And it came to pass as he was going up to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
Luke stops to mark the spot on the road that ends at the cross: the border of Samaria and Galilee, with Jerusalem ahead. Why does he keep marking the stages, and why does this one run through the most despised part of the land?
This is not a stray travel note. Luke has been tracking one journey since the Lord came down from the mountain where His appearance changed. This verse is one of its milestones.
He has, in fact, begun His last journey up to Jerusalem from the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration. You can trace its various stages from this point on: Luke 10:1, Luke 13:22, Luke 17:11, Luke 18:35. His face was firmly set to go to Jerusalem, and because of this a Samaritan village would not receive Him.
Each Gospel writer has his own centre of interest. That difference explains why only Luke keeps counting the miles.
In the main part of their Gospels, Matthew and Mark keep to the Lord's stay and ministry in Galilee. Luke gives us not only that, but His gradual journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51; Luke 13:22; Luke 17:11; Luke 18:31; Luke 19:28)... Luke brings out how our Lord's love and pity lingered. His face is firmly set on the place where He would die. But His slow steps show the reluctance and the sorrow with which He visits Jerusalem for the last time, and gives the crowning proof of man's total ruin in His blood and cross.
Samaria and Galilee were the regions a Jerusalem-minded Jew thought least of. That is where this stage of the journey runs, and only Luke records the healing that follows.
The scene lay in the despised quarters of the land. As He entered a village, ten lepers met Him and stood at a distance. This is a remarkable miracle, found only in Luke, who brings before us several incidents of the same kind that appear nowhere else. This shows clearly how the Spirit of God chose what to record, to carry forward the purpose He had in inspiring Luke.
Galilee lies further from Jerusalem than Samaria, so the order of the two names has drawn attention. One writer takes the order as a sign of how Luke arranges his material:
Notice that Luke puts Samaria first, though Galilee was the more distant from Jerusalem. It is another reminder that Luke does not write in time order, but uses a moral order.
Others answer a criticism aimed at Luke here:
Luke keeps stating the direction taken (Luke 13:22 and Luke 17:11, cf. Luke 18:35), and from this critics have started the idea that he was confused about geography. A later writer, Spitta, has shown that the criticism has no basis. The usual route from Galilee to Judea ran (1) through Samaria, and (2) by way of Jericho.
The journey to the cross was not a grim march with mercy put on hold. This stretch of road shows what His grace does for those who ask.
Every step of that wonderful ascent carries blessing for those who will heed His words, and for those who seek His help... If His ascent displays the divine wisdom of His words, it is also radiant with the glory of His grace. How rich is the mercy and grace of Jesus toward these poor men, whether Jews or Samaritan. Both groups rejected Him, and it never stopped Him from pouring out His mercy and compassion.
The destination named in this verse gives every step its weight. What waits at the end of the road is the cross.
Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem and to present Himself in the flesh to the Jews for the last time. Luke slowly traces this journey (Luke 9:51; Luke 13:22, 31, 33; Luke 17:11; Luke 18:31; Luke 19:28-29, 37, 41). Endless results flow from that cross. To human eyes it was His rejection. Faith knows it to be the glorifying of God forever, and the only possible ground of salvation for sinners.
- The road. This verse is one milestone in a single journey. Luke traces it from Luke 9:51 all the way to Jerusalem.
- The pace. Luke walks that road slowly. He shows "the lingering of our Lord's love and pity" — His face set toward the city, His steps heavy with sorrow.
- The place. The route runs through "the despised quarters of the land." That is where the ten lepers meet Him.
- The mercy. Every step of the ascent carries blessing. Rejection by Jew and Samaritan alike never shut off His compassion.
- The end. The road ends at the cross. Human eyes saw only rejection. Faith sees God glorified forever, and the only ground of salvation for sinners.
And as he entered into a certain village ten leprous men met him, who stood afar off.
Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, passing through Samaria and Galilee, when ten men with leprosy met Him outside a village and stopped short. Why did they keep their distance, what held these ten together, and why did Jesus stop for men the law had shut out?
The gap between the ten men and Jesus was not shyness. It was the position the law of Moses assigned to anyone with leprosy, and they were keeping it.
