<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Advent Productions

Encounters With Jesus

Benjamin Ng

Jesus’ Encounter With The Devil

Jesus’ Encounter with the First Disciples

Jesus’ Encounter with Philip and Nathanael

Jesus Encounter at the Wedding Feast

Jesus’ Encounter with Nicodemus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman at the Well

Jesus’ Encounter With The Centurion

Jesus Encounter with the Blind Man Near Bethsaida

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man by the Pool of Bethesda

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man Sick of Palsy

Jesus’ Encounter with the Disciples in the Storm

Jesus’ Encounter with the Blind, Dumb Demoniac

Jesus’ Encounter with the Demoniacs of the Gadarenes

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman with the Issue of Blood

Jesus’ Encounter with the Five Thousand

Jesus’ Encounter with John the Baptist

Jesus’ Encounter with the Disciples on the Sea

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman Caught in Adultery

Jesus’ Encounter with Martha and Mary

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man Born Blind

Jesus’ Encounter with the 10 Lepers

Jesus’ Encounter with the Rich Young Ruler

Jesus’ Encounter with Blind Bartimaeus

Jesus’ Encounter with Zacchaeus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman with the Spirit of Infirmity

Jesus’ Encounter at Simon’s Feast

Jesus’ Encounter with Peter and His Denial

Jesus’ Encounter with Pilate

Jesus’ Encounters at the Cross

Jesus’ Encounter on the Road to Emmaus

Jesus’ Encounter with Peter at the Sea of Tiberias

Father in heaven, thank you so much for this time.

Thank you Lord that you have blessed us in this past week.

Thank you that we are in your holy hours even now.

And Lord we just ask for your Holy Spirit to sanctify our hearts and our minds.

Help us to see how these words will be applicable to us this day and help us, O Lord, that we might grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Savior this evening.

We are continuing our encounters series and this evening we are studying Jesus' encounter with the 10 lepers And we're going to start here in our first text, found in Luke 17 and verse 11.

The Bible says, And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

Jesus was going through the midst of Samaria.

He didn't pass through Samaria and then through Galilee.

It was the border between these 2 countries, Samaria and Galilee.

And you'll be able to see on the map here that Galilee and Samaria, this is the ancient map of Galilee, but you see there in the south of it that Samaria is borders with Galilee.

So Jesus, he was just walking between the borders of these 2 countries and this is what we find in Luke 17 verse 12 and 13 and as he entered into a certain village there met him 10 men that were lepers which stood afar off And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Now friends, remember that this village is right between the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

And there was this group of 10 lepers that cried out to Jesus from afar off.

Now it can't be, it can't have been in the village because lepers they weren't allowed in.

It was a contagious disease, people were deadly afraid of leprosy, there was no cure for it.

So that's the reason why they stood far off.

Jesus must have been in the village or near to being in the village and so they dared not come too close but they cried out.

They cried out to Jesus as he was just about to go in there and they're asking for help.

And look, what does it mean today that these people were standing afar off?

We know that leprosy in a sense represents sin.

It makes us outcasts of the children of Israel.

Look at what it says in Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 12 and 13.

That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world but now in Christ Jesus ye who were sometimes far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ do you see that Those that are far off are made nigh or made close by the blood of Christ.

What does those people that are standing afar off, who do they represent?

It is those that are sinners, those that are living in sin, those that are lost, they've not been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

They don't dare to come close to Jesus or in a sense the church today and so they are wanting to be healed though.

Even though they're standing afar off, they realize that this is not the life that they should be living and they want healing.

They want to be full and whole in Christ but they're probably scared to come to church.

But these people, they're asking for mercy, they're asking for healing, they already recognize Jesus as their master, as their teacher, as their healer.

And so they probably heard of his great works of miracles in healing other people, the lame, the blind, and even other lepers.

We find in Mark 1, verse 40 that Jesus had already healed a leper and so they had hope in their hearts.

They realized that Jesus could heal them and so they're lifting up their voices today and what does that represent?

They're asking God for help and they might not know the exact form of how to pray but I'm telling you they're crying out to God and when that cry of suffering comes up to God's ears, friends, he cannot but just simply help And when they cry out to Him, He always hears.

It's a cry, it's a prayer for healing, a prayer for forgiveness, a prayer of repentance.

And when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priests.

