How to Grow in Thankfulness
Thanksgiving 2025
Luke 17:11–19
Introduction
Pres. Abraham Lincoln reportedly said he was often driven to his knees because he had “nowhere else to go.” He knew his deep need; he knew we’re forgetful of God who meets our needs. In 1863, while the Civil War raged, he established our Thanksgiving holiday. He feared Americans had taken God’s good gifts for granted. In his Proclamation, he said “these bounties…are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come.” He saw forgetfulness in a nation. Jesus saw it in nine lepers. If we’re honest, we see it in ourselves. We quickly cry for help. We’re slow to return thanks.
Jesus instructs us on how to grow in thankfulness.
The Depths of the Lepers’ Need
Our Gospel begins with Jesus on the way to Jerusalem for the passion week. He was passing along between Samaria and Galilee (v.11). It doesn’t take a PhD to know this borderland was a spiritual no man’s land. He entered a village and was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance (v. 12).
“Leprosy” was a catch-all term for skin disorders that made one ritually unclean. These ten were excommunicated from the assembly; cut off from communion at the temple; cast out from sacrificing. As Leviticus said of a person with leprosy: “His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev. 13:46). They were alive—but socially, spiritually, and theologically dead.
These unclean outcasts lifted up their voices: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (v. 13). They called him ἐπιστάτης—one appointed over others in civic and military life: a commander, superintendent, or teacher. It’s interesting that only Luke uses this word in the New Testament for a Gentile audience, to express something similar to Matthew and Mark’s “Rabbi.” It carries weight. It carries honor. It carries deep respect. They cried out in deep and desperate need.
Need drives prayer. As J.C. Ryle said, “When a man finds out his soul’s ailment, he soon learns to pray…If saints could only see their souls as the ten afflicted lepers saw their bodies, they would pray far better than they do.”[1] “When you see the truth about your spiritual condition, you stoppretending and start pleading. They knew they were incurably sick—so they cried out. Let’s do this today.
The Depths of the Savior’s Ability
Now the scene shifts to Jesus: he saw them and said…“Go and show yourselves tothe priests” (v. 14). Since he came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17), he directs them to obedience according to Leviticus 13–14 and Deuteronomy 24: to the priests because their task was to determine a person’s purity. So they went. Somewhere between where they stood at a distance and where they were called to go, the miracle of mercy grabbed hold of them: as they went they were cleansed (v. 14). No powerful word. No touch. No mud. No washing. Nothing other than “Go.” Normally Jesus heals through means—words, touch, stuff. Here he heals without even a whisper or gesture. It’s so nonchalant we miss it. Voila! Just like that!
Every parent knows wanting and wishing for the ability to heal a child with a word or touch. Amen? But we feel our limits. Jesus’ silence says he has none! What fathomless depth of ability! What immense strength of compassion! What herculean power to provide for your deepest spiritual need!
The Depths of One’s Thankfulness
As the ten begin toward Jerusalem one of them realized and 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 (vv. 15–16). How many times have you passed a veteran without a word—then someone stops to say “thank you!” Gratitude stands out.
Note that nine hurried on to the priests to be restored to fellowship of men. Only one recognized what really happened, hurried back to Jesus to be restored to fellowship with God. Blessings forgotten, their Giver forsaken, gratitude forsaken—that’s our human heart!
Ten were healed. Only one was made whole: your faith has made you well or saved you (v. 19). He prais[ed] God… and fell on his face—as the Greek text says, at the feet of him(τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ) giving thanks to him (αὐτῷ). As he praised God he prostrated himself before Jesus, giving him thanks! What do you think this means about who Jesus is?
There’s more. Only one man’s ethnicity is mentioned: now he was a Samaritan (v. 16). The text seems to assume that they’re all Jews of some kind, whether Galileans or Judeans;[2] the only one who was thankful was Samaritan! The half-breed. The untouchable. One of “those people.” The nine Jews thanklessly left with a gift, the one Samaritan returned to the Giver.
Just then Jesus asks three searching questions: “Were not ten cleansed?” “Where are thenine?” “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (vv. 16b, 17). Allow Jesus to rebuke your thankless heart! As Ryle said: “We are more ready to pray than to praise, and more disposed to ask God for what we have not, than to thank Him for what we have.”[3] We need to learn to ask daily for a thankful spirit: “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thes. 5:18). The thankless heart is a forgetful heart. The thankful heart is a remembering heart. We need to learn to ask daily for a deeper and more genuine sense of our need, our thanklessness, and our complacency. Again, Ryle: “It is the man who daily feels his debt to grace, and daily remembers that in reality he deserved nothing but hell,—this is the man who will be daily blessing and praising God.”[4]
Conclusion
On this Thanksgiving, pause long enough to turn back to Jesus. Before you enjoy any gift today, thank the Giver. Lincoln feared a nation forgetful of the Source of its blessings. Jesus warns hearts that forget him.
Here’s good news: Jesus calls to ungrateful people like you and me: “Turn back to me—the Giver.”
How do you grow in thankfulness? Grasp the depths of your need, the depths of your Savior’s ability, and the depths of how thankful you should be.
Need awakens prayer; mercy awakens praise; grace awakens thanksgiving. Turn to Jesus. Thank him. The Giver is better than his gifts.