MERCY SAW ME! Series: WHO is This? Lesson 1: November 27 – December 3, 2024 AIM: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy… Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:1-2,8). After studying this lesson may students identify themselves as the one, willing to give Him thanks, and not with the nine who take the blessings without saying “thank you”! INTRODUCTION: What do you do when you don’t know what to do? When you are faced with a problem, with a situation that seems to have NO answer? When you were diagnosed with cancer that was the way you felt! Helpless! And, what’s worse. . .you felt hopeless! In our lesson today in this situation, as in others, Christ performs a miracle in which there can be no doubt that God alone heals! God's healing power is most obviously seen when He provides deliverance in a "hopeless" situation. He works this way with us, allowing trials to become increasingly worse before He works His will. Though He seems deaf to our prayers as the situation deteriorates, He may simply be letting the situation progress so that we have no doubt about who has come to our aid and whose power solved the crisis. In persevering, we grow spiritually, and He receives greater glory. BACKGROUND: Leprosy was a big matter in Jesus’ day for a variety of reasons. First, it was an incurable disease that would eat up a person’s skin until they eventually died. Second, upon being pronounced with leprosy by the priest you had to seclude yourself by living in a leper camp outside of the nation. I have often wondered if lupus is a modern day leprosy! Numbers 5:2-3(NET) 2 “Command the Israelites to expel from the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. 3 You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps, among which I live.” For example, in this story we are told that Jesus was going to a village located somewhere on the border between Samaria and Galilee, most likely in the Decapolis for it hosted many Gentiles who were considered ritually unclean. Even walking amongst Gentiles, the leper had to yell out “unclean, unclean” and keep a fifty-pace buffer between themselves and healthy people lest they contaminate them. POINT TO PONDER: How would we feel, and what would we do, if people who have covid have announced themselves crying out “unclean. I am unclean.” What would you do and how would you act? Leviticus 13:45-46 (NET) 45 “As for the diseased person who has the infection, his clothes must be torn, the hair of his head must be unbound, he must cover his mustache, and he must call out ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 The whole time he has the infection he will be continually unclean. He must live in isolation, and his place of residence must be outside the camp. Third, since you could not come into close contact with anyone, these lepers could not make a living and had to resort to constant begging. Fourth, leprosy was seen as a type of sin, a “divine curse” from God and as a result such individuals were not only relegated to the margins of society but written off as unredeemable! Imagine waking up one day and seeing the first signs of leprosy knowing full well you would never hug your friends or family again and the best you could hope for was to receive mere scraps from those who would most likely see you at best as a dog! These ten lepers were isolated, poor, and ostracized. They were not looking for someone to feel sorry for them, for they had seen often this look in the eyes of the “righteous,” but what they needed was for someone to do the impossible and forever change their status! How they dreamed of being cured so that their whole world that fell apart the moment the priest declared them unclean, might be restored and they might go home! Would Jesus show them mercy despite being the lowest in all of society? Luke 17:11-19 (NET) 11 Now on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was entering a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance, 13 raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went along, they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He fell with his face to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (Now he was a Samaritan.) 17 Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to the man, “Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well.” I. Man’s Sinfulness (v. 11-12) a) Leprosy vividly illustrates sin and its fruits. The disease’s effects on the body demonstrate the effects of sin on the mind. Leprosy and sin – both left man. . . Scarred Soiled Separated 1) They both cause heartrending social problems, as the quarantine laws suggest. 