As He passed through Samaria and Galilee, He came to a village. Ten lepers met Him there, keeping the place their leprosy gave them, standing far off. Leviticus shows how God dealt with leprosy. Of all the diseases that strike people, God set this one apart to picture sin, and to show what He would do with it. The leper was first put outside the camp, and that is just where sin puts you and me. There he is left outside, and with whom? Nobody in all creation but God. His friends and neighbours were kept far off. So no one can meet our need but Christ.
Custom even fixed how far away that had to be:
Luke 17:12 — see Leviticus 13:45 and following. The distance prescribed by tradition was 100 paces.
Leprosy did more than harm the body. It decided where a person could stand in relation to God.
Leprosy was a striking picture of sin. It made a man completely unfit for the presence of God. His place was "outside the camp." Whether he had few spots or many, the verdict was "utterly unclean." So the only honest thing he could say about himself was, "Unclean, unclean." The disease was deeply defiling. God alone could make a leper clean, and fit to come into the camp.
The law's requirements made that exclusion visible to everyone:
"The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp." Here was the leper's condition, the leper's occupation, the leper's place. Torn clothes, bare head, covered lip. Crying, "Unclean, unclean." Living outside, alone in the empty desert. What could be more humbling or more crushing than this? "He shall live alone." He was unfit for fellowship or company.
One of these ten was a Samaritan. The other nine were Jews. Something had broken down the wall between them.
It is striking that one of them was a Samaritan and the rest were Jews. In normal times the nine would have refused the company of the tenth, "for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." But a shared disease had put them all on one level, and they seem to have felt it. The greatest leveller of all is sin, and Scripture uses leprosy as its clear picture of it. High and low, rich and poor, religious and irreligious all stand in the same position before God here: "there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Jesus did not keep away from these men. He walked into their village, and they came out to meet Him.
In a certain village there were ten lepers, and into that village Jesus enters. Here is man suffering from that hateful disease. More than any other, it pictures his horrible state through sin. And man, the leper, stands face to face before Jesus, the Saviour. Have you, my reader, ever stood face to face before this same Jesus? Jesus meets man in his wretchedness.
The Lord did not cleanse every leper in the same way. Commentators see a picture of the future in the way He dealt with these ten.
The Lord did not always work in the same way when He cleansed lepers. When the ten met Him, as we hear in Luke 17, they stood far off. He cleansed them all, but touched none of them. This is a beautiful sign of His mercy toward Israel in another day. Then He will bless them with His gracious presence. He will heal all their diseases, just as He will forgive all their sins.
- Distance. The ten stood far off because the law of Moses put them there. Leprosy sent a person outside the camp, to live alone and cry "Unclean, unclean."
- Diagnosis. That is why Scripture uses leprosy as a picture of sin. Few spots or many, the verdict was "utterly unclean." God alone could make such a person clean.
- Levelling. Sin is the great leveller. A Samaritan stood among nine Jews because a shared ruin had wiped out the barriers they would normally keep.
- Meeting. Distance did not stop the meeting. Jesus entered their village, and man in his misery stood face to face with the Saviour.
- Mercy. He cleansed all ten without touching one. Commentators see in this a sign of the mercy God holds for Israel in a coming day.
And they lifted up [their] voice saying, Jesus, Master, have compassion on us.
Ten men with leprosy meet Jesus at the edge of a village, keep their distance as the law made them do, and shout for mercy. Their cry raises three questions: why stand so far off, why ask for mercy, and what replaces the cry once mercy comes?
The distance was not shyness. The law fixed where a leper had to stand. One writer traces that rule back to Leviticus, and reads it as a picture of where sin leaves a person.
Ten lepers met Him, taking the place their leprosy put them in, standing far off. In Leviticus we find how God dealt with leprosy. Among the diseases that come on human nature, it was set apart to represent sin, and to show what God would do with it. The leper was first put outside the camp, and that is just where sin puts you and me... So he lifted up his hands and cried, "Unclean, unclean." This is what gospel language calls conviction. There he is left outside — and with whom? No one in all creation but God. His friends and neighbours were kept far away. So no one can meet our need but Christ.
The gap was on their side, not His. Jesus had touched a leper before, so the reason for the distance lies in these men, not in Him.
