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We have been working our way through the gospel of Luke looking at how much of the message and ministry of Jesus is focused on lifting up the lowly. Those that society considered outsiders and outcasts were the very people Jesus sought out to welcome into the family of God. This compassion for the lowly not only shows us what the heart of God looked like and how we, as children of God, need to live, but the response of those Jesus welcomed and honored is often an example of how we need to respond as well. Today we are going to look at two people whose response to Jesus teaches us what it means to follow Him. One person was considered an outcast, and the other one might have been seen as an outlaw. The first story comes from Luke 17,
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Luke 17:11-13
Because of how contagious leprosy and other skin diseases were, anyone who was sick with a skin disease was literally cast out of society. They were not to live with their families, be part of a community, and they were not able to worship in the synagogue. This is what the law said about people with skin diseases.
Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp. Leviticus 13:45-46
These 10 lepers had heard about Jesus' power to heal so when they heard He was in the region, they ran to Him and cried out for mercy. For some, this may have been their last hope, their last chance at healing and life. Others may have been grasping at straws trying to find a way to return to their family. In their desperation they turned to Jesus, and this was His response.
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. Luke 17:14
It seems like an odd response, go, show yourselves to the priests, but the priests were the only ones who could officially pronounce lepers as being clean. These lepers would not have been able to return home and be part of society without the approval of the priests, so Jesus sent them to the priests knowing that they would be healed along the way, and they were.
As they were walking along, they must have noticed that their skin was healing. Maybe fingers and feet that had been misshapen by the disease were straightening out and growing stronger. Maybe they noticed the white of their hands was turning pink and their skin was looking healthy. They must have noticed that things were changing, and that Jesus had in fact healed them and this made them even more eager to show themselves to the priests and return to a normal life. Nine were eager to do that and ran along, but one was eager to return to Jesus and say, thank you.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:15-19
Jesus had compassion for a group of lepers. He was willing to heal them all and offer them new life. A group of people that others would have run from, Jesus listened to, loved, and cared for. In another healing of a leper in Luke’s gospel, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the leper saying that He wanted to make him clean. Once again, we see Jesus caring for the outcasts and giving time and attention to those that society literally forced out.
But what we need to learn from this story is how to respond like this outcast and outsider.
How can we cultivate a rhythm of gratitude in our lives so that we are like the one who returned? How can we make sure that gratitude flows through us every day? Gratitude is a choice which means it is a discipline we can learn. The apostle Paul tells us to give thanks in all circumstances, so gratitude has to be a practice we can develop.
This week, Pastor David was here with one of his children and I had half a banana from an event we were hosting and asked if I could give it to her. David said sure, so I asked her if she wanted a banana, and she said yes. I asked if she wanted me to start peeling it and she said yes, and when I handed it to her, her immediate response was, thank you. We teach our children to say thank you. We instill in them the practice of saying thank you, and that discipline can shape our lives.
One really encouraging experience I had witnessing gratitude in others was several years ago at one of our 5th quarters. If you aren’t familiar with our 5th quarters, we invite Jr. & Sr. High School students to come to the church after home football games to play games and have a safe place to hang out. As you might imagine, when you get 200+ students together, it is a bit chaotic and I’ll be honest, it is not my favorite place to be, but I was there helping that night and I was sitting at the door signing kids in and giving them wristbands. I was amazed because most of the students coming in said, thank you. I was giving them a wrist band. I wasn’t doing anything big or significant, but almost every student said, thank you. That says something about our community and the parents out there.
If we can teach gratitude to our children, we can learn to be grateful ourselves, it just takes discipline. Even if everything seems to be falling apart, there is always something you can find to give thanks for. I've seen people with terminal cancer, facing the end stage of their life, still be filled with gratitude. They aren’t grateful for the cancer, but they are grateful for the life they have lived, the family they have loved, and the support they are receiving.
One of ten lepers returned to thank Jesus. Just 10%. Now here’s the good news for you. You are part of that 10%. You have taken time to return to God and say thank you. You have stopped at home and joined us online to thank God. Just keep it going. Thank God for the blessings you find around you even if you are going through some difficult times. God is good all the time… which means there is always something we can find to say thank you, God.
Another outsider Jesus encountered was a tax collector named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus wasn’t just an outsider; many would have seen him as an outlaw because he was not only a traitor to his people but he had cheated people out of their money. Tax collectors in Israel were mostly Jewish people who worked for the Roman government. Rome occupied Israel. They were an enemy of Israel and if you worked for Rome, if you even cooperated with Rome, you were seen as an enemy of Israel.
How tax collecting worked was that a person would buy the rights to collect the taxes in a certain region. They would pay Rome for all the taxes of the people up front, and then collect as much money as they could to cover their expenses and make a profit. Most tax collectors would tax people as much as they could and keep the rest for themselves.
