We continue our series on the combination of words that Jesus often used when He told people to "go and" do something as they went. In part one, we saw that Jesus told the woman at the well to "go, get your husband, and come back." Last week, we looked at Jesus telling the rich young ruler to "go and sell your possessions." This week, we study a group of 10 lepers in Luke 17 who also encountered Jesus in His "go and" ministry.
LEPROSY
Recently, I had to have a tooth removed that had given me trouble on and off for more than 40 years. While I was glad for the relief, I also mourned the loss of my tooth! Then I had a wound on my nose that would not heal, so I went to the doctor who did not think it was serious, but advised me to cover it for two weeks and come back. Since I had already had an encounter with skin cancer, I knew this was not to be taken lightly, and I had some anxiety over it until I entrusted it to God's watchful care, but I was concerned for my nose. Why do I tell you this?
While experiencing these minor physical ailments, I reflected on what it must have been like to have leprosy in biblical times. I had never considered the emotional trauma for someone who witnessed their own flesh being eaten away and then have to endure being an outcast, away from family support systems and care. When I thought of all that, I appreciated even more the significance of Jesus' ministry to those poor souls, who had no hope of a cure until the Heavenly Healer came along. Having set that background, let's look at the account in Luke 17:11-14:
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.
These men, outcasts and living in caves or mountain regions where they would not have any contact with people, had heard about Jesus. They came to the village, the place where they would beg for food, perhaps provided by family or people who took pity on them, and had a chance encounter with Jesus. They cried out to the Master, ten men who were a collection of Jews and Samaritans, usually divided by ethnic hatred but joined together in this case by their common human plight. True to His nature, Jesus heard their cry for mercy.
GO AND . . .
In Luke 5, Jesus healed a leper by touching him, a breathtaking act of compassion, for people did not have physical contact with lepers, adding to the lepers' emotional suffering. In this case, Jesus did not touch them or even say, "Thou art healed!" He told them to go and show themselves to the priests, which was required by the Law (see Leviticus 14). They went not because they were already healed but because Jesus told them to go while they were still lepers. As they went, not before they went or after they got to the priests, they were totally, completely, and miraculously healed! I had never noticed that in the story before today.
This story is astounding, for the men had faith in Jesus. They knew that they had to report to the priests when healed so the priests could reinstate them to community contact and fellowship. Even though they were not healed, however, they knew that Jesus would not send them unless they would be healed, so they went -- and were healed on the way.
The lessons for us are profound. The lepers acted in faith before they saw the evidence or results of their faith. They obeyed their Master and headed off to the priests and got the result they had hoped for while they were on the way. What is God asking you to do that your obedience can then unlock the desired result? Is He telling you to go and attend school, to go and take a missions trip, to go and give money to someone in need, to go and start your ministry, business, orphanage, or medical clinic.
If you respond, "I don't have the resources to do any of that," then think of those ten lepers who had nothing in their power except to go and obey. As they did, they were healed of a dreaded disease for which there was no cure. As you go, you will find the money, the time, the energy, the wisdom, and the partners to help you with what you cannot do because you did the one thing you could do, and that was go and. As you go, have a blessed week.
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TRAVELS WITH DR. JOHN: I am planning three trips in the next two years, and I invite you to join me on any or all of them:
- Kenya Trip: February 15-23, 2019
- Alaska Cruise: August 4-11, 2019
- Israel Tour: April 21 - April 30, 2020 with an optional side trip to Jordan to see Petra from May 1-4.
If you would like information on these trips as it becomes available, write me at [email protected] and let me know.
The first is My Enemies My Friends, which is a fable that teaches important lessons about the book of Psalms,
specifically the there is a message in the entire book and not just the individual psalms themselves. Dr. John imparts these lessons through an entertaining story of Pastor Harold Portis who is about to be voted out of his church (or so it seems).
The second is The Power of Purple, which contains the Monday Memo series on women of purpose in Scripture. Men and women who are reading this book are finding it helpful in their own search for purpose.
Click on the cover of either book and order your signed copy today. It will make great summer reading and you will learn a lot while you read. (Kindle versions are available through Amazon.)
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