It was not that Christ lacked grace enough to touch them. Their own sense of the law kept them standing far off. That was perhaps right in them, just as it was certainly the grace of His heart that made Him touch the leper who fell down at His feet.
They call out together, and that is surprising. One of them was a Samaritan, and healthy Jews kept away from Samaritans. A shared disease erased a division nothing else would have touched.
Ten men, lepers, all in one company, yet one was a Samaritan. The others were clearly Jews. In normal health they would never have kept company with that Samaritan. But they were lepers, and lepers along with him, so they gave no thought to the barrier that divided their peoples. They felt, and they showed, that as lepers there was no difference between them. There is no difference either, we learn, between the ungodly who need salvation (Rom. 3:22-23). No difference, because all have sinned.
The word they use for "Master" means someone set over others. A reference work gives its sense and lists the other places it appears.
ἐπιστάτης (epistatēs), "superintendent, overseer." Luke 5:5; Luke 8:24, 45; Luke 9:33, 49; Luke 17:13.
They ask for mercy — the one thing that admits they have no claim. Even the length of the prayer says something about the men praying it.
But they cried to Him, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." This prayer was short, but full of meaning. They asked for mercy, being utterly helpless — and their prayer confessed it. No one then did, and no one now can, truly ask for mercy and find it refused.
Commentators weigh this cry differently. One writer ranks it below faith, and still finds hope in it.
Now, they cry, "Master, have mercy on us." This was not the language of faith, but of misery, but the Lord has an ear for the voice of misery. He heard the voice of Hagar when she wandered in the wilderness, and now out of their misery these men cried, "Have mercy on us," and He had mercy. He who "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped" steps straight in, and takes God's own place toward their misery.
The prayer fits the man who still has the disease. Repeating it after the cure would say something untrue about the One who healed him.
It was quite right for a leper in his misery to cry, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on me." Would it be right once Jesus had shown mercy? Would it be worship to keep saying, "Jesus, have mercy on me, a miserable leper"? You know it would be insult, and mockery, and unbelief. And notice how welcome this worshipper was to Jesus.
- Distance — leprosy put a man outside the camp. That exile pictures where sin leaves a person, and far off was the honest place to stand.
- Levelled — a shared disease put Jew and Samaritan in one company. As lepers there was no difference between them.
- Mercy — the plea is short because it confesses helplessness, and Christ refuses no one who truly asks for mercy.
- Heard — even a cry that is misery rather than faith reaches Him; the Lord has an ear for the voice of misery.
- Replaced — once mercy is given, repeating the cry would be unbelief. Worship belongs there instead.
And seeing [them] he said to them, Go, shew yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass as they were going they were cleansed.
Ten men with leprosy stand at a distance and call out for mercy. The Lord answers with an errand, not a cure: He sends them to the priests while they are still unclean. Everything hangs on what they do with a word that gives them nothing to see, and on healing that meets them only on the road.
Israel's law had a set procedure for a man whose leprosy was gone. By keeping it, the Lord honoured the law and made the cure public.
By this the Lord tested the faith of those He spoke to. At the same time He upheld the order of the law for those who were under it. If a man was cured — however the cure came about — the law required him to go to the priest and be cleansed. Leviticus 14 sets this out with particular care and detail. It mattered in this way: it became a testimony to the power of God now at work on earth. The obvious question would arise: how did these lepers come to be cured? That would point straight to Jesus. He was there, and He truly was the vessel of God's power in grace.
Elsewhere the Lord healed first and sent afterwards. Here He reverses the order, and that is the whole test.
This put their faith to the test. They were still unclean when He told them to go and show themselves to the priests. The single leper in earlier days was first cleansed, and then sent; but the ten were to go as they were. They were sure of His power and of His unfailing compassion. He never dashed the hope of the wretched. So they acted on His word, and as they went away they were cleansed. What could the priests do? They could only confirm the cure the Master had worked and carry out their prescribed ritual. One infinitely greater and better than they had worked on ruined men to God's glory.
To send a leper to the priest was to say he was clean. The priest's job was to confirm a cure, not to work one. The men knew it.
