Luke 17:18
Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?"
Was no one found
This phrase highlights the rarity and unexpectedness of gratitude in this context. The Greek word for "found" is "εὑρέθησαν" (heurethēsan), which implies a search or discovery. In the broader narrative, Jesus is pointing out the lack of thankfulness among those who were healed. Historically, this reflects the human tendency to overlook gratitude, especially when blessings are received. It serves as a reminder of the importance of recognizing and acknowledging God's work in our lives.

except this foreigner
The term "foreigner" is translated from the Greek word "ἀλλογενής" (allogenēs), meaning someone of another race or nation. In the context of first-century Judea, Samaritans were often despised by the Jews, yet it is this Samaritan who returns to express gratitude. This highlights the theme of God's grace extending beyond ethnic and cultural boundaries, a recurring theme in Luke's Gospel. It challenges the audience to reconsider their prejudices and recognize the universality of God's love and mercy.

to return
The act of returning is significant. The Greek word "ὑπέστρεψεν" (hypestrepsen) implies a deliberate action, a conscious decision to come back. This reflects repentance and a turning back to God, which is a central theme in the Christian faith. The Samaritan's return is not just physical but spiritual, symbolizing a heart turned towards God in thankfulness and worship.

and give glory to God
The phrase "give glory" comes from the Greek "δοῦναι δόξαν" (dounai doxan), which means to honor or praise. In the biblical context, giving glory to God is an act of worship and acknowledgment of His sovereignty and goodness. This act of glorifying God is central to the Christian life, emphasizing that all good things come from Him and should lead us to worship. The Samaritan's action serves as a model for believers, illustrating the proper response to God's grace and blessings.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
- The central figure in this passage, Jesus is the one who heals the ten lepers and questions the absence of gratitude from the others.

2. The Ten Lepers
- A group of men afflicted with leprosy who call out to Jesus for mercy and are healed as they go to show themselves to the priests.

3. The Samaritan Leper
- The only one of the ten who returns to thank Jesus, highlighting the theme of gratitude and faith.

4. Samaria
- The region associated with the Samaritan leper, significant for its historical tensions with the Jewish people.

5. The Priests
- Religious leaders to whom the lepers were instructed to show themselves, as per the Law of Moses, to be declared clean.
Teaching Points
Gratitude as a Response to Grace
The Samaritan leper's return to thank Jesus underscores the importance of gratitude as a natural response to God's grace and mercy.

Faith Beyond Boundaries
The account highlights that faith and gratitude are not confined to ethnic or religious boundaries, as demonstrated by the Samaritan's actions.

Recognition of God's Work
The passage challenges believers to recognize and acknowledge God's work in their lives, prompting a response of worship and thanksgiving.

The Role of Outsiders in God's Kingdom
The Samaritan's gratitude serves as a reminder that God's kingdom often includes those considered outsiders, challenging believers to embrace inclusivity.

The Importance of Returning to God
The act of returning to Jesus to give thanks emphasizes the importance of maintaining a relationship with God, not just seeking His blessings.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does the response of the Samaritan leper teach us about the nature of true gratitude?

2. How does the inclusion of a Samaritan in this account challenge our understanding of who can be a recipient of God's grace?

3. In what ways can we ensure that we are not like the nine lepers who failed to return and give thanks?

4. How does this passage encourage us to view and treat those who are considered outsiders in our communities?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's mercy. How did you respond, and how can you cultivate a habit of gratitude in your daily life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Luke 10:33-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan, which also highlights a Samaritan showing compassion and gratitude, contrasting with the expected behavior of others.

2 Kings 5:1-14
The healing of Naaman, a foreigner, which parallels the healing of the Samaritan leper and emphasizes God's mercy extending beyond Israel.

Psalm 107:8-9
A call to give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and wonderful deeds, echoing the theme of gratitude.

Romans 1:21
Discusses the consequences of failing to honor God and give thanks, providing a broader theological context for gratitude.

