(15-20 minutes, moderate set-up)
Students will study Luke 17:11-19 to understand how ten lepers responded when Jesus healed them.
Provide a copy of the Student Worksheet and a pen for each student. Also provide a dry erase board, dry erase marker, and a bowl of tap water. Optional: Provide a map of the regions of Samaria and Galilee during the time of Christ.
Learning Goal: Students will compare the responses of the lepers Jesus healed.
Distribute a copy of the Student Worksheet and a pen to each learner. Ask: What is gratitude? Is there a difference between gratitude and thankfulness? After responses, say: In Luke 17:11-19, we see an example of one person who showed gratitude for Jesus’ power and work in his life.
1. Gratitude begins with brokenness (Luke 17:11-13).
Read Luke 17:11. Refer to the biblical commentary to share the significance of the Samaritan influence in this passage. Optional: Display a map of the region in order to show the students where Jesus had this encounter. (Look online or in the back of your Bible to find this type of map.)
Read Luke 17:12-13. Explain that although leprosy is not something we deal with very often today in developed countries, in Jesus’ day, it was a very real and devastating problem. Direct students to the bowl of tap water that you prepared. Say: I filled this bowl with water from the toilet this morning. Who would like to take a drink of it? Explain that the reactions the students have to this request would have been similar, but still not drastic enough, to the responses that people would have had towards a leper. Ask: If you were one of these lepers, what would your outlook on life look like? Would you be a happy, depressed, hopeful, or hopeless? Write their responses on the board.
Invite students to examine the emotions listed on the board. Point out to the students the words of the lepers: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Ask: Where did the lepers finally turn for healing? Then, have the students discuss: Where would you turn if you were one of those lepers? Where do broken people turn today in our city? Does the world offer real hope for the brokenhearted? Encourage students to write brokenness on the first line of their worksheets.
2. Jesus is the only answer to our brokenness (Luke 17:14).
Read Luke 17:14. Explain that these lepers had probably tried every possible remedy to heal their leprosy and nothing worked. Ask: What do you think was going through the lepers’ minds as they were going to show themselves to the priest? (Woohoo, we will finally be healed; another false healer; if it were only that simple; when this doesn’t work, I wonder how long it will take to get back to our leper colony.) Do you think they believed they would really be healed? After responses, point out that the lepers began their journey to see the priest while they still had leprosy—which was an act of faith on their part.
Say: We have all tried different ways to fix our problems. The truth is, the only way to really fix our problems is to allow Jesus to heal us. Encourage students to write only on the second line of their worksheets.
3. The healing of our brokenness should bring gratitude (Luke 17:15-19).
Divide students into two groups and direct them to the “Responses to Healing” activity on their worksheets. Instruct the first group to read Luke 17:15-16, 19 and then list the ways the Samaritan responded to Jesus after he was healed. Instruct the second group to read Luke 17:17-18 and then list the ways the other nine lepers responded to Jesus after they were healed. After two minutes, call for groups to share their answers. Encourage each group to record the other group’s responses as they listen to the other group’s responses. Ask: Why do you think the Samaritan responded by dramatically expressing his gratitude to Jesus? (He understood that this healing was a gift from the great God.) Ask: What additional blessing did Jesus provide for the Samaritan? (Jesus said “Your faith has made you well.) Explain that this blessing indicates that the Samaritan experienced the blessing of spiritual healing as well.
Ask: What was the response of the other nine that were healed? (We are not told anything about what they thought, but they did not show gratitude to Jesus for the healing. They were focused on themselves and the good things that came to them. They were selfish.) Ask: Was it expected they return to Jesus? (Remember, the command was to go and show themselves to the priest.) Explain that Jesus’ response to the grateful Samaritan as well as to the nine who showed no gratitude indicates that gratitude should be our default response to all of God’s provision.
Ask: Which men received the greatest blessing? Emphasize that while all ten lepers were cured of leprosy, only the Samaritan leper experienced spiritual healing as well. Ask: Is it possible to accept good things from God without actually allowing your faith in Him to change your life? Allow students to respond. Lead students to discuss: Which group do you relate to more, the Samaritan or the other nine? Do you see God as the Giver of all good things and the One who heals the broken? How can you show gratitude to God for healing you of your brokenness? Instruct students to write gratitude on the third line of their worksheet.