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THE KING’S BUSINESS
done “ that which it was our duty to do.” “ The one thing on which our Lord wishes to concentrate our attention is not the spirit in which God deals with His servants, but rather the spirit in which we should serve God—not what God thinks o f our work, but rather how we should regard it ourselves.” W e have never any merit. This utterly annihilates the Roman doctrine of the merit of the saints. Human pride con stantly atters itself that it has done God a favor by doing well, but we can never do God a favor. This is a tremendous blow to self-righteousness and the natural heart revolts against the teaching o f this parable. All that we do is simply the result o f His grace freely bestowed upon us (1 Cor. 15:10) and it is only the giving back to God a part o f that which belongs to Him. The word translated “unprofitable” riieans literally, “ useless” or “needless.” The thought is that God can get along without any o f us (cf. Acts 17:25). Friday, January 28 . Luke 1 7 : 11 - 14 .. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. It is the most important journey o f His eventful life. It is important that He get there at a certain time. Nevertheless, He is not so eager to get there that He has no time to scatter blessings by the way. He was never in such a hurry to get to His destination as to be heedless o f the misery and need that met Him as He went. He was. God incarnate, that is to say, He was incarnate love (1 John 4:8) and compassion. An awful spectacle meets Him as He enters a certain village, twelve human wrecks, lepers, with their disfigured faces, hands, feet and forms. He is shocked at the sight, but not repelled from, but rather drawn toward them. They are a striking type o f sinners, for sin like leprosy, defiles, shuts out from the society o f the clean, renders helpless and hopeless, consumes and kills. Lepers go in groups as do sinners, for misery likes company and sinners hate soli tude. Jews have no dealings with Samari tans (John 4 :9 ), but a Samaritan leper was in company with Jewish lepers because their common defilements had obliterated natural
distinctions. It is wonderful how men and women o f the most divergent classes and temperaments herd together when they get down in sin. These lepers found deliver ance in meeting Jesus. There was no other way in which they could possibly find deliverance. The sinner’s only hope is to meet Jesus; in Him alone can he find deliv erance from his pollution and wretched ness. This meeting was not accidental on the part o f the lepers. They had heard o f Jesus mighty power to cleanse, and also that He was coming, and they hastened to meet Him. It was well they' did for He never passed that way,again. Their leprosy proved a blessing, for it brought them to Jesus. What we count our misfortunes are indeed blessings if they only bring us to Him. They “ stood afar off” and that is our position by nature (Eph. 2.T3). But one o f them afterward came nigh (v. 16). Cleansing by Jesus brought him nigh, and it brings us nigh (Eph. 2:13). The Mosaic law compelled the leper to stand afar off, and their own feelings also. (But, cf. ch. 5:12, 13). From a distance they “ lifted up their voices,” but not very loudly, for leprosy destroys the voice. A fter his heal ing one spoke “ with a loud voice” (v. 15). The cry was sljort and to the point, “Jesus, Master, have, mercy on us” (cf. ch. 18:38, 39; Matt. 9:27; 15:22; Luke 18:13). That cry never fell unheeded on Jesus’ ears and never will in this dispensation (Rom. 10:13). All any poor leper today has to dp to be cleansed is just to cry to Jesus. The faith o f these lepers was seemingly not very intelligent nor profound, but they believed Jesus could and would cleanse them, and He did. One who goes to Jesus usually gets what he believes for (Matt. 9:29). Their prayer was humble, earnest, believing, brief, specific. Compassion filled the heart o f Jesus as soon as His eyes fell upon them. Just so He looks upon the sinner today. It was not necessary that Jesus’ touch them ; there was cleansing power in His mere words. They had sought a blessing and got a commandment. That is His way o f blessing. The purpose o f the command was three-fold—compliance
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