Healed, but Not Well

Many people have been healed, but are not well.

A young man began attending our church regularly. In conversation with him, I asked if he was a Christian. He said that he was. So I followed up by asking about how he became a Christian.

He told me that it was a miracle that he was even alive. The doctors said he was supposed to die soon after birth, but he believed that God had spared his life.

He then told me that as a child, he had another encounter with death. Doctors diagnosed him with a serious disease and, again, was not expected to survive. He said that many people prayed for his healing, and again, miraculously, he was healed.

The young man believed he was a Christian because God had healed him twice.

But as we continued to talk, it became apparent that he had no relationship with Christ. He was living in a way that demonstrated he had never repented of sin and had no intention of following Jesus. His story is not uncommon.

He had been physically healed, but spiritually he was not well.

Luke 17:11-19 tells the story of 10 lepers Jesus encountered as he traveled between Samaria and Galilee. The lepers called out to Jesus and asked for healing. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest. The Bible says, "And as they went, they were cleansed (17:14)."

But then a curious thing happens.

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

Luke 17:15-19

Where Did the Nine Go?

Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one was made well.

Please grasp the magnitude of this next statement.

Every person Jesus healed is dead.

All ten of the lepers in this story died.

The paralytic Jesus healed, is now dead.

Lazarus died, again!

Jesus' ultimate concern for you in this life is not that you be healed, but that you be made well.

Jesus' statement to the leper, "Your faith has made you well" could also be translated, "Your faith has saved you."

If we are healed in this life, but we do not also do what this one leper did, turn to Jesus, it will not end well. Our lives will be marked by a miracle, but our souls will be bound for Hell.

We need to realize that ultimately, Jesus has promised to heal all of His people (Rev. 21:4). Any miracle or answered prayer we experience in this life is only temporary. We need to be much more concerned about eternity.
Please don't be so concerned with being healed that you miss what it means to be made well.

Bible Study

Read Luke 17:11-19.

• How does this passage call for us to praise Jesus?
• Which are you most like of the lepers? The 1 or the 9? How so?
• Why do you think that Jesus asked where the 9 were?

Challenge

Take some time today to give thanks for what Christ has done in your life. Write out of a list of at least 10 things you can thank Christ for and pray to Him. Give Him thanks and praise.