And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed.

Why would Jesus ask them to go and show themselves to the priests?

You see, it was actually required by law.

In the Old Testament, the priests, they were the ones who would examine those who had leprosy or those who had any sort of sickness in general and they were the ones that would determine whether they were clean or not, whether they would be allowed to go back to their homes, whether they would be allowed to be integrated back into society.

So this was not just in regards to leprosy but pretty every much every disease and they were the ones that would give the final verdict as whether they could come back into the camp.

And look, in Leviticus chapter 14, actually, if you take time to read the whole chapter, you will find that it is really talking about leprosy and whether the person is pronounced clean or unclean.

But we're just gonna read 2 verses from there.

This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing.

He shall be brought unto the priest and the priest shall go forth out of the camp and the priest shall look and behold if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper." So the priest was very much involved in whether this person would be allowed to come back into society with the rest of the nation or not.

He would judge the person and declare this person either clean or unclean.

He had the final say and so this is the reason why Jesus is asking them show yourself to the priest go and let him have a look at you and you know in the New Testament this was still the practice This is what we read in Mark chapter 1.

And this is after how Jesus heals that leper in verse 40 and to 43, Jesus says this in Mark 1, 44.

And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them.

So Jesus, he even asked this leper also to go and show himself to the priest.

Jesus even, whilst he was alive on earth, still yet followed the laws of Moses as he wrote it out in regards to how involved the priest would be to be clean or unclean.

And look, he was not opposed to the laws of Moses when he was alive on this earth.

He still followed the sanctuary laws and it was only at the cross that the law of Moses would be done away with and that's the reason why today we don't need to go to the sanctuary to kill a lamb every time we sin and want to ask for forgiveness of sins.

Jesus is the lamb that taketh away the sin of the world.

He is the 1 that has replaced all those sanctuary services And so we don't need to do any of that today.

But Jesus, while he was alive on earth, yes, he said, go show yourself to the priest.

He is the 1 that will give the final verdict as to say whether you are allowed back into society today or not.

But what does the priest represent today?

But no, it's Jesus connecting the sinner with the church.

Not that the church has any power to cleanse a person.

The priest would not be the 1 that would say, I'm going to make you clean.

And it's not to say that the church has any healing virtue.

All that healing virtue is found in Christ.

And not even to say that the church has power to determine whether a person is clean or unclean today or not.

But this just shows the high regard that Jesus has for His church today.

We cannot underestimate the importance of church and fellowship and being present at church.

And not just for coming together and worshipping on a particular day or having that worship with others of the same belief, but also the need for reclaiming the sinner, to integrate the sinner back into a good environment, so to speak.

The support that is also needed to help them to remain faithful to God.

Friends, We cannot underestimate the importance of having fellowship and support from the church.

I know sometimes we find that we get discouraged when we come to church as well.

But friends, you've got to remember, The church is not perfect.

It's full of people that are wanting something better and wanting a life of Christ or living a life in Christ Jesus.

We need that coming together to feed and help that sinner grow and overcome the world and all that they're struggling with, but also to teach them about the love of Christ.

And so Jesus says, go show yourself to the priest, get integrated back into society.

And so the lepers, they take off and they start running towards the temple.

And what happens as they start running in that direction what actually happens friends the bible says that they are healed and the word of god was that which healed them Not because they went that they were healed.

Now there was no virtue, healing virtue in their action.

But friends there is a really really important message in this as well.

Look, it shows also the part that we are to play in our own healing.

There must be an element of faith and belief in the words of Jesus if we want to be made whole.

We have to believe the Word of God but just believing is not enough.

Back to Menu

Series

Encounters With Jesus

Jesus’ Encounter with the 10 Lepers

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

The Science of Thankfulness

40m

Thanksgiving Lamb

50m

Encounters With Jesus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man Born Blind

42m

The Brain and Body on Gratitude

32m

The Remnant’s Call To Give Glory

54m

Headless Turkeys

54m

Unlock Revelation

How to Rejoice in the Midst of Trials

38m

Prayer by Gem Castor

Peace in the Storm

52m

Prayer by Gem Castor

From Garbage to Gold

38m

Prayer by Gem Castor

Give Him Praise

59m

The Characteristics and Titles of Jesus

Jesus: One of Them

42m

Sound Doctrine