Luke 17:11-19; “Top 10%” 

Today’s teaching is a story from the last weeks of Jesus’ life before His arrest, crucifixion, death and resurrection.  This story speaks with immediacy, power and direction to us today.

Top 10% - what comes to mind is human achievement- we want to be at the top, but God sees things much differently.  When God speaks of the top 10% He’s talking about those who walk by faith in Him and who are filled with gratitude and thanksgiving.

So let’s explore today’s story in light of how God sees the top 10%.

The story is about 10 desperate individuals with a need that was met by Jesus and that will show us the importance of recognizing what God has done and giving Him the glory.

As Jesus is traveling towards Jerusalem 10 men with leprosy cry out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 

Jesus!  Have mercy on us! And Jesus has mercy - He is merciful and He simply responds in love and mercy to them with, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” (Because according to the Law - If you had leprosy and it went away - you had to go through an 8 day purification ritual in order to be called “clean.”)

Jesus’ command to go show the priests was a way of saying - even though you have leprosy - act like you are healed! Before healing began Jesus told them to act healed.

Jesus is saying act on what God has declared!

And then as they walked to Jerusalem they were healed!

The Lord Jesus has delivered us from our sins by His death and resurrection. He provides life forever and He calls us not to simply sit around and wait for God to do stuff in our lives, He calls us to act on what God has declared.  We are to learn from these 10 lepers that it is important to respond to what the Lord says!

Jesus speaks and He calls us to act!

As we read on with the story - 1 of the 10 when he saw he was healed - turned back and went to Jesus praising God in a loud voice and fell in thanks at Jesus’ feet.

10 were healed but only 1 truly understood that healing is more than just healing of the body. Healing is healing of the soul, and the spirit and the mind and that is what Jesus does.  He heals the ultimate need of every person - and that is healing of the disease of the soul that destroys us - and only Jesus brings this healing as the the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This healed leper showed himself to be in the top 10 because he realized what mattered most was giving thanks and praise to God and coming to know Jesus.

God calls us to gratitude and thanksgiving. Our attitude affects the way we live.  He calls us to be people filled with gratitude because of Jesus Christ and what He’s done for us. Gratitude for the greatest gift of all.

Gratitude verses:
    ⁃    1 Corinthians 15:57
    ⁃    2 Corinthians 9:15
    ⁃    Colossians 3:17
Gratitude changes us!

Walk by faith practicing gratitude to God the Father through Jesus Christ.

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St. Luke’s Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. This book written by Luke, a non-Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus’ life.

This study is great for large group, small group or home group study.