He sends them to the priests. That was, in effect, the same as saying, You are clean. It would have been pointless to have them declared unclean; and they knew it. They take Christ's word, go away with that conviction, and are healed at once on their way.
The lepers had no symptom to point to and no sign of improvement. One writer applies this straight to the sinner.
Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. Yet nothing in them showed the slightest sign of healing. They had only the bare word of Jesus to rest on. Did they wait until they felt healed? Did they keep looking at themselves for some improvement? Oh no! They might have waited for ever, mourning and sighing. They would have said, I cannot feel I am cleansed. I cannot see any improvement in myself. No, they believed the bare word of God the Son — they went. "And as they went they were cleansed." It is the same with the sinner. You do not have to wait until you feel you are cleansed. The sinner is saved by faith, not by feeling.
The cleansing came during the walk, not before it. That matches a wider rule in Scripture.
On the whole, the Scripture is plain, and the principle is consistent. Obedience is the way of blessing. We are not to wait for power to obey a command. We obey it so that we may find power. The Lord did not restore the hand first, so that the man could stretch it out and show it. He ordered the man to stretch it out, so that it might be restored. And this is true in every possible case.
All ten received what they asked for. But receiving power from God is not the same as knowing Him.
In the ten lepers this blessed principle is brought out clearly. The Lord's healing showed in all of them alike. But there is a power greater than the power that cleanses the body, even a body ruined by leprosy. The power that belongs to God and comes out from Him is a small thing compared with the knowledge of God Himself.
- The word — No touch, no sign, only a command. That bare word of Christ was the only ground they had.
- The step — Sending them to the priest was as good as saying, You are clean. They acted on it while the disease was still on them.
- The cleansing — Health came on the road, not before it. Obedience is the way of blessing: we obey to find power, not after we have it.
- The testimony — The Lord upheld the law, and the priests met a cure they could only confirm. That pointed everyone back to the One who had healed.
- The difference — All ten were cleansed alike. But knowing God Himself is greater than receiving His power.
And one of them, seeing that he was cured, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,
Ten men with leprosy stood at a distance and begged Jesus for mercy. He cleansed all ten as they walked away to the priests, and only one of them turned back to praise God out loud.
The healing was real for all ten. What separated this man was that the gift carried him back to the Giver instead of away from Him. One writer sees the same pattern running through the whole Bible:
In Scripture, and everywhere and always, this is the mark of a godly heart: the first effect of a blessing is turning back to God and owning it there. It is not the personal enjoyment of the blessing. Enjoyment without that turning back turns us away from God. The love that gave it is more present than even the gift. See Eliezer at the well (Genesis 24), the cleansed Samaritan leper (Luke 17), and many other examples. He who gives is more and more before us than the gift itself.
The danger is not open ingratitude. It is being so content with the gift that we never go back to the Giver.
How easily even believers settle down, content with the blessing they needed, and stop short of the Blesser! But one man rose above the letter and above self. One of them saw the new responsibility that grace had created. One of the ten felt the urgent, overriding duty of going back to give glory to God.
Jesus had told all ten to go and show themselves to the priests. This man broke off that errand halfway. On the surface the other nine had the better case:
Yes, the despised Samaritan alone turned back when he saw that he was healed. The nine might argue and blame the faith that outgrew theirs. "What! You are going back to Jesus? Did He not tell us all to go and show ourselves to the priests?" That sounded reasonable, and reason clings to the letter. But above the letter is spirit, and nothing but God's mind will satisfy it. And God is not truly honoured apart from Jesus.
The Lord's own answer settles it. He saw in this man's thanks something the nine never showed:
The Lord Jesus accepts this man's thanksgiving as the particular token of his faith. The others had received a blessing just the same. It was not that they were ungrateful. But this man alone had come back to give glory to God — this stranger... There is nothing good for the soul without the sense of the glory of God. The Samaritan might not have been able to explain it. But his heart was completely true, and God guided it.
The verse says he glorified God. The next verse says where he did it. The two belong together:
The way he glorified God was not by merely crediting the blessing to God. "He fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."
