"Arise and Go"

March 29, 2024 Daily Devotion: "Arise and Go" Luke 17:17-19 The Passion Translation “So where are the other nine?” Jesus asked. “Weren’t there ten who were healed? They all refused to return to give thanks and give glory to God except you, a foreigner from Samaria?” Then Jesus said to the healed man lying at his feet, “Arise and go. It was your faith that brought you salvation and made you whole.” Jesus made three statements about following Him concerning others: He warned His disciples against putting a stumbling block before anyone else, He instructed the disciples to rebuke one another if they sinned, and He commanded them to forgive without limit. Jesus also gave two instructions about what it means to have a relationship with God: to have true faith and to have the humility of a servant. On their way to Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples passed a group of ten men suffering from leprosy. Like many people Jesus healed in Luke’s Gospel, these men were outcasts of society, banished from normal life because of their disease. Jesus told the men to show themselves to the priests, and, while they were on their way, they were healed. Luke includes these events directly after Jesus’ instructions about living as a true disciple to show Theophilus and his later readers how they could practically live out Jesus’ instructions. Only one of the ten lepers returned to thank Jesus for what He had done. Only one man displayed true faith, and that faith healed him spiritually as well. This “faith the size of a mustard seed” didn’t have to do with the quantity of faith, but rather the quality. This man may not have had a lot of faith, but what he did have was genuine and pure. He believed Jesus could heal him, and afterward he understood that it was Jesus alone who had done it. Throughout His ministry, Jesus performed miracles for many people who were sick. However, only those who had genuine faith in who He is would believe and find eternal life in Him. Being a true follower of Jesus means we follow His commands. But, without faith, it is impossible to follow those commands and walk with Him. True faith recognizes Jesus for who He is: the Messiah.