The Tenth Leper

While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:11-19


Headed onward to Jerusalem. Walking along the border of Samaria and Galilee. As we keep seeing, the people in the villages knew when Jesus was coming their way. His reputation preceded Him as a healer and teacher. These ten lepers seem to have been waiting for Him to approach. Of course, they had to keep their distance. Leprosy was a devastating disease and thought to be brought about by some sin in the person so afflicted. The law required that they stay separated from the community, so the only social interchange the leper could have was with other lepers. They became a society unto themselves, isolated from everyone else. So they stood afar off and cried out to Jesus for mercy. Jesus is in the mercy business, and this meeting with these wretched men was not an accident.

"Jesus, Master (authority, commander), have mercy on us!" He was their only hope. In the law, a leper who was cleansed was required to show himself to the priest to be certified as cleansed before he could return to normal society. This was a special duty of the priesthood, and Jesus was ministering under the system of the Mosaic Law. He respected the Law that He authored and came to fulfill, and the priesthood that represented it. So, since the healing was a done deal, though not yet obvious, He sent the ten to the priest to receive their certification. This was a powerful witness, to the ten AND to the priest, who would pronounce the healing.

"As they were going." That shows some faith that they believed they'd be healed, but what else could desperate lepers do? The Master bade them go. They went. And they were cleansed. There was never any question about it. As they trudged along, one noticed that his body was cleansed. He didn't wait for the presentation to the priest. He wanted to give immediate credit to the One Who healed Him. And he did so, falling on his face, glorifying God with a loud voice!

Interesting thing about desperate outcasts: their prejudices don't matter anymore. They're in this nightmare together; in this case Samaritans and Jews. And wouldn't you know? It wasn't one of the Jews, or nine of the Jews (God's chosen people, Jesus' racial brethren), shouting praises in gratitude to Jesus. It was the Samaritan! The Jews were not only prejudiced against Samaritans, they also had an unbelieving and ungrateful mindset toward this Jesus, who came to cleanse not only their diseased bodies, but primarily their eternal souls. Jesus made note of the fact that "only this foreigner" turned back to give glory to God.

I've heard comments that this leper represents the maybe ten percent of humanity who do recognize and appreciate God's blessings. That is arbitrary and unprovable, but it's true that not everyone acknowledges our Lord's wondrous mercies to us all. This Samaritan did, and Jesus commended him, telling him to get up and move on. Jesus' authority had healed his body. His faith in Jesus' authority had healed his soul.