Luke 17:11
¶ And it came to pass, as he went to
Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village,
there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and
said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14
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.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he
was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet,
giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17
And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are
the nine? 18 There are not found that
returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy
faith hath made thee whole.
This would seem simple enough. Maybe one in ten will be thankful
to Christ for His mercy. There are many preaching sermons that have been made
out of this passage. There is the idea, as presented by Matthew Henry in his
commentary, that leprosy was considered a punishment for some sin so that since
Christ, who came to take away sin and wrath for sin, chose to heal these men.
See the rules regarding leprosy and its healing in Leviticus 13 and 14.
But, what is the point of this episode as recorded for us? Samaritans
were considered non-Jews. I am going to repeat what I said earlier about them.
Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel after
Israel and Judah split during the reign of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, as recorded
in 1Kings, chapter 12. Then, see 1Kings 16:29. The Assyrians conquered Israel
and removed the Jews from there to other territories, replacing them with
others as was their custom in conquest. Jewish priests were brought in to teach
them the religion of the Jews and a distinctly different sort of Judaism grew
up with distinct customs and norms that underscored the divisions between the
Jews and the Samaritans.
2Kings
17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the
king of Assyria took Samaria,
and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the
cities of the Medes…24 And the king of
Assyria brought men from
Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim,
and placed them in the cities
of Samaria instead of the
children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria,
and dwelt in the cities thereof…26
Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which
thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he
hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not
the manner of the God of the land…28
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and
taught them how they should fear the LORD.
The Samaritan religion is called Samaritanism and is based on the
Samaritan Torah. They believed they most closely followed the true religion of
the Jews that existed before the Babylonian captivity. They worshipped at the
ruins of their temple in Mount Gerizim. The mount is mentioned in Deuteronomy,
Joshua, and Judges. The temple was destroyed by the Jews in around 100BC. The
Jews did not regard the Samaritans very favorably.
In fact, the Samaritans were hated. They worshipped in a different
place. They had a different history than the Jews and the Jews regarded them as
inferiors, spiritually, politically, and every other way. They were not just
somebody else but they were somebody else the Jews expected nothing good out of
and looked down their noses at.
Galilee also has some important characteristics for this episode
in Jesus’ ministry. Isaiah
9:1 refers to Galilee of the nations
and Matthew 4:15 refers to Galilee of the
Gentiles, word substitution defining nations
as equivalent to Gentiles. Galilee was inhabited pretty much by
Gentiles. Nations is usually a reference to non-Jewish political, tribal, and
ethnic groups. In 1Kings 9:11 Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre 20 cities in the
land of Galilee so you would naturally have an influx of Gentiles there. In
2Kings 15:29 the Assyrians removed the population in their practice of
replacing conquered peoples. They would settle them someplace else and move
another group into their homelands as per 2Kings 17:24. Galilee was originally
in Naphtali’s domain according to Joshua 21:32.
If we consider the significance of numbers in the Bible ten is
prominent. The steward of Abram’s (Abraham) house was Eliezer.
Genesis
15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt
thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
If Abram is a type of God the Father and Eliezer is in type the
Holy Ghost, he is sent out to obtain a bride for Isaac, his father’s beloved
son, a type of Christ, with the willing bride, Rebekah, a type of the church.
Read Genesis 24. He takes ten camels with him, perhaps signifying the Gentiles.
Genesis
24:10 ¶ And the servant took ten camels
of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and
went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
Nevertheless, be careful when giving a certain number spiritual
significance as the great danger of such things is then seeing that
significance everywhere, even where it is not. But, here, in this passage we
have ten lepers from an area of predominantly Gentiles and people who are
considered a type of counterfeit Jew, hated and despised by the Jews. This is
one of those threads of evidence that portends that Christ has not restricted
His message to the Jews only but to others outside the fold of God’s chosen
people. Jesus warned the Jews of His day on earth;
Luke
13:28 There shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the
prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves
thrust out. 29 And they shall come from
the east, and from the west,
and from the north, and from
the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
Only one in ten who have experienced Christ firsthand will give
glory to God and be thankful. This reminds me of the people who come forward in
a church service or raise their hands and pray the 1-2-3-repeat-after-me
“salvation” prayer so popular among evangelicals and fundamentalists in America.
Nine out of ten will never darken the door of a church again until they are
carried in and out of it by the pallbearers at their funeral, if then.
Luke 17:20
¶ And when he was demanded of the
Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The
kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom
of God is within you. 22 And he said
unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the
days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see
there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of
the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under
heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first must he suffer many things, and be
rejected of this generation. 26 And as
it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into
the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot;
they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of
Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when
the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that
day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him
not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise
not return back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life
shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men
in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together;
the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36
Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the
other left. 37 And they answered and
said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is,
thither will the eagles be gathered together.
