30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 17 11-19 Surrender, Thankfulness, Gratitude and Worship of God 04 Have mercy on us
📖 Luke 17:11-19
28Jul2020 - *Have mercy on us* - _Luke 17:11-19_ - THANKFULNESS AND GRATITUDE TO GOD 4 – Bible reading: _Mark 10:47-52_
_Luke 17:12-13 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. (13) And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"_
We said yesterday, that we are here on earth to be focused on fulfilling our God-given purpose. As we journey this road, we must also confront the socio-cultural divides that society has erected and bring them down by the enablement of the Holy Spirit.
These ten lepers stood afar off, revealing that they were following the dictate of social distancing that was demanded of them. At the same time, they were suddenly hopeful that there could be a solution to their predicament since Jesus was passing that village.
Note that their sickness of leprosy had united them. There were both Samaritans and Jews in this group of ten lepers. In normal circumstances, they would not have been together but in a crisis, they bonded.
Isn’t that a sad but a factual reality? Crisis brings people together but as soon as everything is comfortable, we exhibit selfishness. Could I say that the Lord has allowed the present crisis, as a means to draw us all together, all over the world, to humble us and seek God?
The cry of the ten lepers was, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"_ Pleading for mercy is a serious matter. The perception in the minds of people was that sickness such as leprosy or any other dreadful crisis happens to a person or a community because of the sin committed by that person or community.
We encounter this mindset when Jesus healed the man born blind. _John 9:1-2 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. (2) And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"_
We see the same point of view being displayed by the ten lepers when they asked Jesus to have mercy on them. By asking Jesus to have mercy on them, they were (1) acknowledging that they were all sinners, (2) their sin needed to be forgiven (3) Jesus could forgive their sin and (4) Jesus could also give them physical healing. All of these matters were contained in them asking Jesus to have mercy on them.
We see the same experience with blind Bartimaeus. _Mark 10:47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"_ Bartimaeus was connecting Jesus with Old Testament prophesy that Jesus was the awaited Messiah _(Isaiah 11:1-10)_. Bartimaeus was sure that Jesus could forgive his sin as well cure him of his blindness, which was why no one was able to keep him quiet.
_Mark 10:48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Mark 10:51-52 So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." (52) Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road._ Jesus not only brought healing to Bartimaeus but Bartimaeus left his old life of begging and was now a disciple of Jesus. Bartimaeus had experienced both inner as well as outer healing.
This was what the ten lepers were asking when they cried for Jesus to have mercy on them.
Jesus confronted the matter of sin being the cause for the physical ailment. _John 9:3-5 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. (4) I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. (5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."_
Jesus is showing us that He had come to bring both inner as well as outer healing in the lives of people. Bartimaeus cried for mercy, whereas the man born blind did not ask for mercy, for he knew that he had not sinned for him to have been born blind. Our task is to bring healing to all people, who are in crisis around us.
Jesus was the light in the world, till the time He was here on earth. He has left us here, His unprofitable Doulos, to be the lights of the world. We are here to bring healing to the lives of people, who are in crisis.
_Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven._
*Thought to ponder*
```If there is darkness in our world, let us not blame the darkness. The question is, What happened to the lights?```