“And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them,when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said. Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 17:12-19).
The Holman Bible Dictionary defines leprosy in this way. (The definition itself may seem very gross to many, but, you will see why all ten lepers should have thanked God for their cleansing.) “A generic term applied to a variety of skin disorders from psoriasis to true leprosy. Its symptoms ranged from white patches on the skin to running sores to the loss of digits on the fingers and toes. For the Hebrews it was a dreaded malady which rendered its victims ceremonially unclean—that is, unfit to worship God (Leviticus13:3). Anyone who came in contact with a leper was also considered unclean. Therefore, lepers were isolated from the rest of the community so that the members of the community could maintain their status as worshipers. Even houses and garments could have “leprosy” and, thus, be unclean. Jesus did not consider this distinction between clean and unclean valid. A person’s outward condition did not make one unclean; rather that which proceeds from the heart determines one’s standing before God.”
Christ saw the plight of 10 lepers. He told them what they needed to do. All 10 obeyed and were cleansed. However, only one of the 10 turned back to give thanks and praise for his healing.
When Jesus told that grateful leper, “go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole,” I imagine the grateful leper ran all the way home.
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for missionaries Tim and Amanda York as they work with the deaf community in the Buffalo, New York, area and as they prepare for the upcoming birth of their second child.