The kingdom of God does not appear on this earth in this present
dispensation as a nation with massive parliament or congress buildings or
executive mansions, armies, and multitudes of government bureaucrats. It occurs
in the heart of each believer and those believers are united as the church of
God, Christ’s body on earth.
God’s Spirit indwells each believer.
John
14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him,
If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we
will come unto him, and make our
abode with him.
Romans
8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Proof of that indwelling is the fruit that is produced.
Galatians
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is
no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of
vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
The body of believers is the church, Christ’s body on earth, to be
doing things on earth as His ambassadors….
2Corinthians
5:16 ¶ Wherefore henceforth know we no
man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now
henceforth know we him no more.
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new. 18 And all things
are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was
in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye
reconciled to God. 21 For he hath
made him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Ephesians
6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Colossians
1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings
for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my
flesh for his body’s sake, which
is the church:
…until He returns to take control of the world of men physically.
Revelations
11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and
there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are
become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
We are not improving the world or making the world a better place
because it is dominated by sin and man’s extreme arrogance and presumption,
something from which we have been delivered if we are truly Christ’s.
Galatians
1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father:
There are many and have been many false Christians, tares among
the wheat, but God will deal with that at the end of human history. Just read
Matthew 13 about them with the birds of the air being types of Satan, and the
woman polluting the three measures of meal in type false religion.
What is to be the expression of our faith, of our religion? Is it
political, social, or a practice of power? No, none of those.
James
1:27 Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows
in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world.
Jesus says here in this passage that you cannot see the Kingdom of
God. It is not found in a cathedral, an enclave, a church building or compound,
school, or camp. It is found within the spiritual heart of each believer.
We look fervently for Christ’s return. In fact, we are told to do
so.
Titus
2:11 ¶ For the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly,
in this present world; 13 Looking for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Then, Jesus goes on to provide a summary, a synopsis, of things
that will happen at the end of human history, including the translation of the
believers, the church, from the world, something which has been promised.
First, Enoch’s translation as a type of our own.
Genesis
5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
See three mentions of the translation, popularly called The Rapture, here.
Hebrews
11:5 By faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that
he pleased God.
Then, the promise, spoke of three times.
Proverbs
25:7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest
be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
Revelation
4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a
door was opened in heaven: and
the first voice which I heard was
as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up
hither, and I will shew thee
things which must be hereafter.
Revelation
11:12 And they heard a great voice from
heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their
enemies beheld them.
And the promise confirmed even to when in the course of prophetic
events it is to take place…
1Corinthians
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.
1Thessalonians
4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we
ever be with the Lord.
Verse 24 in this passage reminds me of verses in the Old and New
Testaments.
Daniel
7:13 I saw in the night visions, and,
behold, one like the Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they
brought him near before him.
Zechariah
12:10 And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his
only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Matthew
24:1 ¶ And Jesus went out, and departed
from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all
these
things?
verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as
he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately,
saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 ¶
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive
you. 5 For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
troubled: for all these things
must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you:
and ye
shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall
betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall
rise,
and shall deceive many. 12 And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the
same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel
of
the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and
then shall the end come. 15 When ye
therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel
the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee
into the mountains: 17 Let him which is
on the housetop not
come
down to take any thing out of his house: 18
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with
child, and to them that give suck
in
those days! 20 But pray ye that your
flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be
shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days
shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man
shall
say
unto you, Lo, here is Christ,
or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,
they
shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold,
I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if
they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers;
believe
it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there
will the eagles be gathered together. 29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Revelation
1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so, Amen.
The Kingdom of God is not a physical thing of this world now.
John
18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the
Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Romans
14:17 For the kingdom of God is
not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
But, Christ’s return to deal with the darkness of this world will
be very physical. Verse 37 and this entire passage is a stark reminder of
events at the end of human-centered history.
Revelation
19: 11 ¶ And I saw heaven opened, and
behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge
and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his
head were many crowns; and he
had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him
upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God. 16 And he hath on his
vesture
and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather
yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the
flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of
them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on
the horse, and against his army. 20 And
the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles
before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake
of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And
the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and
all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
There is another principle expressed here underscored in verse 32.
We are not to look back. Our future with Christ is what is important. Read Luke
9:59-62 again.
Luke
9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man,
having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
I believe, though, in verses 30 to 33 before speaking of the
translation of the church, Christ is literally referring to the final Holocaust
of the Jews perpetuated by the Beast of Revelation, who is popularly called The
Antichrist, although that title is not in Revelation. See Revelation, chapter
12, as Satan drives the remaining, believing Jews, into the wilderness.
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