While Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Luke 17:11-13.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
In the Last Life Lesson, we considered the conversation of Jesus with one leper, today we will look at His conversation with ten lepers, but after the initial conversation it changed to a conversation with only one of them—the one who returned to give thanks, but not just any kind of thanks, the kind that works wonders. And he was not only cleansed of the disease like the other nine who went their way, but made whole. He was completely restored, spirit, soul, and body parts that had been gnawed away by the unclean spirit of leprosy, and saved in every area of his life. He got back the years the devil stole and the others did not. And today, I will show you why.
First let us go back to the old to understand the new.
And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” Matthew 13:52.
David sang that he would go around My altar proclaiming with the voice of thanksgiving and declaring all My wonders.
“And I will go about Your altar, O LORD, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders.” Psalm 26:6-7.
Jonah vowed that he would sacrifice to Me with a voice of thanksgiving.
“But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD.” Jonah 2:9.
There is a lot for you to ponder here.
The word “wonders” is the Hebrew word pala (verb) from pele (noun) which means something so surpassing and extraordinary, so amazingly wonderful, that it is hard to understand—a wonder. It is the same Word I use to describe Jesus come in the flesh in the book of My prophet Isaiah. I tell you that the name of the child to be born to you, the Son given to you, shall be called Wonderful. And Jeremiah the prophet tells you that nothing is too surpassing and extraordinary, too wonderful, for Me to do. Jeremiah 32:17, 27. I am the God of wonders.
For you, My people, I work wonders. Strangely wonderful occurrences in your lives. Unfathomable. I told Moses, “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.” Exodus 34:10.
And what did David do before he declared My wonders? He proclaimed with the voice of thanksgiving as he went about My altar. And when Jonah was about to drown in the depths of a stormy sea, he called out to Me with the voice of thanksgiving, and I sent him salvation and brought him out of the depths by a wonder, a huge fish that swallowed him whole and spit him out right near the destination of Nineveh, where I had sent him in the first place. A wonder. And it brought all Nineveh to repentance before Me so the city was saved. A wonder. Strangely wonderful things take place at the voice of thanksgiving.
It was the same when three enemy armies united as one and came against Jerusalem at the time that Jehoshaphat was king. At first, he feared, but then he and the people of Judah gathered together before Me in the Temple and put their eyes on Me. I gave them the Word of victory and before anything changed and the enemy was still right outside their gates, they did the voice of thanksgiving and without lifting even one weapon on the part of the Israelites all three armies were completely wiped out before them and they took three wonderful days to gather the treasures the armies had left in their camp. A wonder.
What is THE VOICE OF THANKSGIVING? I should think you would like to know if it brings forth wonders. And I will show you that it does.
And now we will go to the new and study the conversation of My Son with ten lepers that narrowed down to one who distinguished himself and brought wonders into his life with the voice of thanksgiving. Paul and Silas also knew to use it in the prison at Philippi. I call it the Key of David. It opens every prison in which the devil has trapped you to turn your life into a wonder.
“For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12.
So this conversation came about when Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Luke 17:11-13.
These men did not come close to Jesus and His disciples, they kept their distance as was required but they were not quiet. Like Bartimaeus they had purposed to get the attention of Jesus. They had banded together looking for him. They heard that he cured lepers, as did his disciples as well, having been given that authority by Jesus. They asked for mercy. This was a good request for I tell you to come boldly to My throne of grace with you High Priest Jesus to receive (take) mercy and find grace just when you need it. Each morning My mercies are new and are falling like the Manna on the dewfall waiting for you to gather them up. And in Jesus I freely give them to you—healing mercy, forgiveness mercy, provision and prosperity mercy and so much more. And for those of you are in Him, it is legal mercy that you have by the sacrifice of Jesus for your sins so that My favor is on you, the justified.
When He saw them, His heart was moved with compassion, and He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Luke 17:14. Jesus was careful to keep all My commandments and that was what was prescribed under the law that I gave to Moses. Healings of leprosy were testified to and examined by My priests and a burnt offering, a guilt offering and a sin offering had to be offered up to Me before the leper was judged clean and readmitted to society. Jesus is your sin offering, your brunt offering, your guilt offering, your peace offering, your thanksgiving offering, your grain offering, and your Passover. He became sin who knew no sin on your behalf so you could become righteous with My righteousness and not your own.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. . . And the priest who pronounces him clean shall present the man to be cleansed and the aforesaid before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it for a guilt offering, with the log of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the LORD. Next he shall slaughter the male lamb in the place where they slaughter the sin offering and the burnt offering, at the place of the sanctuary—for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. The priest shall then take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest shall also take some of the log of oil, and pour it into his left palm; the priest shall then dip his right-hand finger into the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the LORD. Of the remaining oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the right ear lobe of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering; while the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm, he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD. The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering. The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be clean. Leviticus 14:1-2; 11-20.
