THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NINE AND ONE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NINE AND ONE

Lepers were not allowed to live inside the tows of Israel. They were sent outside the cities where they had to live as paupers. Leprosy was arguably one of the worst things that could happen to a person in Israel. There were ten of them at the border of Galilee. One day Jesus was passing by the border when those lepers sighted Him and began yelling out to Him to help them. Jesus was so famous that even lepers who never set foot inside cities or towns had heard of Him. Lepers were not even allowed to come near people. They had to wear a bell that swung and rang so that people coming their way will be warned. But they too had heard of Jesus for Jesus was more than just the talk of towns. His news spread far and near; no one was more famous. The lepers must have heard that Jesus healed people because when they saw Him and his entourage passing by, they called out to Him from a distance because the law forbade them to draw near people. ‘Jesus’, they yelled, ‘take note of us. Have mercy on us’. Jesus didn't need to go to them either. He said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests’; and the lepers were healed as they went. Ten in number they were, but only one of them returned to thank Him. Jesus said, ‘There were ten of you, yeah? What about the other nine’? They had moved on with their lives. They weren't giving Jesus any more thoughts.  They had gotten what they wanted; but it wasn't what they needed. They needed Jesus far more than they needed healing and good health. Good health distracted them from Jesus and broke their attention to God. They were indeed better off as lepers because they looked to Jesus and called to Him when they were lepers. Jesus healed all ten of them to show you and I the difference between the nine and THE ONE.

Be THE ONE.

Healing is a good thing but it wasn't the right thing for the nine lepers. Healing didn't make them THE ONE; it made them the lost nine. God wants good things for His people, but He may withhold good things if it will turn His people into the ‘nine’. Better to be a leper who yearns and yells for Jesus than in good health but distracted from Jesus. No one loves you like Jesus does and He will do whatever it takes to preserve your life. To the ten lepers He said, ‘Go, its okay’, but to THE ONE Jesus said, ‘you are whole’. THE ONE is the one whose priority in life is Jesus, the Giver of life. THE ONE sees God in everything and every situation. Without Jesus life is wasted, there’s no future, no peace, no hope.  Outside of Jesus, every road and everything leads to hell. Without Jesus, abundance and good health only fattens the cattle for slaughter. There is no life without Jesus and THE ONE who returned to Jesus found what matters more than gold, silver and health. He found what matters most. That’s the difference between THE NINE and THE ONE. Choose ONE.

(Bible text-Luke 17:11-19)