In Luke 17 we read the story of Christ healing the 10 lepers. In this story there is a message about the importance of being Thankful and the blessing it can bring.
Leprosy is a terrible illness and when people in Biblical times had this disease they were ostracized and pushed out of society. There was no cure and people with leprosy were left without any hope. In His compassion, Jesus healed the 10 lepers.
In verse 15-16 we read:
“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; ….” – Luke 17:15-16
All 10 lepers were healed, but only one of them returned to give glory to God and thank Jesus for being healed. Jesus said to the one that returned:
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. – Luke 17:17-18
“And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made you whole.“ – Luke 17:19
Jesus specifically said, “thy faith hath made you whole“. Why would He say that only to the one that returned, “made you whole”? The Greek word for “whole” is sōzō and it means more than just forgiveness of sins. The word sōzō means to save, rescue from destruction, or to deliver from penalties. So the one that turned back and was thankful was also “made whole”.
Because this one turned back and was thankful he received an extra blessing in addition to him being healed. This parable and the deeper meaning of the word sōzō adds to our depth and understanding to the value of being Thankful. It shows us that being Thankful comes with blessings.
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” –Ephesians 5:20
Check out a previous blog post on Gratitude here for ideas on how to practice this in your life.
