Jesus is Essential
Luke 17:11–13: Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
On the outskirts of an unnamed village on the borderlands of Samaria and Galilee, ten leprous men stood before Jesus in various stages of decay, their clothing torn in perpetual mourning, their skeletal heads uncovered, their lips unveiled as they warned others, “Unclean, unclean!” They looked as though they had climbed out of the graves. But they were alive, sensitive human beings, feeling souls living in the nether world of society’s fringe while they rotted away. So from a safe distance they shouted the traditional plea, “Jesus, Master, have pity [literally, “mercy”] on us!” They were loud and persistent. “Have mercy on us!” “Master, have mercy!” “Mercy please!” 1
Walking with Jesus
To be merciful is to show compassion to someone who has no capacity to help themselves. What did Jesus do for you that you could never do for yourself? How often do you thank Him for His daily mercy that sustains your very existence? Do you realize, that without His mercy, we would be consumed with despair and cast into eternal darkness?
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Psalm 103:2–4
A prayer worth repeating and believing: “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
Praying
Lord, thank You for Your overwhelming love and mercy without measure.
1. Hughes, R. K. (1998). Luke: that you may know the truth. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
