Guest Post by Sr. Judith Hannah  + + +

And as HE+ entered into a certain village,

there met HIM+

ten men that were lepers,

which stood afar off:

 And they lifted up their voices,

and said, JESUS, Master,

have mercy on us.

And when HE+ saw them,

HE+ said unto them,

Go, shew yourselves unto the priests.

And it came to pass, that,

as they went,

they were cleansed.

And one of them,

when he saw that he was healed,

turned back,

and with a loud voice glorified GOD,

And fell down on his face at HIS+ Feet,

giving HIM+ thanks:

and he was a Samaritan.

And JESUS answering said,

Were there not ten cleansed?

but where are the nine?

There are not found that returned

to give glory to GOD,

save this stranger.

And HE+ said unto him,

Arise, go thy way:

thy faith hath made thee whole.

Luke 17:12-19

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The lepers were some of the wisest men that lived.  They walked in the reality of their own approaching death, a reality they lived with daily, a reality they were constantly reminded of.

The lepers had one advantage over us all:

they knew they were unclean.  They knew they were nobodies, the out-casts of society; no-one wanted to befriend them. 

Furthermore, they knew in that condition that they could not even come before GOD. They were totally prohibited from entering into the House of GOD in their unclean, leprous, decaying state.

But when they saw JESUS coming their way,

they called out to HIM+ for mercy.

They called out to HIM+,

even in their unclean state,

mindful to keep a safe distance

between the Unclean and The CLEAN+ .

… lepers, which stood afar off:

Note this: when they called out to The LORD JESUS for mercy, they ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED His+ Authority. 

The word here for “master” is not the word “rabbi” nor is it the word “didaskalos”  (teacher). Here,  “master” is the over-seerer, the manager in charge,  the commander.

It denoted His+ Authority over the unclean, rather than His+ teaching Authority.  The Lepers, like the Roman Centurion, recognized His+ SPIRITUAL Authority.

 So, when THEY called, HE+ did not even question them. Rather, HE+ told them what to do:

And when HE+ saw them,

HE+ said unto them,

Go, shew yourselves

unto the priests.

And it came to pass, that,

as they went,

they were cleansed.

Luke 17:14

Not one of them refused to go ! Not one of them hesitated. HE+ said it; they did it. They did not even question HIM+ nor discuss His+ directive.

 SO THEN…

As they walked in obedience

to His+ Word,

THEY WERE CLEANSED !

They were HEALED !

Their lives were RESTORED back to normal. They could enter the Temple now; they could have normal interaction with their fellow man. 

They could re-enter their families who had counted them as dead. They were physically changed, every one of them, to live their lives as before.

However, one of their number, a Samaritan, received MORE than his magnificent, life-changing, physical healing.

This Samaritan man was changed SPIRITUALLY. 

He recognized GOD !

He may not have known much, being out of the commonwealth of Israel, but he knew ENOUGH about GOD to know that only HE could heal a man from LEPROSY !

Face to face, He met HIM+ and recognized HIM+ as LORD of all creation. He met the Jewish MESSIAH+ … whom the nine other men, ( Jews ? ) missed. 

The Samaritan Leper would NEVER be able to “live his life as before,” now. He was changed forever, internally.  He was a new man because he RECOGNIZED the Lordship of JESUS CHRIST over his life.

No-one … absolutely NO-ONE …

can walk as a New Creature in CHRIST

without bowing to the

PERSONAL LORDSHIP of JESUS CHRIST

over his / her life

in every area of

his / her life. 

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Are we walking like Lepers today, in need of deep cleansing and healing ? 

Are we RECOGNIZING the Authority The LORD JESUS has over all unclean spirits, including those attacking our bodies and those inherited from the Curse ? 

Are we RECOGNIZING how very unclean our lives are before The HOLY ONE+ of Israel, lives filled with all manner of worldly desires and societal values ?

Are our ears OPEN to His+ Word? 

Will we walk IMMEDIATELY — without rationalizing, without questioning — in the path HE+ points out ?

Do we worship HIM+ with our faces to the ground, that is,

our whole Self prostrate

before HIM+,

in recognition that we, who have been formed of dust, have come Face to Face with His+ Presence ?

But GOD commended HIS love toward us,

in that,

while we were yet sinners,

CHRIST died for us.

Romans 5:8

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Glory be to The FATHER Who created us, and to HIS Beloved, Only-Begotten SON+ JESUS CHRIST, Who+ saves us, and to the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT, Who sanctifies us.

Categories: news

Tags: Lepers, news, Walking as Lepers