THANKSGIVING – Nov. 26, 2020 – Luke 17:11-19
“MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Luke 17. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- In our text, we observe 10 men who had leprosy engaging Jesus. How much they knew about Jesus, or how much faith and trust they had in Him is not made explicit in our text. However, they knew His Name – Jesus, and they also referred to Him as “Master,” using a Greek word that means “to be above,” or to have some ascendancy and authority.
- As I said, we don’t know why they used this term. Was it because they had heard about some miracle that Jesus had done? Was it merely an address of politeness, a form of flattery? Or did they know somehow Who Jesus was – the Divine and Almighty Son of God?
- Regardless, they turned to Jesus for help and healing, asking Him for mercy! And this was exactly the right thing to do! And it the right thing for us as well. For:
I. Everyone Can Turn To Jesus For Mercy
Text: “As He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’”
Statement: Whatever they thought about Jesus as He approached, they definitely did the right thing! They cried out to Him, giving Him respect and deference. Then they asked for mercy! I suppose they could have been self-righteous and demanded that this unfair disease be lifted from them. After all, they were not “worse sinners” than all the rest of humanity. But they didn’t. Their circumstances has brought them to the correct understanding of their relationship with Jesus and with God. They needed mercy.
Application: How utterly pitiful that so many of us have a skewed perspective on how much mercy we require from God. How utterly pitiful that we are often so distracted by the things of this world that we forget we have need for God’s mercy constantly. And how wretched and horrid it is that there are many human beings who disclaim any need at all for God’s mercy. They don’t want God’s mercy and find it distasteful that He offers it!
Our sinful nature does the same – so let us beware! On the other hand, when we have been reduced to a condition that renders us incapable and helpless, there is nothing better and more right for us to do than to cry out to God for mercy! There is nothing more pleasing to God than for us to humbly and trustingly call upon Him for mercy and for help in our times of need! He is our loving heavenly Father. And as we see in our text:
II. God Is Merciful And Grants His Blessings To All, Even To Those Who Are Ungrateful
Text: “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?’”
Statement: This is reminiscent of Jesus statement in the Sermon of the Mount: “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father Who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” [Matt. 5:44,45] You see then, how eager God is to bless people and how generously He pours out goodness and love upon all people.
Application: And although it should not be so among us, He also pours out His blessings freely even though at many times we are either ungrateful or entirely too weak in our gratitude to God. For this we also should repent, and then call upon God to have mercy upon us. And we can be certain that He is merciful toward us, for as the Scripture asserts: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” [Lam.3:22,23] As we do this we grow in our awareness and consciousness of God’s great love for us, and become more and more grateful to Him.
And this is important – that we know and live in His gracious mercy and forgiveness, for:
III. Those Who Know God’s Goodness And Love Also Love Him
A. They Return To God Giving Thanks To Him
B. They Worship God And Are Praising Him
Text: “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks.”
C. It Is By Means Of Faith That God’s Power Is Released In Us And We Are Made Well
Text: “Jesus said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’”
Statement: Through the assurances of His great love for us in His Word, the Holy Scripture, God keeps us aware of His goodness and increases our thanksgiving to Him, our worship and praise of Him. And as we grow in faith we are better able to receive even more blessings from Him.
Application: In this way God seeks to preserve us from the ungratefulness of the other 9 lepers who were cleansed. And certainly we would agree that their ingratitude was wrong! So let us continue to grow in awareness of the goodness, kindness, and mercy of God – Who provides us with everything that we have!
Conclusion: Yes, let us continue to know Jesus as our Savior, our Master, and our Lord! Let us continue to see how abundantly He pours out His mercy upon us. Let us grow in seeing and acknowledging all of His blessings. In this way we will be eager and joyful to turn to Him – worshiping Him, rejoicing in Him, praising Him, and giving Him great thanksgiving! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.