Tuesday Devo
Scripture:
Luke 17:15-16
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
Commentary:
17:15–16a One leper turned back (cf. 2 Kings 5:15), praising God with a loud voice (a favorite Lukan expression; cf. Luke 4:33; 8:28; 19:37, etc.). The leper fell on his face (cf. 5:12), giving Jesus thanks. Elsewhere in the NT such giving of thanks (Gk. eucharisteō) is always directed to God (in every one of 37 other occurrences of this verb).
17:16b Now he was a Samaritan. The noun “he” is emphasized in the Greek; placing this statement later in the story also serves to emphasize that the only grateful leper was a Samaritan (on Samaritans, see 9:52; 10:33).
17:16b Now he was a Samaritan. The noun “he” is emphasized in the Greek; placing this statement later in the story also serves to emphasize that the only grateful leper was a Samaritan (on Samaritans, see 9:52; 10:33).
Questions:
- The first takeaway from Sunday was that we are all lepers... spiritually speaking. We ARE the lepers in the story! Leprosy in scripture is symbolic of sin, and there are many parallels. Leprosy starts out as a small spot that grows and festers until it takes over the whole person, condemning him to separation, isolation and death. Like leprosy, sin is progressive and alienates you from God. It takes you down piece by piece. It was also a disfiguring disease, leaving those who suffer from it looking hideous and scary. But what we fail to realize is that this is what we look spiritually. Our disease was incurable; our situation hopeless; our lives miserable. Jesus offered our only chance for deliverance. And mustering what hopeful faith we had, we begged the Master to heal us. And now, because of what Christ did for us, we've gone from hideously disfigured to "holy and blameless, without a single fault." What kind of emotions does this stir up in you? How important is it for us to never forget just how much our Savior has delivered us from?
- When the one leper was healed, he immediately praised God. The leper knew he could not achieve wholeness on his own. He took no credit, but gave God all the glory. It was only by the grace and power of God. And when he recognized what God had done, he wanted to tell the world about it. What are you doing to make God's name known? How much credit do you take for things, even if it's unintentional, instead of giving God glory?
Pray:
- That you would always remember what Jesus did for you.
- That you would be quick to give God glory.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
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