2) Families are often split. b) Leprosy represents God’s view of sin, as Detestable Deform Unclean c) Both leprosy and sin begin small then grow relentlessly until they infect the whole person. d) Lepers suffer both the disease and ostracism from society. e) In the end, they both (sin and leprosy) destroy their victims' lives. II. Mercy Sought (v. 13) a) Unable to do anything for themselves. . .these men called out for mercy! b) But what is “mercy?” We often think of mercy in terms of sympathy, kindness, or compassion. But mercy is more than just feeling compassion for someone in need. Mercy only exists when we do something to help. Luke 18:35-43 (TPT) 35 As Jesus and his followers arrived at Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting by the roadside. 36 When he heard the crowd approaching, he asked, “What’s all this commotion about?”37 “It’s Jesus!” they said. “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.” 38 The blind beggar shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity and show me mercy!”39 Those in the front of the crowd scolded him and warned him to be quiet, but the blind beggar screamed out even louder, “Jesus, Son of David, show me mercy!”40 Suddenly Jesus stopped and directed those nearby, “Bring the man over to me.” When they brought him before Jesus, he asked the man, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Master,” he said, “please, I want to see.”42 Jesus said, “Now you will see. Receive your sight this moment, for your faith in me has given you sight and new life.” 43 Instantly he could see again. His eyes popped open, and he saw Jesus standing in front of him! He shouted loud praises to God and he followed Jesus. And when the crowd saw what happened, they too erupted with shouts of praise to God. Matthew 15:21-28 (NLT) 21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” 24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed. Luke 10:30-37(NLT)30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” c) Mercy is not mere sympathy it is the deliberate act of feeling someone else’s need and seeking to relieve it. Pity stands and stares, compassion sees and serves! d) Extended from God to man -Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7(NIV). What Jesus was actually saying was that we are to show mercy because we realize that we have received mercy at the hands of God. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV) 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. e) Extended from man to man – It has been said that into every life some “nuts” must fall. Being merciful means dealing with those who really tax your patience. somebody hurts us unjustly and we must respond to this hurt. Mercy does not come into play unto we have the power to hurt them back. We then have a choice, and it is at this point love enters the picture, but because of what God has done in our heart we choose to extend mercy. f) Perhaps the best way to understand mercy is to see it in action! 1) Abraham showed mercy to Lot (Genesis 13-14) 2) Joseph was merciful to his brothers (Genesis 45:1-15) 3) Moses was merciful to Miriam (Numbers 12:1-13) 4) David was merciful to Saul (1 Samuel 24:1-20) 5) Jesus was merciful to ALL of us! If grace is giving you what you don’t deserve, mercy is withholding what you do deserve! Psalm 51:1(NIV) 1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. III. Master Sees (v. 14a) Matthew 9:9 (NIV) As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Mark 6:47-48 (NIV) When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, POINT TO PONDER: Jesus just doesn’t “look” but He “sees”! What’s the difference between “look” and “see?” Or is there a difference? a) Jesus just doesn’t look, but He also “sees!” “Look” is to direct your eyes toward something. “See” means to notice or become aware of someone or something by using your eyes. We can look and not really see what is going on with a person! b) Jesus not only sees but He cares! c) He sees, He cares, and He does something! d) He sees these men and He knows that there is no power but His power that can help them! e) He has mercy on them and does something! IV. Man’s Short Memory (v. 17-19) a) They all demonstrated faith No questions No doubt No disbelief But they seemingly have “no” memory as to how they were healed! a) The lepers were undoubtedly running towards the priests and rejoicing that they were about to rejoin the community of God’s people. b) The Samaritan leper turned back but the other nine were simply too enamored with the blessing that they forgot from whom it came! V. Man’s Sincerity (v. 14b-16) c) After the Samaritan had been physically healed, he found Jesus and he went right up to Him and in great humility fell, prostrated at His feet and with a loud voice thanked Him! d) How ironic it is that the Jewish lepers raised to thank and honor God, do not, while the one Samaritan leper who would not normally associate much less bow down to a Jewish Rabbi, does! e) Unlike the lepers who assumed the blessing guaranteed their position in the kingdom of God, the Samaritan leper in recognizing Jesus’ unique status and identity sought Him so that he might repent and receive the infinitely more valuable gift of a personal relationship Him! f) What matters in thanksgiving is not the habit but the heart! Not lip service but heart service!
