A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Temple
Click here to listen to this sermon. Or here. “And when [Jesus] saw them He said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A funny thing happened on the way to the temple. Not “funny” in a humorous sort of way, but “funny” in the sense of peculiar, unexpected. On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus passes between Samaria and Galilee. As He enters a village, ten lepers come out to meet Him. Well, not exactly “meet him.” They stand at a distance. You see, leprosy is a terrible disease, so contagious that its victims are quarantined until death. They have to leave their families, friends, homes, and livelihoods to spend their last painfully dying days isolated in the wilderness. And if anyone walks toward them, the law demands they warn them away. Logically, such a quarantine also means a leper isn’t able to go to the temple of the Lord for worship and sacrif...