More Than the Nine: A Call to Spiritual Thankfulness
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
The essay reflects on biblical gratitude, highlighting the lone thankful leper as a model for believers. It contrasts outward blessings with deeper spiritual gifts and reminds Christians to thank Jesus not only for physical provision but also for salvation and enduring spiritual blessings, especially at Thanksgiving (and always).
We should (and do) thank Jesus every day, but the holiday of Thanksgiving is a particular reminder that we above all people are grateful to Jesus for our salvation and for His active involvement in the world.
There are many people in the Bible who used thanks-like words in their prayers and songs. Miriam, Hannah, David, Solomon, Mary to name just a few examples, all used words that expressed their gratitude to God. I began to wonder about the specifics of those who had been delivered or healed, if they explicitly thanked Jesus. The ten lepers situation came to mind.
While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. 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. But Jesus responded 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 made you well.”
If you think about ‘the numbers’ in scripture, the outlook is not good. Out of all the world, only 8 survived the Flood on the Ark. Out of all the millions rescued from Pharaoh, only 2 could enter the Promised Land. Out of the 4 soils, only one was good for nurturing the seed. “Many” will fail to find the narrow path and only “a few” find it.
Here, we have ten healed outwardly, but only one thanked their Healer and gave Him proper worship and thanks.
Matthew Henry says,
17:11-19 A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings, as well as in prayers. Christ noticed the one who thus distinguished himself, he was a Samaritan. The others only got the outward cure, he alone got the spiritual blessing.
The Pharisee thanked God but we know that was an improper expression of gratitude, because he was really thanking himself. (Luke 18:11).
I looked up the word “thank” in scripture and repeatedly the person thanking God most frequently was Jesus.
Though the word ‘praise’ is used, we find that Jesus specifically thanked the father seven times in the New Testament. He gave thanks for food, a LOT. He thanked the Father before feeding the 4000 and also the 5000. He gave thanks that the Father had revealed truth to childlike people (Matthew 11:25). He thanked the Father for hearing His prayer before raising Lazarus from the dead. (John 11:41). He thanked God at His last Passover when He ate the bread and drank the wine, (Matthew 26:27). This was amazing since He knew He was going to die excruciatingly the next day.
Too often I am like the 9 lepers, thanking Jesus for a fleshly blessing but neglecting to thank Him for the spiritual blessings He gives us daily, sustaining us until eternity.
There are many spiritual blessings He gives us. So many to count but here are a few- our salvation! Adoption into His family.Mercy. Patience with our sin. Union with Him. Angels sent to us unknowingly. The ability to pursue holiness so as to please Him. Worshiping Him in truth. The security of our eternity in bliss in heaven. The Spirit indwelling us as a deposit of the guarantee. I could go on!
As we gather around the Thanksgiving table, let us be like the one leper, who obeyed Jesus to go and present himself to the Temple to satisfy the fleshly miracle, but remembered to thank Him worship Him properly, which is a spiritual obedience. We receive common gifts every day the same as the pagans do, who do not thank Him (Romans 1:21). But uniquely, we believers receive the spiritual blessings, which are much greater and are eternal.
Thank you, Jesus.