The law told a cleansed leper to go to the priest with the offerings of Leviticus 14. This man walked past all of it:
But why did he not go to the priest and fulfil the law?... Why did he not need the washings, or the blood of the sin offering that Leviticus 14 commanded, to make him clean? He came to Jesus, the substance, of which those offerings were only shadows. He does not go back to the shadows. He comes to Jesus, the substance, and owns Him as God. He falls at His feet as a cleansed worshipper, giving glory to God with a loud voice.
He was a Samaritan, an outsider to Israel. He had no standing to expect help from Israel's Messiah:
All that he had asked for along with the others he received, for the mercy shown was the same to all... But nine of them were Jews, and as Jews they could claim the Messiah's help. The tenth was a Samaritan, who had no right to claim it... He, who was the most striking example of grace among them all, valued it most. And he received what the others did not: another word from the Lord.
The verse still divides readers into the one and the nine. Writers apply it directly to the life of prayer:
How often, when the well of prayer seems dry, thanksgiving will make the stream flow!... Is it a fitting thing to receive a gift and not return thanks? Between one person and another it is a breach of manners. And the case of the ten lepers shows that God notices such failure toward Him.
- Turn — the first effect of any blessing is to send the heart back to God. A gift held without that turn draws us away from Him.
- Blesser — nine were content with the cure and stopped short of the One who gave it. One went back to the Blesser, and gained by it.
- Faith — turning back looked like breaking the Lord's order. Jesus took his thanks as the mark of real faith, above the letter the others kept.
- Feet — he gave glory to God at the feet of Jesus, leaving the shadows of the law for the substance.
- Stranger — the man with no claim on mercy prized it most. He alone received a further word from the Lord.
and fell on [his] face at his feet giving him thanks and *he* was a Samaritan.
Nine cleansed men kept walking toward the priests; one turned around and ended up flat on the ground in front of Jesus, thanking Him. The detail Luke saves for the end — the man was a Samaritan, an outsider to Israel's worship — turns a story about healing into a story about who Jesus is and who recognises Him.
His thanks had a direction. He did not just credit heaven for his healing.
The healing of the Lord was equally clear in all of them. But there is a power greater than the one that cleanses the body, even a body eaten up with leprosy. The power that belongs to God and comes out from God is a small thing compared with knowing God Himself... It was the Samaritan in whom the Lord showed the power of faith... But the way he glorified God was not by merely crediting the blessing to God. "He fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving Him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan."
He had two possible destinations: the high priest, or Jesus.
The Samaritan leper did not go on to the high priest. He turned back and fell down at the feet of the Lord. There Jesus owned Himself the Lord of the temple, and His presence the temple of the Lord. "There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."
Jesus had told all ten to go to the priests. This man alone stopped short — and the Lord commended him for it.
The others might show themselves to the priests, carrying out the letter of the word of Jesus. But this stranger's heart was right and his spiritual instinct was of faith. There is nothing good for the soul without a sense of the glory of God. The Samaritan might not have been able to explain it. But his heart was completely true, and God guided it... The other nine might argue that he was presumptuous and disobedient, and that he was not acting on the Lord's word as they were. Jesus had told them to go and show themselves to the priests. But he had turned back, with no express command, to show himself to Jesus and give thanks at His feet. And appearances favour unbelief.
The ritual for a cleansed leper in the law of Moses involved birds, blood and washings. This man walked past all of it.
But why did he not go to the priest and fulfil the law? Why was no bird killed over running water? Why was no second bird dipped in its blood and let fly into the open field — pictures of death and resurrection? Why did he not need the washings for his cleansing, and the blood of the sin offering, as commanded in Leviticus 14? He came to Jesus, the substance, of which those offerings were only shadows. He does not go back to the shadows. He owns Jesus as God, falling at His feet a cleansed worshipper, giving glory to God with a loud voice.
The last thing Luke tells us is the man's nation. It explains why he alone turned back.
All that he had asked for along with the others he had received, because the mercy shown was the same to all. All had been lepers. All were healed. But nine of them were Jews, who as such could claim Messiah's help. The tenth was a Samaritan, who could not rightly claim it. This was the one who turned back and openly gave Him thanks. He, who was the most striking example of grace among them all, valued it most. And he received what the others did not. The Lord gave him another word: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." Was he a loser by turning back? Without question he was a gainer.
All ten had cried for mercy. Only one moved on from asking to thanking — and that shift is what worship is.
