November 24, 2022 – Thursday
Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving
Luke 17:15-16 ESV
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
Comment
When we think of Thanksgiving, we generally think of how thankful we are for all we have, food, home, clothes, family, and so on. Seldom do we think of Giving Thanks to those who provide all of this for us or to God who makes all of the blessings possible.
But what are our two verses about for today? Looking at the four preceding verses will tell much of the story, 11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,] who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, 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 cleansed. When we read, they were cleansed, it means they were healed, all ten of them. And among the group we know there was at least one Samaritan, because the one who turned back to give thanks to Jesus was a Samaritan. This was unusual as Samaritans and Jews had a racial animus towards each other. Apparently in their diseased state such animus fell by the wayside. Jesus simply healed them all without any consideration of Samaritan or Jew, He healed them all.
However, the one, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. For his healing he praised God with a loud voice for he knew where his healing had come from. And when he got back to Jesus, he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. He knew it was through Jesus that God had healed him. Then we are made aware how unusual this was when Luke writes, Now he was a Samaritan. His healing had removed any animus he might have had towards Jews and especially towards Jesus.
Then Jesus answered the Samaritan saying, 17 “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” Of the ten cleansed only the foreigner made the effort to return and give thanks (praise) to God. The point was that the other nine had been blessed and blessed greatly, but they could not take the time to give thanks to the one who had blessed them so mightily.
The nine are sadly representative of many of us today. We live our lives thankful for all the blessing we have day to day with seldom (if ever) giving thanks to the one who has given us such incredible blessings. All too often we take our blessings for granted and wonder why we should be giving thanks. Still, those who know, they give thanks almost every day and often many times a day for all the blessings they experience.
Having been saved by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins, we have reason to celebrate each and every day. And on each of those days we should do as the cleansed Samaritan did, thank the one who spared us from the penalty of our sins – hell. Instead we can look forward to a much different ending – heaven.
Bottom Line: Give thanks, always give thanks to God for our salvation and all the other blessings He places in our lives. Always give thanks.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Your kindness and mercy overwhelm me. And I wonder who are we that You should love us so much as to provide a way for us to return to You. Thank You. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek