The Kingdom of God Is in Your Midst

11While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.

 12As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;

 13and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

 14When He saw them, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed.

 15Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,

 16and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.

 17Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they?

 18"Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?"

 19And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."

 20Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;

 21nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."


 

As they were traveling along some of the Pharisees were asking Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming.  But their questions were interrupted by ten men with serious skin diseases shouting at Him, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  He turned His attention to them, addressed them.  He didn't heal them first, but instead sent them to "Go and show yourselves to the priests." This is what the law required of lepers when their skin diseases were gone.  The priests would confirm that they indeed had been cleansed.

Only one saw the he was healed and returned to give God glory.  "He fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan."  Jesus obviously did not heal for the purpose of receiving thanks.  He had sent this man on his way before He even healed him.  But this man who was a foreigner returned and by doing so, his faith had made Him well.  This man received a spiritual healing along with his physical healing.  He was indeed made well.

Then Jesus turned back to the question at hand.  He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."

When the leper who was healed thanked Jesus, he was acknowledging that he was "well graced."  When can we see the kingdom of God in our midst?  When we see God at work and acknowledge God's grace being poured down, we are witnessing the kingdom of God at that moment. 


Verna McCrillis, 3/12/2009