ICS Daily Devotions
Have Faith in Jesus
Luke 17:11-16, 19 (NKJV) Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.… And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
In this passage, one of the 10 lepers was a Samaritan. It must not have been easy for the him to cry out boldly to Jesus for help since he wasn’t part of the covenant. Jesus knew that He was called to His people, the household of Israel, namely the Jews, who would eat the bread while the rest would have to wait for the crumbs that fell from the table (Mark 7:27-28). Nevertheless, this Samaritan was determined to be healed just like the rest of the nine lepers. He had faith in Jesus. He must have been overwhelmed with emotions when he realised that he was healed and declared clean by the priests. The thought of what Jesus had done for him in a hopeless situation caused him to return to give thanks.
He wasn’t concerned about what others were thinking when he cried with a loud voice to glorify God and fell at the feet of Jesus to give thanks and to worship Him. He was convinced that Jesus is the son of God. He reached out in faith towards Jesus and took the opportunity when he and the other nine lepers heard that Jesus was going to pass through their village that was shunned by others because they were considered untouchable and uncleaned. Jesus came to the down-trodden, the forsaken and the desperate because He loved them.
Similarly for us, all we need to do is to reach out in faith towards Jesus! It is the promises found in the Word of God and understanding of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ that give substance to our faith. It is faith—faith in His Word and faith in who He is—that pleases and moves God. Therefore, all we need to do is to seek Him diligently and come to Him for help.
Hebrews 11:1,6 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Sermon Series: Focus on Jesus
