In Luke 17:11-19, we have an account of ten men who were afflicted with the dreadful disease of leprosy. When Jesus passed by and came near enough, they began to cry out to Jesus to have mercy on them. When he saw them, he told them to “Go show yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass that, as they went, they were cleansed.”
When we think of leprosy and the terrible pain and affliction that accompany the disease, we cringe even today. We would naturally think that someone who was healed of this terrible disease would indeed be grateful. But as we read, we find that only one returned to give thanks to the Lord (So Jesus answered and said “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17:1718). According to Brother Spivy, this is one of the saddest questions Jesus asked during his time upon the earth.
Today, we stand amazed at the ingratitude of those nine men, but if we only take the time to think about it we would be amazed no longer. The history of the human race is a history of ingratitude. The Lord has always bestowed multiple blessings on man, but man has not always been grateful for them. Consider the blessings of nature God gives freely to all: the singing of birds, the sunshine and the showers, and in my opinion, we are especially blessed in East Tennessee by the marvelous mountain landscapes. But, do we find the human race thanking and praising God for these daily blessings? No. Some few folks remember to thank the Lord for material blessings, but for the most part we find the opposite. If the weather is a little too dry, we will hear a grumble, and if it is a little wet, we hear the same.
In the spiritual realm, there are far, far too many blessings to be thankful for to even begin listing them in this short article. As Christians, we are aware of the greatest blessing of God’s Son. A heart that is grateful will not be ashamed to glorify His name.
May the question never be asked of us, “Where are the nine?”
For the elders, Tony Williams