My Word has authority when said with faith and received by faith. The ten lepers received that Word and let it plant in their hearts as they confidently headed to show themselves to the priests. But My Word runs swiftly and when it connects with faith it goes to work immediately. And do you remember what My Son told the disciples at the Last Supper seder meal? That they were clean already (purged of evil) by the Words He had spoken to them.
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. John 15:3.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27.
And as Solomon wrote under inspiration of My Spirit, My Words are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:22. I sent My Word to heal you and deliver you from destruction. Psalm 107:20.
For the word of God is living and actively working and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.
And what happened for all ten lepers who had come in corporate worship to obtain the desire of their hearts? As they were going, they were cleansed. If you are willing and obey you will eat the best of the land.
Not one of the lepers had refused to go at Jesus’ direction. They did not fear that they would be thrown out for entering as lepers, no, they knew already when He said that, that they were healed. And all nine were. The leprosy was cleansed and stopped in its tracks. The unclean spirits had to go out looking elsewhere for a soul to abide in.
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you and made you whole.” Luke 17:15-19.
The cleansed leper who returned shows you what the voice of thanksgiving is. But to get the true meaning, you will have to look at it in the original language in which it was written, and that is Greek. One of the healed lepers returned to give thanks. But I want you to see how he gave thanks. I tell you that this one, when he saw that he had been healed, returned glorifying Me with a loud voice. That is an understatement. In the Greek, the word used there is “megas,” which means large or great in the widest sense, like a megaphone. This was shouting praise, this was amplified with his loudest voice. And what had happened to him was a wonder, strangely wonderful. He was cleansed and made whole.
But he did not stop there with his mega voice. He fell on his face at the feet of Jesus, giving thanks to Him. Luke 17:16.
This man was so grateful that he did not just fall to his knees, he fell prostrate before Jesus and with face to the ground thanked Him with all his heart. The word you see translated as “thanks,” is eucharisteó, it is from the words “eú”, which means “good” and “xaris,” which means “grace,” in other words, acknowledging that My grace works well, i.e. for your eternal gain and My glory; to give thanks is literally, “thankful for God’s good grace.” This word is only used two times in the Gospel of Matthew and the same in the Gospel of Mark. And let Me show you where, and you will see they always proceed a wonder.
“Eucharisteó” is used for the first time in the New Testament in Matthew 15:36 and it occurs before a wonder takes place. Take a look: A large crowd had come to hear Jesus teach and preach and to be healed. After three days of teaching them and healing them, Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks (i.e., eucharisteó), He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. Matthew 15:32-38. The voice of thanksgiving brought forth a wonder.
The second time it is used in the New Testament, and the only other time in the Gospel of Matthew, is in chapter 26 on the night before Jesus died for you. Take a look: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks (i.e., eucharisteó), He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-27. My grace is enough. Nothing is too wonderful for Me. The wine became the blood of My Son, and it still does, just from one voice of thanksgiving.
These are the same two incidents you will see in Mark, Luke and John. Luke and John add a few more circumstances in which it was used, but still has the two the same.
And back to the voice of thanksgiving as expressed by the cleansed leper in the Gospel of Luke. You will note that he came back glorifying Me in a loud (mega) voice. And Jesus remarked, “Was there no one to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” The work glorify in Greek is “doxazo,” which is to render or esteem glorious in a wide application. Glory is “doksa,” which is equal in meaning to the Hebrew word, “kavode” which is also translated “glory,” but literally means “heavy,” weighing in at great weight, in other words considered valuable in your opinion, exercising your personal opinion to determine value and finding this splendid, exceedingly great and worthy of all praise. Greatly esteemed.
So what is the voice of thanksgiving? It is a loud (mega) shout declaring My glory and praise as you throw yourself face down at the feet of Jesus declaring the abundance of My grace that moves mountains and creates miracles. With enough grace you can do anything.
When you need a wonder, remember that nothing is too wonderful for Me to do, and then proclaim praise with the voice of thanksgiving as you walk about My altar. As your voice goes up the walls come down. Like Jericho. Like Jehoshaphat and the three enemy armies attacking Jerusalem. When they loudly proclaimed, “Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, His love endures forever,” in the face of what looked like certain defeat, the enemy was vanquished and all ended peacefully with a blessing of much booty.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
And how do you get filled with joy and peace in believing? By exercising your faith with the VOICE OF THANKSGIVING, it works wonders. Strangely (unexplainable wonders) wonderful things will show up in your life.
I love you. Learn how to proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving. Jesus did it and it caused wonders to manifest. It will with you too.
At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Luke 10:21-22.