Without
& Within
In Luke 17:11-21, we have the record
of Jesus encountering ten lepers, nine Jews and one Samaritan, as he
entered “a certain village” on his way to Jerusalem. When the ten
lepers saw Jesus, they began to cry out: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on
us” (17:13). Jesus instructed them to go and shew themselves to the
priest. “And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were CLEANSED
[healed physically]” (17:14).
One of them, the Samaritan, turned
back to give glory to God, fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, and gave
thanks. Jesus asked the crowd: “Where are the [other] nine?” (17:17).
What Jesus said to the one that returned to worship, glorify God and
give thanks is significant: “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath MADE
THEE WHOLE” (17:19).
First, it signifies this Samaritan
recognized the true source of his healing—the PERSON of Jesus, not
merely a PROCEDURE. In other words, HIS faith went further than that of
the other nine, translating into WORSHIP!
Secondly is the contrast between ten
lepers being CLEANSED [without] and the one leper being MADE WHOLE
[without and within]. One can be cleansed without being made whole. The
tenth leper, the Samaritan who returned to WORSHIP, got the full
salvation package.
Thirdly, if we assume the Samaritan
made the priest his SECOND stop after making Jesus his FIRST stop, the
message to the priest would have been: “This man called Jesus is no
respector of persons, providing salvation to EVERYONE—Jews and
Gentiles!”
When the Pharisees later demanded he
address the matter of the kingdom, Jesus replied: “The kingdom of God
cometh not with OBSERVATION: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo
there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU” (17:20-21). In
other words, that Samaritan leper, whom Jesus had MADE WHOLE, slipped
right into the Kingdom of God before their very eyes and they were
oblivious. He had gotten into the Kingdom and the Kingdom had gotten
into him, unobserved by the religious elites.
It is a marvelous thing to be
CLEANSED. But it’s far better to be MADE WHOLE, and experience
salvation both WITHOUT and WITHIN!
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