THE TENTH MAN

LUKE 17:1

A. "AND JESUS ANSWERING SAID, WERE THERE NOT TEN CLEANSED? BUT WHERE ARE THE NINE?"
  1. Many useful sermons have been preached on The Tenth Man:
  2. The story of the 10 lepers is full signification:
    1. Leprosy is a chronic endemic infectious disease marked by the formation of nodules, ulcerations and deformative eruptions in the affected body.
    2. It is a disease of the blood and it is very repulsive to look at.
    3. Lepers were isolated from the people and they had to make known their condition by a warning voice.
    4. In Bible times, leprosy was considered a plague - Lev. 13:45
B. THE TENTH MAN
  1. Our opening text indicates:
    1. That affliction brings to a common level -
      1. All ten men were unclean, regardless of what their station may have been in life before their sickness.
    2. They all were isolated, that made them dangerous to society.
    3. What was worse in those days, their condition was hopeless, unless God interposed -
      1. That is typical of sin and the influence of sin upon society.
    4. And so it is with sin in the heart; it puts all men on the same level, all are sinners by nature - Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:22-23
      1. Sin defiles body, soul, and spirit - Matt. 15:19, 20
      2. It separates from God - Isa. 59:1, 2
      3. A sinner outside of Christ is hopeless - Rom. 6:23
  2. Our text shows further:
    1. Sensing a deep need creates faith. That was the case of the lepers - Luke 17:13
    2. People that have no faith in Christ never sense their need of salvation - Luke 14:16-27
  3. Cure in cooperation with Christ:
    1. An easy condition: "Go shew yourselves unto the priests"
    2. That was a law in Israel - Deut. 24:8
    3. But it was also a very difficult requirement -
      1. They were told to express gratitude when, as yet, they had not been healed. They could not go by sight; they had to trust the Healer.
      2. But when they obeyed the physician, God honored their faith.
C. THE TENTH MAN
  1. They all obeyed and were made whole:
    1. God is no respecter of persons - Acts 10:34
    2. God will always honor the faith of all who come unto Him by Jesus Christ, regardless of race, color, or creed.
  2. But only the Samaritan returned and gave thanks to God:
    1. This is the sad part of the story of the ten men; nine failed to express gratitude to the healer.
    2. Ingratitude is a mark of cold-blooded indifference to the blessings from God.
    3. How it must pain the Lord to see untold thousands never turn to God and thank Him for the undeserved mercies they enjoy.
    4. Ingratitude is the curse of our age - 2 Tim. 3:1- 11
    5. How many meals are consumed without saying grace!
  3. Thank God for the tenth man who felt in his heart to return and give thanks unto the Healer:
    1. As a Samaritan, he was looked down upon by the Jews - Acts 10:28; John 4:9
    2. But not so with the Lord; that man was blessed, regardless of his racial connections.
      1. Does our life represent one of the nine sinners that were healed without returning to thank God for his mercies?
      2. Or do we represent the tenth man, who did come back and express gratitude to Christ!


Design © John Bryant 2011