Giving Him THANKS—Receiving His GLORY!

Luke 17:11–19  11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  14 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.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice GLORIFIED God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him THANKS.  And he was a Samaritan.  17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not TEN cleansed?  But where are the NINE?  18 Were there not any found who returned to give GLORY to God except this foreigner?”  19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well.” (NKJV)

Ten signifies the perfection of Divine order as the first decade of numbers represents the whole numeral system, thus these ten lepers represent the entire human race in need of cleansing from sin.  Nine is the final digit in each series of numbers and marks the end and final judgement of man and his works which are totally lacking and incomplete, while ten marks fulfillment and brings perfection and Divine order to the entire series.

When the ten lepers appealed to the Son of God, ALL WERE CLEANSED as they went to fulfill the Mosaic Law by presenting themselves to the priests for examination to determine if they were indeed healed.  This miracle is even more remarkable when we understand that for about 1,500 years since God gave Moses the laws for reintegrating those cleansed of leprosy back into the community (Leviticus 14), these rituals were never used in Israel, as no Jew had ever been healed of leprosy during that long period until the time of Jesus.  Can you imagine the pandemonium that must have broken out on the temple mount and the shockwaves that surely went out across all of Jerusalem when nine Jews and one Samaritan showed up one day, demanding to be examined by the priests because they had just been cleansed of leprosy by Jesus of Nazareth?  Can you imagine?

Apparently after all this excitement, the nine lepers who were healed went back, as best they could, to resume their old lives again.  But there was one, we’ll call him “Leper Number 10,” when he was declared healed, did something quite opposite to the other nine.  He:

1.     returned to Jesus

2.     GLORIFIED GOD with a loud voice

3.     fell face down at the feet of Jesus

4.     GAVE HIM THANKS.

Paul characterizes all men (who have not glorified God or given Him thanks) as without excuse:

Romans 1:21  because, although they knew God (the lepers knew Jesus could help them), they did not GLORIFY HIM as God, nor were THANKFUL, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (NKJV)

Notice: there is a relationship between GLORY and GIVING THANKS!

Understanding GLORY:

The "glory of God" is a complex biblical concept that encompasses God's honor, majesty, and power. The term originates from the Hebrew word "kabod," meaning weight or importance, and the Greek "doxa," meaning opinion or reputation.  It emphasizes that all beings should be honored according to their value, but idolatry arises when God's glory is misattributed to created beings and created things (i.e. idols).  Remember when the disciples praised and glorified the beauty of the temple to Jesus, He advised them that every stone would be cast down (Lk.21:5-7)?  Even places of worship can become objects of worship, but our God will not share his glory with idols of any kind!  Yet amazingly, through salvation and rebirth, believers in Christ can share in God's glory, especially through expressions of giving Him thanks and giving Him worship.  Both enhance His reputation and give Him GLORY.

The Kingdom operates on the principles of sowing and reaping, giving and receiving

Paul made a powerful statement when he wrote: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).”  I think this scripture often invokes fear that when we do wrong, evil will come back on us.  And while that can be true, I know it also means that when we sow good, good will come upon us.  The Lord has been speaking to me about what happens when we give or SOW THANKS to God.  We are actually increasing His GLORY.  Remember, Paul said WHATEVER a man sows, THAT he will also reap (Gal.6:7).  Here is the revelation He has given me:

When we GIVE THANKS to God, He SHARES HIS GLORY with us, His children!

Concerning sowing and reaping, Jesus asked, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’ (I.e., ‘When I die, then I will reap and share in His GLORY’)?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest (‘You can reap and receive God’s GLORY now’)!  And he who reaps (‘That’s me!’) receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life (Including God’s eternal GLORY!), that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored (Jesus sowed); others have labored (the heroes of faith and those who went before me sowed), and you have entered into their labors (As a child of God and joint heir with Christ, I reap and share NOW in God’s GLORY!) (John 4:35–38).”

Where this revelation began for me:

2 Corinthians 4:1–18  1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.  2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience (appealing to the conscience, where distinction and judgments are made, rather than the mind which can be veiled, blinded and blocked, due to unbelief. (vs.3-4)) in the sight of God.  3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.  5 For we do not preach ourselves (we don’t give ourselves GLORY), but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.  6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the GLORY of God in the face of Jesus Christ (Moses wanted to SEE His Glory but Jesus RECEIVED His Glory!  As we see Jesus face to face, not only do we SEE God’s GLORY, but we RECEIVE and become partakers of God’s GLORY with Him!  Hallelujah!)

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke (Ps.116:10),” we also believe and therefore speak (It’s not enough to feel thankful—we must GIVE God our THANKS by speaking them out so the many can hear!), 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you (It’s all about the many).  15 For all things are for your sakes, that GRACE (supernatural power and ability), having spread through the many, may cause THANKSGIVING to abound to (ever increasing) the GLORY of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart (THANKS and then GLORY begins in our heart).  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man (our heart) is being renewed day by day.  17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of GLORY, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen (the physical), but at the things which are not seen (the spiritual).  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (NKJV)

We conclude with Paul’s revelation of who we are as believers: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are CHILDREN OF GOD, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be GLORIFIED TOGETHER (Rom. 8:16–17).