This was how tax collectors became both rich and hated. They were crooks, they were outlaws, they were despised by their own people, and yet there were many who were also spiritually hungry and longed for God’s grace and mercy. Zacchaeus was this kind of tax collector. He had heard about Jesus and how He welcomed people like him and so he wanted to see Jesus for himself, but the crowd was so large that he was not able to force his way to the front and he couldn’t see over the people because he was… short. Zacchaeus was a wee little man…
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10
While the crowd worked to keep Zacchaeus out, his hunger to see Jesus moved him to humiliate himself and climb a tree so he could get a glimpse of Jesus. What’s interesting to note is that while it says Jesus was just passing through Jericho, it seems like He is headed right for that tree and Zacchaeus.
When Jesus gets there, He doesn’t ask Zacchaeus his name - He already knows his name. He knows his story. He knows his heart and he knows that Zacchaeus is longing for God. Jesus isn’t just passing through Jericho; He came to meet Zacchaeus. Jesus said, I need to stay at your house today. And while Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into his home, it is Jesus who welcomed Zacchaeus into God’s house. He says that Zacchaeus is a true son of Abraham.
This scene reminds us of the powerful words of Jesus found in Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
It doesn’t matter who we are, what kind of life we have lived, or how much we might have messed things up, Jesus comes directly to us. He knows our name. He knows our story, and He calls out to us. If we are willing to invite Jesus into our hearts and lives, He will enter and share with us the power of God’s grace which makes us new and gives us a new life.
Zacchaeus had this amazing grace of God pierce his heart and in response to Jesus' welcome and love, Zacchaeus pledged to return 4-fold the money he had cheated from people, and he was going to give half of what he had to the poor. Zacchaeus' heart had already begun to reflect the heart of Jesus. He was going to give his money to the poor. Zacchaeus was now willing to reach out and care for those that others might overlook. This is true repentance. Repentance isn’t feeling sorry for our sin, it's turning from the life we were living to live a life that reflects the life of Jesus.
One lesson from Zacchaeus that we can’t overlook is that being a Christian does have an economic impact on our lives. If we are serious about following Jesus, we have to get serious about how we spend our money. Most of us are not able to give half our income away, but what can we give away? Are we giving 10% back to God? Have we pushed ourselves to consider what 11 or 12% looks like? What about 20%?
If you are like me, you might be finishing up your taxes right now and it’s a good time to look at your financial picture. How much did you earn this year? How much did you spend? Where did the money go? As I looked at my tax return, I asked myself, could I have given more to the work of God? And the answer was, yes. The answer is always yes. I can always give more and every dollar I give is an opportunity for God to change someone’s life, but more importantly, it is an opportunity for God to change my life.
As we close, let’s look at the last verse in this story.
The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10
It’s important for us to notice when Jesus says this. The meeting with Zacchaeus is the very last interaction Jesus has with someone before He enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. This meeting with Zacchaeus is a week before Jesus will die and it marks the end of much of Jesus' ministry. This one verse is a summary of all that has gone before, and a foretaste of all that is to come.
What has come before this verse has been Jesus seeking out the lost. He has been acknowledging them, helping them, healing them, and welcoming them into the family of God. Jesus has been seeking out the lost; the outcasts and outsiders. What is coming is Jesus' sacrifice on the cross which is what saves us. All of us are the lost that Jesus has come to save. Jesus came to seek you and me when we were lost.
It really is personal with Jesus. He didn’t come to save the world, He came to save me, and you, and your friend, and your neighbor. Jesus knows our name, He knows our story, He knows our needs and He wants to enter our lives so that He can bring us healing, hope and grace. He wants to give us new life here and now, not just an eternal life to come. Jesus wants to make a difference in our lives, and He can if we will invite Him in.
If you are desperate to experience wholeness and new life like the lepers, or longing to feel connected to God like Zacchaeus, then know that Jesus stands at your door today. He is knocking. He is asking you to open the door. He wants to heal you and change you and welcome you home.
No matter who you are, no matter what you have done, no matter what kind of life you are living - Jesus is here for you. Ask Him in and give Him all you have and all you are and find the new life only He can offer. Responding to Jesus' invitation is not hard, it’s accepting the grace He offers and saying, thank you. Thank you, Jesus, for knowing me. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me. Thank you, Jesus, for accepting me today as I am and working to make me all that you want me to be. May that be our prayer.
Next Steps
Outsiders, Outcasts and Outlaws - Week 4
Read Luke 17
Why were lepers outcasts in society?
● When have you felt like a true outcast?
We see the compassion of Jesus as He heals them. Compare this healing of lepers with the one in Luke 5:12-16?
● How do these stories show the compassion of Jesus?
One leper returned to give thanks.
● Why might the other 9 have kept going?
How can you practice the discipline of gratitude?
● Start praying 5 times a day. Say thank you when you get out of bed, have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and when you get back into bed.
Read Luke 19:1-10
Why were tax collectors so despised? Why were they drawn to the ministry of Jesus and John the Baptist?
Zacchaeus shows us that those we might consider outsiders can still long for a relationship with God.
● Who do you know that might be longing for a relationship with God?
● What can you do to let them know God is there for them?
How has following Jesus changed your financial practices? How can you give more to Jesus (and not just more money)?
How does Luke 19:10 summarize the gospel of Luke?
● How has God been seeking you through life?
● How has the salvation He has given changed you.
● Memorize this verse as a reminder of what Jesus was all about.
