Dear Christian friends:

One hundred percent of the lepers were healed, but 90% failed to say "thank you." We really aren't surprised by this ungrateful behavior, for we all have experienced ungrateful behavior from our fellow humans and we ourselves may be able to painfully recall times when we also have been unthankful.

However, we're not here today to think about good and bad manners. This Gospel Lesson appointed for this Sunday has far more important things to teach us. When Jesus responds to the one leper's praise and worship He doesn't emphasize his thanksgiving. He points to his faith saying, "Rise and go, your faith has made you well." (verse 19)

Faith in Jesus Christ causes true thankfulness in the heart of a Christian for two reasons: First, one who has saving faith believes that we fallen sinners do not deserve any good thing. Secondly, a person who has saving faith believes that all we receive is solely by God's grace for our spiritual benefit.


Why are people generally unthankful? Why were the nine unthankful? That answer will give us some incites.

They had received the same gift of healing as they went on the way to show themselves to the priest. So, why are these nine unthankful?

Perhaps they believed that they deserved to be healed. Thankfulness is not necessary when you are receiving what you have deserved all along. For example, the winner of a lawsuit who receives millions of dollars from the insurance company doesn't thank the company. The money is simply owed to him.

Leprosy had ruined the lives of the lepers. They were outcasts from society, who had done nothing to deserve this horrible disease. Well, at least, they were not worse sinners than their fellow citizens who did not have this disease and who were enjoying good health and high society. So, they, no doubt, reasoned that things were finally being set right, as they ought to have been long ago.

They may have thought of their healing as justice, an entitlement. No doubt, they appreciated the sudden change of fortune, but not enough to go and thank the Changer. Rather than thankfulness they may well have thought, "If healing was so easy, why didn't God give me what was mine all along?"

With such an attitude, they would easily be angry at God over lost years rather than having joy over the future years. We don't know for sure if this really was the attitude of the nine unthankful lepers, but knowing sinful human nature as we do it well might have been.

So what about us? Can we see ourselves acting like these nine ungrateful lepers? We sometimes engage in such rationalizations. When stricken with a life-threatening disease we often ask, "Why me?" when we just as well could ask, "Why not me?"

Could our moments of ingratitude toward God be rooted in the false rationalizations that we deserve all that we are and have? After all, aren't we nice respectable people who have worked very hard to get what we have?

So we see why people may be ungrateful to God. However, why are some so thankful and worshipful towards God? Why was the one leper so thankful?

Well, let's read what our text tells us about him. (read verses 15-18) He was a "Samaritan", a "foreigner." This implies that the nine were Jews. Jesus frequently would give understanding and faith to Gentile people in order to humble the chosen Jews who were often proud and self righteous and looked down on others. The Good Samaritan is a good example. Somehow Jesus enlightened this Samaritan leper and gave him saving faith.

This Samaritan believed that Jesus was his only hope, not only for being cleansed of his leprosy, but also for being cleansed from his sins. Jesus said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (verse 19)

The sentence may also be rendered: "Your faith has saved you," meaning salvation from sin. The fact that he returned to thank Jesus may indicate that he had received salvation in addition to physical healing.

When he saw that he had been cleansed from his leprosy he realized who Jesus was. He now believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Savior predicted by the Old Testament prophets. Therefore, he throws himself at Jesus' feet and praises Him with a loud voice. What an example of sincere thanksgiving!

So we see that God given faith in Jesus caused this one leper to give sincere thanks and worship to Jesus. What about us? What causes our sincere thanks to God?

Our gratitude comes from the same source as the one leper who returned. Our thankfulness comes out of God given faith in Jesus Christ. This faith recognizes that we sinners deserve nothing but God's wrath and punishment. This faith believes what the Bible teaches, that we are fallen creatures before a perfect and holy God. (Romans 6:23, Galatians 3:10)

We confess this at the beginning of every church service. We confess this when we pray the Fifth Petition of the Lord's Prayer: "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Martin Luther says: "We pray in this Petition that God would not look upon our sins, nor on their account deny our prayer, for we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, neither have we deserved them, but that He would grant them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and indeed deserve nothing but punishment."

This faith believes that Jesus is the only hope. Anything received is by grace alone. This causes us to have sincere gratitude, like the gratitude of the defendant who is found guilty in court, only to have the plaintiff not press charges. We have been found guilty before the tribunal of our holy God, but He does not press charges against us because of Jesus Christ.

We, like the one leper have received undeserved love. Through the cross and through the empty tomb we have received the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. With that God given saving faith we are able to say with a loud voice, "Thank you Jesus."

Amen.