The Spiritual is Always More Important than The Physical, Pt. 2

This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain or a gospel minister in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the United States.

All Scripture quotes are usually taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any deviation from the NKJV text is placed within parenthesis signs (). These usually occur as direct translations from the original languages, or as notes from the original setting to help apply the text to today’s culture.

ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or to make a comment about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.

Last month I sensed a real need to stress and caution every chaplain and correctional minister to remember, that to God, even to Jesus, the God-Man, the eternal spiritual needs of people are always more important than their temporary physical needs.

This month I want to show you this again from a passage in Luke’s Gospel. That is significant, because more than any other of the gospels, Luke emphasizes Jesus’ compassion on the lowly, the outcasts and notable sinners of society. By application, that relates to the incarcerated people that you serve. Therefore, every correctional minister should be some what of an expert on the gospel of Luke.

In Luke 17:11-19, there is an incident recorded that I want you to consider. It is found ONLY in Luke. As we move through the passage we will see four acts to this dramatic incident. For this message I am using the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

Act 1. The scene – serious physical sickness, verses 11-13

11 While He (Jesus) was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between (along the border of) Samaria and Galilee.

12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;

13 and they raised their voices (or possibly gurgled sounds), saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

According to Luke 9:51, knowing that His time to die and conquer sin and death - and then return back to His Father in heaven was near, Jesus - "steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." So this scene opens with Christ on the way to the cross in Jerusalem. In the border area between Jewish Galilee and the ethnically different area of Samaria, Jesus was approached by ten leprous men. They recognized Him and went to meet Him. They sought Him out. The language indicates that.

The fact that they stood at a distance is noted because they had the most dreaded infectious disease of the time – a form of LEPROSY. According to Leviticus 13:45, they were supposed to keep their distance and inform anyone within ear shot that they were leprous by shouting "Unclean, unclean!"

To have this dreaded disease, where your physical flesh slowly rotted away was also accompanied by the added horror of being a public outcast. Lepers bore both a physical and emotional curse. Medical and historic records tell us often the nose, mouth and palate disintegrated so that speech was even effected. The literal word in verse 13 for voices is "sounds." They may have only been able to gurgle their plea to Christ for His miraculous mercy.

Most Bible teachers and commentators stress the fact that they all had faith in Jesus as the Messiah, to be able to completely heal them and make their skin and flesh clean. I believe the next act of this unfolding drama in our text, was a complete and miraculous healing AND A RESTORATION of the body parts that had decayed and fallen off their physical bodies.

ACT 2. The sign – a superlative miracle for all. Verse 14

14 When He saw them, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed.

"Go show yourselves to the priests." You should ask, “Why did Jesus say that?” Because in a Jewish context, that was a key to affirming that the leprous state had truly been removed and the victim had been completely cured.

In Leviticus 13, God gave instructions to lepers or those that might have a flesh eating disease - to go have their infected flesh examined by the priests. To the priests He gave the information on what to look for so that they could pronounce the victim cleansed and cured, or not cured.

This would also be a great testimony to the Jewish religious leaders, the priests, as to just Who Jesus really was. More than likely, their cured and restored flesh would be something they had never seen before! Who could accomplish such a thing? Only the Messiah and Lord, the very One whom Jesus claimed to be.

I should note the language in verse 14 shows they had absolute trust in Jesus as a healer of leprosy. Jesus tested this faith by not healing with a word or a touch but rather healed them as they, in faith, OBEYED HIS DIRECTIVE to head towards the priests’ location. They were healed "as they were going" towards the priests.

Now in verse 15, we see the sad truth of this incident. Ten were healed, but 90% of them looked only at the physical gift and forgot the spiritual Giver!

Act 3. The spiritual response – of ONLY one. Verses 15,16

15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,

16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him ( a present participle, meaning he repeatedly gave praise and thanks to Jesus. He worshiped Him) . And he was a Samaritan.

This last sentence in verse 16, together with a statement in verse 18, shows us the other nine were Jewish persons. THAT’S SIGNIFICANT. All of Jesus’ disciples were Jewish. They witnessed this incident. And now, in verses 17-18, Jesus had a message for them in the form of three questions.

Act 4. The sermon – to Christ’s servants. Verses 17-19

17 Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they?

18 "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner (can be translated - this man of another race)?"

The first question directed their attention to the miracle. Men with the most dreaded physical disease had been totally cured. "Were there not ten CLEANSED?” They had been delivered from the deterioration and loss of body parts caused by leprosy and the stigma associated with it.

The second rhetorical question focused them on the fact that 90% of those physically delivered had not given their Deliverer a second thought. “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, EXCEPT THIS MAN OF ANOTHER RACE?” They had not responded to His physical help with a spiritual thought. Only one did. Which transitions to the third question.

Only a man of a race and culture, that head LESS of God's word than the nine who did not respond rightly, did. Since the disciples were all Jewish, and the nine that failed to return and worship and give thanks to God were of that privileged culture, the nation to whom all of the written word came, the lesson is rather pointed. The one who had LESS INFORMATION FROM GOD, RESPONDED CORRECTLY, EVEN SPIRITUALLY.

Warn those whom you teach God’s word. The more they know about the Bible the more they are expected to respond to Him positively. If they, like the nine Jewish lepers that were healed focus only on the physical, God will exact a greater judgment on them.

In another passage in Luke dealing with judgment, Jesus said: “…that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. FOR EVERYONE TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, FROM HIM MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:47-48 NKJV)

With Christ’s disciples looking on, the incident closes with Jesus’ final words to the worshiping ex-leper, in verse 19.

19 And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."

The phrase “has made you well” can be translated – “has saved you.” Young’s Literal Translation, the Darby Translation, and the Spanish Reina-Valera translation all render it this way.

Obviously there was a difference between the faith of the unthankful nine and this non-Jewish worshiper. Jesus wanted to teach His disciples that. The others had faith in Jesus as a PHYSICAL NEED PROVIDER ONLY. It is my personal opinion they were ONLY saved physically from the disease of leprosy. This one who returned to give God glory and worshiped Jesus, was saved physically AND SPIRITUALLY!

Leprosy kills the body, but sin damns a soul in isolated separation from God for ALL ETERNITY. The spiritual is more important to pay attention to than JUST the physical. Jesus also wants His disciples today to KNOW THAT.

The biblical record shows us that often EVEN those who do look in faith to Christ to save them from their sin eternally, fall into a sad pattern of elevating the temporary and the physical above the eternal and spiritual. TAKE HEED and tell all you teach to likewise be careful not to do this.

Consider Matthew:16:21-21. It shows this sad switch in priorities. It says:

21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"

23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, FOR YOU ARE NOT MINDFUL (Jesus used a present tense verb here, meaning repeatedly Peter fell into this way of thinking) OF THE THINGS OF GOD (spiritual things), BUT THE THINGS OF MAN (temporary physical things).

Even though he traveled around Galilee and Judea with Christ, normally he didn’t see things from God’s point of view. Rather he usually, normally saw them from man’s self-centered point of view.

Wow! So many Christians fall into the same error as the Apostle Peter did. They think in a way consistent with an unspiritual world view – held by most of the society around them. As far as I know, the ONLY CURE is to be in the word of God until the Holy Spirit transforms our whole value system and our way of seeing things - and from that, our way of living here below!

We just celebrated our Lord’s victory over sin and death in His resurrection.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek (keep seeking) those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set (keep setting) your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Col. 3:1,2 NKJV

Rich Hines

Aurora Ministries – Minister To Chaplains