Ephesians 2:11-13
Speaks of the inclusion of Gentiles into the family of God, relevant to the Samaritan's faith and gratitude.
Li. GratitudeS. Baring-GouldLuke 17:18
Graces Stimulated and StrengthenedR.M. Edgar Luke 17:1-19
But Where are the NineS. Cox, D. D.Luke 17:11-19
Fourteenth Sunday After TrinityJ. A. Seiss, D. D.Luke 17:11-19
God Looks After The NineJ. M. Sherwood, D. D.Luke 17:11-19
Gratitude for Divine FavoursT. Gibson, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
Gratitude Heightens the Power of EnjoymentE. P. Hood.Luke 17:11-19
Gratitude is a Self-Rewarding VirtueCanon Mozley.Luke 17:11-19
Health More than Sickness a Reason for GratitudeC. Kingsley, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
Human IngratitudeLuke 17:11-19
Impediments to GratitudeCanon Mozley.Luke 17:11-19
Ingratitude for Divine FavoursC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 17:11-19
Ingratitude Towards GodHorar.Luke 17:11-19
Instances of IngratitudeD. Moore, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
Only Trust HimC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 17:11-19
Praise NeglectedC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 17:11-19
ThanksgivingCanon Scott Holland, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
The Causes of IngratitudeUrijah R. Thomas.Luke 17:11-19
The Commonness of Ingratitude, EtcW. Clarkson Luke 17:11-19
The Earnestness of Personal NecessityP. B. Power, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
The LepersB. Beddome, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
The Samaritan's GratitudeM. F. Sadler.Luke 17:11-19
The Sin of IngratitudeCanon Liddon.Luke 17:11-19
The Ten LepersJ. Burns, D. D.Luke 17:11-19
The Ten LepersG. R. Leavitt.Luke 17:11-19
The Ten LepersF. F. Gee, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
The Ten LepersR. Winterbotham, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
The Ten LepersD. C. Hughes, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
The Ten LepersC. Bradley, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
The Ten LepersT. Gibson, M. A.Luke 17:11-19
Unexpected PietyE. P. Hood.Luke 17:11-19
Words of Encouragement to Disappointed WorkersC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 17:11-19
People
Jesus, Noah, Noe
Places
Galilee, Jerusalem, Road to Jerusalem, Samaria, Sodom
Topics
Alien, Except, Foreigner, Glory, None, Praise, Return, Returned, Returning, Save, Strange, Stranger, Turn
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 17:11-19

     2369   Christ, responses to

Luke 17:15-18

     5889   ingratitude

Luke 17:17-18

     1418   miracles, responses

Library
May 7 Evening
They persecute him whom thou hast smitten.--PSA. 69:26. It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!--Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.--They did spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?--Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 5 Morning
When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.--LUKE 17:10. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.--What hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?--By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 18 Evening
Faith as a grain of mustard seed.--MATT. 17:20. Barak said unto [Deborah], if thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan.--Gideon . . . feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, . . . did it by night. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand as thou hast said, . . . let me prove, I pray thee. And God did so. Thou hast a little strength,
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Where are the Nine?
'And it came to pass, as He went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12. And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

God's Slaves
'Doth He thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him! I trow not. 10. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.' --LUKE xvii. 9-10. There are two difficulties about these words. One is their apparent entire want of connection with what precedes--viz., the disciples' prayer, 'Lord, increase our faith,' and the other is the harshness and severity of tone which
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Thankfulness for Mercies Received, a Necessary Duty
Numberless marks does man bear in his soul, that he is fallen and estranged from God; but nothing gives a greater proof thereof, than that backwardness, which every one finds within himself, to the duty of praise and thanksgiving. When God placed the first man in paradise, his soul no doubt was so filled with a sense of the riches of the divine love, that he was continually employing that breath of life, which the Almighty had not long before breathed into him, in blessing and magnifying that all-bountiful,
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

On the Words of the Gospel, Luke xvii. 3, "If Thy Brother Sin, Rebuke Him," Etc. , Touching the Remission of Sins.
Delivered at the Table of St. Cyprian, in the presence of Count Boniface. 1. The Holy Gospel which we heard just now as it was being read, has admonished touching the remission of sins. And on this subject must ye be admonished now by my discourse. For we are ministers of the word, not our own word, but the word of our God and Lord, whom no one serves without glory, whom no one despises without punishment. He then the Lord our God, who abiding with the Father made us, and having been made for us,
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

The Necessity of Increased Faith
It is a matter of dispute as to the occasion when these words were uttered. Some think that we must look at the connection of the chapter for the explanation. Jesus Christ had been teaching his disciples that if their brother should trespass against them seven times a day, and seven times a day turned again to them, saying, I repent, they were to forgive him, and that constrained the apostle to say "increase our faith." They conceived it to be so hard a duty incessantly to pardon and constantly to
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

Li. Gratitude.
14th Sunday after Trinity. S. Luke xvii. 18. "There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger." INTRODUCTION,--There is nothing that the merciful God desires more from man than thanks, and there is nothing of which He receives less. In the Gospel for to-day we have an example. Christ performs a notable miracle. He heals ten lepers, and only one returns to thank Him. The disease from which He delivered them was disgusting, and it was one which cut the sufferers off
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

The Ten Lepers
(Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.) Luke xvii. 17, 18. Were there not ten cleansed, but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. No men, one would have thought, had more reason to thank God than those nine lepers. Afflicted with a filthy and tormenting disease, hopelessly incurable, at least in those days, they were cut off from family and friends, cut off from all mankind; forced to leave their homes, and wander away; forbidden to enter the
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The First Degree of Prayer
The First Degree of Prayer Those who have not learnt to read, are not, on that account, excluded from prayer; for the Great Book which teacheth all things, and which is legible as well internally as externally, is Jesus Christ Himself. The method they should practice is this: They should first learn this fundamental truth, that "the kingdom of God is within them" (Luke xvii. 21), and that it is there, only it must be sought. It is as incumbent on the Clergy, to instruct their parishioners in prayer,
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Answer to Mr. W's Second Objection.
I pass, says Mr. W. p. 15. to a second observation.--What became of these three persons after their resurrection? How long did they live afterwards? And of what use and advantage were their restored lives to the church or to mankind? The evangelical and ecclesiastical history is entirely silent as to these questions, which is enough to make us suspect their stories to be merely romantick or parabolical; and that there were no such persons raised from the dead; or we must have heard somewhat of their
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

