| Subject: A Second Opinion |
Author:
Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 16:19:21 12/02/13 Mon
Luke 17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
Most of us are familiar with the account in the Bible of the ten lepers that were cleansed of their leprosy yet only one returned and gave thanks to the One who had cleansed them. That is the way the passage is presented almost always.
It may not be completely true to say the nine were not thankful but instead were following what they knew to do according to the law and what Jesus instructed them to do. Let's take a look at more of the passage: Luke 17:11-18 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.
Now let's put on our thinking caps for a moment. In Leviticus chapter 13 we are given the law of leprosy. It is lengthy and covers 59 verses which is the whole of the chapter. If you are interested you should go to the chapter and read it. You will see under what conditions the priest declared a person unclean or clean. There are several conditions of leprosy that are covered and while lengthy it is quite interesting. What I would like for us to see and realize is that at the time Jesus healed these lepers they were still under the old Levitical law concerning leprosy. God set forth the rules and gave the responsibility of determination to the priests. It was mandatory to be declared clean by a priest or you would be considered to remain unclean. The priest had to look at the skin and give his opinion as to whether the leprosy was viable or not.
Consider now the ten lepers in light of this law and the command of Jesus to "Go shew yourselves unto the priests". It may not have been as cut and dried as we have believed concerning thankfulness. I can't imagine them not being thankful but rather in a great hurry to obey Jesus and be declared clean. They may even have gone later and thanked him.
What I see is a lesson we all need to learn concerning Jesus and what He tells us. This one leper considered what Jesus told him and immediately obeyed. He started with the other nine. While starting to find a priest he saw the difference in his flesh as he looked at his hands and flesh that was visible. Immediately he realized the cleanness that was in him now. He knew he was healed! HE DID NOT NEED A SECOND OPINION. What was much more important to him at the moment was returning and giving thanks to the One who had healed him.
Too often when faced with an obvious conclusion we will not trust ourselves but will desire a second opinion. Maybe God has spoken to your heart about a matter and you are certain God is directing you. Why do you need a second opinion about what God has already directed you in. I don't want anyone to think I am saying to not get help or advice in hard scripture or difficult problems. What I am saying is there are many times you don't need verification of the obvious. An example of this would be in a matter of forgiveness. God has told us to forgive when there is need to forgive. No matter what the transgression we are to forgive. (Mark 11:25-26, Mt. 18:21-22)
When Jesus told these lepers to go to the priest they all started. One looked at himself and remembered what Jesus told them and who Jesus was and thought: "Which is more important; to go and verify what I already know or return and thank Jesus for my healing? " That leper never doubted his cleansing. He did not need a second opinion
Often problems will pop up in our lives that we know without doubt what the solution is. When this happens we don't need opinions or advice from others. We may need to present it before God in prayer but to get a possibly contrary opinion from another cannot help and it might serve to bring confusion if that person advises an action contrary to what you ,know you should do.
In spiritual matters we don't need opinions of man when God is directing us and one final thing. Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
The thankful Samaritan went to a greater priest than he would have found in the temple. He returned to Jesus, the greatest priest that ever walked the earth.
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