Jesus Heals Ten Lepers

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Wednesday August 14, 2024}

Luke 17:11-19

Father, I thank You that You heard my plea for mercy. You brought the gospel into my life. You led me to confess my sin and to pursue a life of repentance. You have washed away my sin as far as the east is from the west. I will now stand clean before Your throne because of what You have done for me. Father, please make me eternally grateful and help me to use that spirit of thanksgiving to serve You and to build Your Kingdom, Amen.
Father, Jesus passed through a village on the border between Samaria and Galilee. Ten men from the village with leprosy came to Jesus at the entrance to the village and begged to be healed. They referred to Him as Master and asked to receive pity. According to Leviticus 13, the following things must occur for anyone with a skin disease:

• They must be examined by a priest.
• If the priest determines the skin disease is contagious, the person is to be quarantined for seven days.
• They must be examined by a priest once more after the quarantine is over.
• If the priest determines the skin ailment is still contagious, the person must be quarantined another seven days. The process must be repeated after the seven days. If the priest still finds the person contagious, the person will be declared “unclean.”
• If, however, the priest concludes that the disease is in the process of being healed, the person will be pronounced clean and will no longer need to be quarantined. He must wash his clothes.

Given that the men were on the outskirts of the village, and that they were practicing social distancing when they spoke to Jesus, and that also given that Jesus subsequently told them to go to the priest, it can be concluded that either:

• these men were in the midst of their seven-day quarantine or
• these men had been declared unclean.

Jesus told them to go to the priest to be examined. The text tells us that Jesus healed them while they were traveling to visit the priest. In other words, these men were challenged by Jesus to have faith before their healing in order to be healed. When the priest examined them, they were pronounced clean. The quarantine was lifted, and the ten lepers could return to their families, friends, and neighbors. Jesus had healed them.
While this appears only to be a story about the healing of physical disease, it is also a metaphor for spiritual healing. Consider:

• Sinner: Jesus, I am a sinner. You have the authority to cleanse me of my sin. Please have mercy upon me.
• Jesus: Go, in faith, even while you still have sin in your life, and present yourself to be examined. When you are judged , you will be declared clean, free of sin.

This story of the healing of the ten lepers clearly points to faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
However, this encounter ends on a down note. Only one of the ten lepers who had been healed came back to thank Jesus. That leper was a Samaritan, a Gentile. He fell at Jesus feet, in a worshipful pose, and thanked Him. Jesus asked him where the other nine men were and why they weren’t praising You, Father, for what You had done for them. Jesus told the man to rise and go on his way, confident that the man’s faith in Jesus had cleansed not only his body of leprosy but also his soul of sin.
Father, this story is a portrait of many in the church in the 21st century. They take their salvation for granted. Presuming their spiritual destiny is secure, they return to the cares of this world giving little thought to how they should live a life of thanksgiving and praise because they were rescued by Jesus from eternal damnation. There are many in the church who could be considered ungrateful for the gift of salvation they have received.
What does Jesus tell those who are thankful for their salvation?
“Rise and go.”
We are not to sit down and rest, content that we have salvation. There is work to be done for the Kingdom of God, and we are to go to where that work needs to be done. We are equipped to do that work because our faith has healed us. Amen.