September 2024 – Page 4 – What Does This Mean?

Encore Post: Leprosy was a dreaded skin condition during Biblical times. It was caused by a number of diseases from bad rashes to sicknesses that caused the loss of fingers, toes and other parts of the body. Lepers were made to live away from everyday people and to yell unclean if anyone came close to them. They were not allowed to go to the synagogue or the temple and so were cut off completely from God and the care of family and friends. Often they lived together with other lepers. If a person touched a leper, they were called unclean, too, and couldn’t enter the temple or synagogue.

Sometimes lepers would get well. To recognize that the person was no longer a leper, a person would go to the priests to be declared clean again. One sign of the Messiah’s coming was that he would heal lepers. Jesus showed God’s love for everyone, even lepers, when Jesus healed the disease.

One day, when Jesus was walking down the road, ten lepers shouted to Him from a distance: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. He told them to go and see the priests in Jerusalem. As they went, they were healed. When one of them, a Samaritan, saw that He was well, He went back to Jesus, loudly praising God. The man lay down on his face at Jesus’ feet to worship Jesus and thank Him. Jesus asked where the other nine were. Jesus told the man to get up because his faith made him well.

Even though Jews of Jesus’ time despised Samaritans and treated them poorly, Jesus once again makes the point that God does not discriminate against people because of sickness, race, or religion. All people are his children and he shows mercy to us all. After all, he was about to bear the sins of all the sons and daughters of Adam on the cross. On the last day, people from all nations, races and time, redeemed by his blood, will gather as one to praise him. So, now, we join the former lepers is praying, “Lord, have mercy” and reach out to care for all his children in need.

Blog Post Series

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastot Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Encore Post: One day, Jesus sat down to teach in the temple’s Court of the Women where he could watch people putting freewill offerings into the offering box. People of all walks of life day, put money into the treasury from the wealthiest to the poorest of God’s people. One of those people was a poor widow who contributed her last two copper coins.

Since this offering was not required, anyone who gave to the Lord in this way showed love for God. The rich people Jesus saw contributing were giving from their wealth and did not miss the money at all. The widow showed complete trust in God. She literally did not know where her next meal would come from. Yet she gave her last resources so that God could be praised.

In the time of Jesus, widows had a hard life. Very few women had independent means of support. When a widow’s husband died, she was completely at the mercy of her relatives, especially her sons. If they did not care, she would have to scrape by in any way she could. The widow in our story is likely one of the less fortunate ones.

Jesus commented on this woman’s faith and praised her for her trust that God would care for her. He did not condemn the giving of others. Instead, Jesus taught the disciples that the amount someone gives to God is not as important to him as the faith it demonstrates.

Christians are not commanded to give a specific amount of money or even a particular percentage of our income. We give offerings to our church, to other organizations in the Church and to care for those in need. We love God and want to participate in His mission to save the lost. So we share what we have, praying that God would bless them for the good of others.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Month: September 2024

Sunday School: Ten Lepers Healed, One Praises God

Sunday School: The Widow’s Mite