Jesus cleansed ten lepers - Luke 17:11-19 - Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten lepers cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
The land between Samaria and Galilee is a place where one might find oneself unsure of who belonged and who didn’t, where one might be uncertain, un-trusting, even a little fearful. It is a place where the costumed rules might not apply
The 10 lepers, are a group of people excluded from community life because of their medical condition, and one leper was considered to have been doubly excluded because of his ethnicity. He was a Samaritan.
The lepers, “keeping their distance,” call out to Jesus, not specifically to heal them but to “have mercy on us!”
When Jesus sees them, he sends them to the priests, who will determine according to the law of Moses, specifically Leviticus 14, whether they have been healed of leprosy. The lepers immediately demonstrate their faith by following Jesus’ instruction even though they still have their disease.
Only as they are on their way, do we find out that “they were made clean.”
The gospel says that only the Samaritan turns back to praise God and (literally translated) “fell before his feet” and thanks Jesus.
Jesus asks rhetorically, “Were not 10 made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?
Jesus then addresses the healed Samaritan: “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” But was not the Samaritan already well even before he came back praising God and giving thanks to Jesus?
The Samaritan’s return allows Jesus to demonstrate that no one, not a leper, nor a Samaritan, is beyond God’s mercy.
Why go to the ceremonial priests when the Great High Priest was right there?
Jesus didn’t have the robes and the air of self importance like most preachers have, He was cloaked in humility, yet He was authentic.
- Jesus is there when we cry out to Him for his mercy
- Jesus is not a respecter of persons
- It often takes a step of obedience before we see God’s miracles
- Our faith in Christ will cause us to fall at His feet in worship
WHO IS YOUR PRIEST?