On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[f] who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Jesus runs into 10 men who were all afflicted with leprosy, they all seemed determined to do something about it, they all heard about Jesus and sought him out, they all make appeal to Him, they all, at Christ’s command, made their way to the priests and they all were healed.
Going to the priest was in keeping with the Mosaic Law. The priest would determine if one had a disease that rendered them unclean and he would then deliver the verdict to the opposite if they were healed or had performed the necessary cleansing.
It is interesting to see the importance of worship, the temple and how it was built into Jewish life. That which had primacy was not to go show your wife, or to go announce to your family that you are healed.
First, go to the priest, go to the one who makes a declaration of your status within the church and specifically, with regard to your participation in the worshiping people of God, THAT your ability to participate in the liturgical life of the church was the most important aspect to your entire life.
As we know, out of the 10 who were healed, only one returns to give thanks and praise to the One who had so blessed him. He returns and he praises God and the text is clear to say that he praised him LOUDLY. He had no care for what someone else might think.
He praises the Lord in the wide open and don’t you know he must have caused somewhat of a stir. But social convention and cultural propriety were not his concern! He cared for nothing but to give praise to God, and couldn’t care less what anyone thought of it or thought of him. He had nothing to boast in but to boast in Christ and that is exactly what he was doing.
When was the last time you threw social convention and cultural propriety out the window, not caring one whit what other people thought of you, or how they might roll their eyes, or walk away in embarrassment, so that you might give praise and honor to your God?
We don’t often do this do we? We don’t even consider such action and if truth be told, we think we are being quite bold simply to utter a barely audible, “Praise the Lord”, on occasion.
Why do you suppose this is true of us…if truth be told…why are we not more like this Samaritan leper? You might say to yourself, “Well, if I was cured from what was a certain death sentence in such a remarkable way, then I would, and I would never stop praising God for it…there, how about that answer!”
That is a good answer.
But isn’t that exactly true of you? Is it not the case that you have been cured and healed, set free from eternal death and made a child of the kingdom?
The word that is translated in our Bible’s “arise”, arise and go your way, which Jesus spoke to the man after he returned and gave glory to God, is a word that is used in the NT often in reference to resurrection. It is like the prodigal son of whom it was said he was dead but now is alive. It was the new life of the resurrection, and Jesus announced it to this man and all who heard Him.
So, I will ask again, when have you exclaimed and praised the name of our God and Savior, without concern for what anyone would think, so thankful, so grateful are you for new life, for resurrection?
Are you any less needful than this one leper, have you had less done for you than he had done for him? He publicly acknowledges Christ as the One to whom he owed for what has now taken place. He fell on his face before the feet of Christ.
It is interesting how many people in the Bible are at the feet of Jesus. Mary, Peter when he was struck at who this Jesus really is, the one leper and countless others…at the feet of Jesus, bowing to Him in awe, wonder, fear and celebration.
This is where we belong, this is what faith knows, this is what faith desires, to be often bowed at His feet. It is the posture of faith, the posture that the rhythm of faith takes us to, over and over again. Do you know this place? Is it familiar to you?
And of course, and I think this is the stinging point of the miracle…this man was a Samaritan, one of the despised people, hated by the Jews. He was not brought up correctly. He was not sound in his theology, not having gone to the private theological schools that the others attended.
He was not socially and culturally astute, he didn’t wear the right clothes and run with the right people. He wasn’t the one you would want to be seen with at the parties. And it is very powerful if you know your history at all to see this Samaritan healed by and then bowing to a Jew.
But what about those other nine? Where were they? Why did they not return? I have read all kinds of possible explanations and some of them seem to say that Jesus, or Luke should have cut them some slack. Maybe they ran home to show their family. Maybe they thanked God in their hearts, you know they might not have been very outgoing folks more introverted.
Of course, that didn’t seem to be a problem when they cried out to Jesus to have mercy upon them, but nonetheless. But maybe there is a much better explanation. The Jews were greatly blessed by God, Paul says as much that there is great advantage in being a Jew.
*Psalm 147: “He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel, he has not dealt thus with any nation…”
Or in Amos, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth…”
And yet they are being “out praised”, and that by a despised Samaritan. What a shame for those who have been given so much, the covenant, and all the benefits of being the church…and then to NOT be filled with praise and thankfulness.
Prayer: Father, give me grace to see my sin of unthankfulness clearly. I pray that You would keep me from being overly-righteous and that I would demand much more from myself than ever I demand from another. I thank you that my Savior is sufficient and that Your Word gives me all that I need for life and godliness, may I walk faithfully with Christ according to Your gracious word, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Song: By Our Love