God’s Undeserved Favor

God showers grace upon the flowers of the field, and
even more upon all of us. 

Scripture:

Luke 17:11   On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, ¹³ they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. ¹⁶ He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? ¹⁸ Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Observation:

Jesus and the disciples continue on their journey to Jerusalem. He is leading them on the usual journey through Samaria where they cross over the Jordan to the eastern shore. It is in this place that they encounter a group of ten lepers. It’s quite possible that nine of the lepers were Jews, and the one was a Samaritan. Because they were all ostracized by society, lepers often found comfort and community by staying together. 

The ten lepers were healed, not by Jesus touching them, but on their way to show themselves to priest. It was the priest who was to examine their skin and determine whether they were healed. One of them was overwhelmed to notice that his skin had been made like new. It sounds like he looked down and shouted with amazement. He turned around and threw himself on the ground before Jesus thanking him. Oddly, he was the only one who came back and thanked Jesus — and he was the lone Samaritan. 

It was the excluded man that the religious authorities would have viewed as the least worthy of Jesus’ love and compassion who came and threw himself at Jesus’ feet. His heart was full of gratitude because he knew that he didn’t deserve God’s favor. The result is that he responds in faith and obedience. The others may have thought that they were deserving of Christ’s healing touch. 

Jesus teaches the disciples in this moment, reflecting on the fact that only this foreigner was the one who returned to give praise to God. Neale tells us, “The excluded are drawn in, while the included fail to demonstrate gratitude” (NBBC).

Application:

Throughout history there have always been those who thought that they were “in” — in regard to the kingdom of God, and those whom they believed were “out.” The Jews believed they were “in” and the Samaritans were certainly “out.” Combine this with a dreaded disease that requires you to social distance and you come up with the most unworthy of individuals. However, it’s in this individual that we recognize the undeserved favor of God. 

Whether we want to admit it or not, we all tend to have prejudices. We may look at some people and think that they are beyond the reach of God, creating barriers to grace. Jesus was continually teaching and mentoring the disciples. These were lessons for them to comprehend and realize their role in participating in Jesus’ grace to a world in need of healing. God’s undeserved favor was to be poured out through the disciples to a needy world. 

If that was the case for the disciples, then it is even more the case for you and me. The church should be a place where God’s undeserved favor is poured out on the least likely. I think that’s hard for us sometimes because there are those whom we may deem “unclean.” We are uncomfortable with their presence and yet, Jesus would want us to pour out favor upon the most undeserving. Sadly, we tend to be like the nine who went away and were probably healed, but may have thought that they had it coming to them.  We may tell the Lord: “I attend church regularly.” “I don’t use drugs or alcohol.” “I’ve been paying my tithe regularly.” “I’m not engaged in that kind of a lifestyle.” AND therefore, I deserve God’s favor. 

We must all remember that we are sinners saved by grace. None of us deserves God’s favor. If that’s true, then we are to be partners together in God’s mission to share prevenient grace to the most undeserving. Sure, it may make us uncomfortable, but there is also joy when we walk in the footsteps of Jesus. 

Prayer:

Lord, open my eyes to my own prejudices and help me to be engaged in your mission. Amen.