Psalms 8:1 and 134:1-3.
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Luke 17. The story of the ten lepers caught my attention, and the Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind at verses 17-19:
Luke 17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
Luke 17:18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
Luke 17:19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
He healed ten, only one returned to thank Him. Jesus remarked that the only one who returned to give God thanks was a Samaritan. He told the grateful Samaritan, “Go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole” (17:19). This Gentile was the only one of the ten that returned to give thanks to God for his healing.
Jesus found greater faith among the Gentiles than He did among the Jews.
The Roman Centurion: Matthew 8:7-12 (A Gentile)
The “Woman of Canaan”: Matthew 15:21-28 (A Gentile)
There are many instances in which Jesus remarked on the faith of those He ministered to, and once He lamented: “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8b). He came looking for faith.
He marveled at the Gentiles’ faith (Matthew 8:10—“When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel”). But sadly, He marveled at the unbelief of the Jews (Mark 6:6—“He marvelled because of their unbelief.”)
Jesus’ emphasis on the importance of faith came up often: (Luke 8:25—He asked, “Where is your faith?”; Matthew 6:30—“O ye of little faith?” (see also Matthew 8:26; 16:8; Luke 12:28); Matthew 17:20—“Because of your unbelief.”) He struggled with the slowness of His own disciples to believe (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:25). I find myself struggling, often resorting to the cry of the greiving father: “With tears, [crying] Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
For Jesus to point out that of the ten, only one returned to give thanks suggests the other nine were expected to demonstrate some fruit of faith and didn’t: “But where are the nine?” That’s a question many of us ask when we read this story: Where are the nine?
I ask that question often. Lighthouse carries the burden of a radio ministry ministering God’s word to our community, and the number who benefit is far greater than the number that express that gratitude. Some do! And we appreciate them. Jesus did not lose sight of the one who gave thanks, but he did not ignore the fact that nine of ten recipients of His blessing failed to respond appropriately.
Along the still waters, I thought about how the Spirit followed this story of the ten lepers with Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees’ question about when the Kingdom of God would come (17:20-21 and 22-37). Jesus offered to restore the kingdom to Israel, but because of their unbelief, they refused, and so were rejected (Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34; and finally, Romans 11:20; Hebrews 3:19 with 4:6).
Jesus came to the Jews looking for faith. He had given them the advantage of having received the word by which comes faith (Romans 3:1; 10:17). But when “the word of truth, the gospel of [their] salvation,” came to them, they did not receive it. He did not find the faith He sought, at least not in the general population of the Jews. He was amazed at their unbelief and surprised to find the most outstanding examples of faith among the Gentiles. This circumstance continued throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, and it led to the scornful rulers of the Jews manipulating the Roman Governor Pilate into participating in His crucifixion.
The Jewish disciples of our Lord Jesus continued to struggle with unbelief even after His resurrection (Luke 24:25; Mark 16:14), and the unbelieving Jews who rejected Him continued in unbelief throughout the book of Acts, but found greater faith among the Gentiles (Acts 15:7-16; Galatians 2:2; Ephesians 3:6) until finally Paul announced that the Gospel would be taken from the Jews whose “ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes … they closed” (Acts 28:27) and given to the Gentiles, and prophesied that “the salvation of Go is sent to the Gentiles, and that they will hear it” (Acts 28:28).
I wept! My heart was grieved, and I asked, Where is the faith of those early Gentiles, the Centurian, and the Phoenician mother? Have we not been given the word by which faith comes (Romans 10:17)? I fear the answer: we refuse to “hear.” Has Satan gotten our ears so full of the noise of this world that we cannot “hear” His word? Why are we Gentiles now so slow to believe? “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). Now that we, who “in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:10), we, who are now the “chosen generation, a roual priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people” called to “shew forth the praises of him who hath called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9)—has it something to do with being His “chosen”? Israel, His chosen, given the word by which faith comes, brought forth unbelief, and now we, chosen of God, bring forth unbelief.
Does being chosen by God gender some perverse pride that kills faith? Have we become puffed up in our privileged status before God? Our elevation has not humbled us but puffed us up. O GOD, have mercy: Help our unbelief!
My Shepherd touched me and took me into the valley and said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). I took this as confirmation. Self is the enemy of faith. Pride is the primary quality of the old man. He must be denied. The Cross cancels self. It crucifies conceit. Many wear one, few carry one. Fewer still deny Self to take it up.
At the table, we commiserated for a while. He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy accompanied us into the harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap:
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