“And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Luke 17:19
A bonus is always a great thing. It may be for hitting your sales goal, for the company’s quarterly profit share, or what the company gives out at Christmas, but a bonus is something everyone enjoys. In Genesis 38 we see one such bonus being handed out to Benjamin, the youngest brother of Joseph. Benjamin received five times as much food on his plate as his other brothers. Five, is the Biblical number for grace.
We’ve been called the “Benjamin Generation.” Just like Benjamin, we’ve done nothing to deserve God’s goodness in our lives, but God, in His graciousness, has bonused us a whole lot through Jesus.
In Luke 17, we also see a story about the ten men who, from a distance, cried out to Jesus to heal them of leprosy. Jesus told them, “Go and show yourself to the priest,” and as the went their way, they were all healed. One of those men, a Samaritan, came back to Jesus praising God, then, falling to the ground, thanked Jesus for his healing. What this man received next was a huge bonus.
Jesus told the man, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” The word “whole” here is the Greek word Sozo, and it’s the word for Saved. This word has seven meanings. The word Sozo means to be saved, healed, delivered, preserved, protected, made prosperous and made whole. I’m sure this Samaritan man had more issues in his life than just leprosy. This dreadful and deadly disease had undoubtedly left him financially, relationally, emotionally, and physically bankrupt. Not to mention his spiritual need for Salvation in his life.
When Jesus declared Sozo over his life, he got it all. As stated, one of the definitions for Sozo is “make whole.” It’s the closest word to the Hebrew word, Shalom, and it means “nothing missing, nothing broken.” All this Samaritan man asked for that day was for healing, but because of his gratitude toward Jesus, not only did he get his healing, he also got everything else he needed too through Sozo.
You and I have been given this same Sozo Salvation. All we have to do is believe and receive this amazing bonus by faith.