 Previous Chapter |
 Return to Outline |
 Ask Questions |
 Next Chapter |
Here we have an account of the cure of ten lepers. Leprosy was a disease which the Jews considered to be a judgment upon a person for some hideous sin, therefore Christ, who came to take away sin, took particular care to cleanse these lepers. By now, Christ was about midway on his way to Jerusalem, at a place somewhere along the Jordan in Samaria where He was not as well known as He was in Galilee or Jerusalem. It would appear that He went that way to find these lepers.
Lepers usually lived in colonies apart from everyone else. They found some consolation in being with one another and here we find ten that had formed a colony. Notice they approached Him before He entered a village for they were not allowed to mingle with anyone who was "clean" and therefore could not enter the village. They approached Him, but stood afar off, knowing that by the law, they were required to do so.
Their request was unanimous, together they lifted up their voices and cried out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." Notice they do not ask to be cured, they simply as for His mercy. They had heard of the fame of Jesus even though He had not visited that part of the country very frequently. So together they sought after His presence in hopes of obtaining His mercy.
Notice how Jesus answered their request. He sent them to show themselves to the Priest who was the judge of leprosy in Israel. This was a trial of faith. Nothing had been said about being cured. At the time, there was no evidence of any healing. Like the case of the Syrian General Naaman, an act of faith was required. As Naaman was required to duck 7 times in the muddy waters of the Jordan, these lepers were required to go to the Priest where, if they had not been cured, they surly would have been subject to punishment for breaking the law.
Notice that as they went there does not appear to have been any hesitation on the part of any of them. They had passed the test and so it was, as they went, they were cured, and were able to be looked upon by the Priest and receive a certificate of health from him. This certificate was a passport to freedom, a pardon from a lifetime of separation from the rest of the world.
After receiving their certificates, one of them, came back and fell on his face and thanked Jesus and glorified God, and he was a Samaritan. It is believed that the rest were Jews. Isn't it strange that even though all were healed, only the Samaritan who was not considered a part of the Commonwealth of Israel, returned to glorify God and to thank Jesus. Jesus took notice of this, "Were there not 10 that was cleansed?" "Where are the other nine?"
Failure to give thanks for the many blessings that we receive is a common sin. A Samaritan, comparable to the world's un-enlightened, appreciated what Jesus did for him. The 9 Jews, comparable to the enlightened of this world by reason of their favored position before God, did not return thanks. Jesus took this opportunity to aggravate the Jewish multitudes that were following Him, for whom He had done so much and from whom He had received so little.
Note the encouragement he gave to the Samaritan. The 9 Jews had received their cure and did not have it revoked, as it might very well have been, but that was all that they received. The Samaritan received his physical healing as well as spiritual healing. His faith and his gratitude had made him whole, physically and spiritually. Earthly mercies are all the more sweeter when they gotten by the prayers of faith and appreciated by the prayers of thanks.
Previous Chapter |
Return to Outline |
Ask Questions |
Next Chapter |