He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.” There’s no specific command about give thanks before we eat, but sitting down to eat creates a natural pause where thankfulness is appropriate. Similarly, a natural opportunity is created to kiss and say I love you to your spouse when he/she comes and goes from the house. Whether it’s giving thanks or saying I love you, both can be done anytime, even though more natural opportunities might pop up throughout the day. In general, the Scripture teaches that thankfulness ought to be a general attitude of those that have received love, grace, and mercy from the Lord, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”, 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Too Few Are Thankful
Luke 17:11-19, “While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine -where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
Unpacking Luke 17:11-19
Jesus passes a village, and the location of this village is important. This village is a leper colony, located neither in Samaria or Galilee, but on the outskirts between these two cities. Lepers were people who had leprosy, a body-decaying disease. Their leprosy made them outcasts and rejects by both Jews and Samaritans. Neither town would receive them and so they created a small village for themselves off the major roadway, so as to beg from those passing by. As Jesus passed by, the lepers stood at a distance. They remain at a distance because the thinking of the day was that leprosy was contagious. Additionally, lepers had been shut out from fellowship; forbidden from touching others, not being able to visit a synagogue or the temple, nor able to barter in the markets. They were considered “unclean” by the Law of Moses. This reality kept them at a polite distance from those they begged from.
This group of lepers, finding some community amongst themselves, had a joint need and saw the value in coming together for this prayer and petition. Likely hearing stories about Jesus, and hearing that He’s passing by, they acknowledge His authority and they all shout in unison. They made their petition loud and unashamed, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Commending their worship and bold plea, Jesus tells them to go show themselves to the priests. This is a remarkable response by Jesus. Showing oneself to the priest at the temple was a necessary step in ceremonial purification. A priest had the authority to declare a person to be clean, then write the cleansed person a certificate of purification so the individual could return to community fellowship; corporate worship, physical touch, buying and selling freely, etc. A leper being made clean meant that his humanity could be restored.
However, the timing of Jesus’ command, “Go and show yourselves to the priests” was significant. They had not yet been cured of their leprosy. Jesus was testing them to see if they would go in faith despite being leprous when His command was given. They would have to believe that they’d be healed along the way in order to justify showing themselves to the priests. They would start the trip impure, and arrive pure! This is exactly what happened. Ten lepers headed off to the temple to show themselves to the priests, and at some point along the journey they were healed. This healing didn’t take place right away. They had gotten far enough away that they were well out of sight, and it was an inconvenience to turn back to give thanks; perhaps further to return to Jesus than to continue to the temple. Jesus even commented, “Where are the other nine?”, as they were not close enough to be seen.
Thankfulness Shouldn’t Be Unique
What’s unique about the one that returned? Amongst the ten, this one was a “foreigner”, a “Samaritan”. It appears the other nine were Jews. This story is also a metaphor for the Jews as a nation. The Jews had historically experienced God’s goodness, and when another blessing came, they are minimally impacted by it; ungrateful. In contrast, Gentiles, like this Samaritan, had not historically known God’s goodness, and upon receiving it, true gratitude is displayed. This example presents a microcosm of how the Jews responded to the gospel, which was minimally received, compared to the Gentiles who received it with great joy.
Thanking God Should Be as Passionate as Our Asking of Him
The healed Samaritan was, “glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him.” Loudly he had prayed and pleaded to be healed, and loudly he publicly gives thanks and worships. How many times have we pleaded with emotions, only to be quietly thankful? Too many are loud to ask, and quiet to thank. The man here, having been cured of leprosy, knew the source of his cure. The blessing had moved the man to faith. It was in faith that he returned to worship. God had dispensed grace to the man, and the natural response was to “turn back” in faith and glorify the Lord. How has God’s grace moved you?
Curing a Greater Condition
This display of faith compels Jesus to say, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” The man had already been made well of the leprosy, that wasn’t what Jesus was addressing at this point. The word “well” here means to save or be delivered. All ten lepers were physically cleansed, but the impact of the cleansing produced faith in only one, causing him to turn back and worship. Here, Jesus acknowledges his faith and declares the man to be delivered from his greater condition, his sin condition. The other nine missed out on the greater gift, the greater cure!
There is an opportunity to give thanks in everything. Do you need to confess your thanklessness? Cultivate a thankful heart within yourself. Do this as an act of the will. Decide to spend time giving thanks, by bringing to mind things to be thankful for. List them before the Lord. Thankfulness is an antidote for sin and redirects our heart and minds onto what is good, lovely, right, and fitting.