Of the Fewness of those who Love the Cross of Jesus
Jesus hath many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His Cross. He hath many seekers of comfort, but few of tribulation. He findeth many companions of His table, but few of His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, few are willing to undergo anything for His sake. Many follow Jesus that they may eat of His loaves, but few that they may drink of the cup of His passion. Many are astonished at His Miracles, few follow after the shame of His Cross. Many love Jesus so long as no
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Of the Inward Life
The kingdom of God is within you,(1) saith the Lord. Turn thee with all thine heart to the Lord and forsake this miserable world, and thou shalt find rest unto thy soul. Learn to despise outward things and to give thyself to things inward, and thou shalt see the kingdom of God come within thee. For the kingdom of God is peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and it is not given to the wicked. Christ will come to thee, and show thee His consolation, if thou prepare a worthy mansion for Him within thee.
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Are You Willing to be a Servant?
Nothing is clearer from the New Testament than that the Lord Jesus expects us to take the low position of servants. This is not just an extra obligation, which we may or may not assume as we please. It is the very heart of that new relationship which the disciple is to take up to God and to his fellows if he is to know fellowship with Christ and any degree of holiness in his life. When we understand the humbling and self-emptying that is involved in really being a servant, it becomes evident that
Roy Hession and Revel Hession—The Calvary Road

Journey to Jerusalem. Ten Lepers. Concerning the Kingdom.
(Borders of Samaria and Galilee.) ^C Luke XVII. 11-37. ^c 11 And it came to pass, as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. [If our chronology is correct, Jesus passed northward from Ephraim about forty miles, crossing Samaria (here mentioned first), and coming to the border of Galilee. He then turned eastward along that border down the wady Bethshean which separates the two provinces, and crossed the Jordan into Peræa, where we soon
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Unprofitable Servants.
"Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

His Passion and Crucifixion.
AS all active virtues meet in Jesus, so he unites the active or heroic virtues with the passive and gentle. He is the highest standard of all true martyrdom. No character can become complete without trial and suffering; and a noble death is the crowning act of a noble life. Edmund Burke said to Fox, in the English Parliament, "Obloquy is a necessary ingredient of all true glory, Calumny and abuse are essential parts of triumph." The ancient Greeks and Romans admired a good man struggling with misfortune,
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ

The Conflict with Evil
The Kingdom of God Will Have to Fight for Its Advance The great objective is the Kingdom of God. In realizing the Reign of God on earth three recalcitrant forces have to be brought into obedience to God's law: the desire for power, the love of property, and unsocial religion. We have studied Christ's thought concerning these in the foregoing chapters. The advance of the Kingdom of God is not simply a process of social education, but a conflict with hostile forces which resist, neutralize, and defy
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

The Two Classes.
"Two men went up into the temple to pray."--Luke xvii. 10. I now want to speak of two classes: First, those who do not feel their need of a Saviour who have not been convinced of sin by the Spirit; and Second, those who are convinced of sin and cry, "What must I do to be saved?" All inquirers can be ranged under two heads: they have either the spirit of the Pharisee, or the spirit of the publican. If a man having the spirit of the Pharisee comes into an after-meeting, I know of no better portion
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

Whether a Man Can Merit Anything from God
Whether a Man can Merit Anything from God We proceed to the first article thus: 1. It seems that a man cannot merit anything from God. No one merits a reward by repaying what he owes to another. But we cannot even fully repay what we owe to God, by all the good that we do. For we always owe him more than this, as the philosopher says in 8 Ethics 14. Hence it is said in Luke 17:10: "when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

Whether Charity is Prior to Hope
Whether Charity is Prior to Hope We proceed to the eighth article thus: 1. It seems that charity is prior to hope. For on Luke 17:6, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed . . .," the gloss by Ambrose says: "From faith issues charity, and from charity issues hope." But faith is prior to charity. Hence charity is prior to hope. 2. Again, Augustine says (14 De Civ. Dei. 9): "good movements and affections are derived from love, and from holy charity." Now to hope, as an act of hope, is a good movement
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

The Boasted Merit of Works Subversive Both of the Glory of God, in Bestowing Righteousness, and of the Certainty of Salvation.
1. After a brief recapitulation, the question, Whether or not good works merit favor with God, considered. 2. First answer, fixing the meaning of the term Merit. This term improperly applied to works, but used in a good sense, as by Augustine, Chrysostom, Bernard. 3. A second answer to the question. First by a negative, then by a concession. In the rewarding of works what to be attributed to God, and what to man. Why good works please God, and are advantageous to those who do them. The ingratitude
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

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