It was quite right for a leper in his wretchedness to cry, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on me." Would that be right now that Jesus had shown mercy? Would it have been worship to keep saying, "Jesus, have mercy on me, a miserable leper"? You know it would have been insult, mockery and unbelief.
The Lord's question about the missing nine still lands on the reader.
Which of these groups do you and I belong to? To the nine, who are content to have found salvation and redemption? Or to the one who was not satisfied with that alone, but wanted to thank his Saviour and Redeemer? The Lord's question remains for us: "But where are the nine?"
- Cleansed — All ten received the same mercy. The miracle proved nothing about their hearts. What separated the tenth man was not a better healing but a better response.
- Returned — Nine obeyed the letter and walked on to the priests. One turned back to the Person. He looked disobedient, and the Lord approved him.
- Fell — He glorified God at the feet of Jesus, not by praising heaven in general. Christ's presence was the true temple.
- Thanked — To keep begging for mercy already given would be unbelief. Thanks is the right answer of a man who knows he is clean.
- Stranger — The outsider with the smallest claim prized grace the most. He alone heard the extra word: your faith has made you well.
And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but the nine, where [are they]?
Ten men with leprosy were healed on their way to the priests, and only one came back. The Lord's question is not about the cure, which all ten received, but about the nine who never returned to the One who gave it.
All ten received the same healing. The difference was in what each man did next. One commentator draws a sharp lesson from the Lord's question.
We can be sure the Lord valued this response, but He asked "where are the nine?" How easy it is to be glad about what you receive and have almost no appreciation of the Giver! What a sad, selfish state!
The same danger reaches people who already believe.
How ready even believers are to settle down content with the blessing they needed, and to stop short of the Blesser! But one man rose above the letter of the command and above himself. One of them recognised the new responsibility that grace had created. One of the ten felt that going back to give glory to God was his immediate and highest duty.
The nine were not idle. They were walking to the priests, as Jesus had told them. The law of Moses set out a ritual there for a healed leper. One writer asks why the tenth man skipped it.
But why did he not go to the priest and fulfil the law? Why was no bird killed over running water, and no second bird dipped in its blood and set free over the open field — pictures of death and resurrection? Why did he not need the washings for his cleansing, or the blood of the sin offering commanded in Leviticus 14? He did not go back to the shadows. He came to Jesus, the substance those offerings only pictured, and owned Him as God. He fell at His feet as a cleansed worshipper, giving glory to God with a loud voice.
On the surface the returning man broke ranks. He turned back instead of going on to the priest. One writer shows how that looked to the others.
On the face of it this was disobedience, and the others could fairly accuse their Samaritan companion of being unfaithful to Jesus. But faith is always right, whatever things look like… He did not go on to the priest. Instead he recognised in Jesus the power and goodness of God on earth. That was the instinct of the very faith God had given, working in his heart and carrying him back to the source of the blessing. He was the only one of the ten who entered into the spirit not only of the blessing, but of the One who gave the blessing.
The Lord's own verdict settles it. He does not correct the man for turning back. His answer names what set this one apart.
The Lord Jesus accepts this man's thanksgiving as the special mark of his faith. The others had received a blessing just as he had. It was not that they were ungrateful, but this man alone came back to give glory to God — this stranger… Nothing is good for the soul without a sense of the glory of God.
Jesus points out the man's background. He was a Samaritan — an outsider to Israel, with no claim on their promised King. One writer argues that this is why he valued the gift most.
He had asked for the same thing as the others, and he received it, for the mercy shown was the same to all. All had been lepers. All were healed. But nine of them were Jews, and as Jews they could claim their Messiah's help. The tenth was a Samaritan, who had no such claim… The one who was the clearest example of grace among them valued it the most. And he got what the others did not — another word from the Lord: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." Did he lose by turning back? He clearly gained. His conduct shows that those who value grace most are the ones who have received the most of it, like Paul, the chief of sinners, who never forgot what grace had done for him.
There is joy in the Lord's words, and sorrow too. And the question He asks still reaches the reader.
What joy that brought the Lord Jesus! Yet there was sadness and disappointment too in the Saviour's searching question: "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" Which of these two groups do you and I belong to? To the nine, who are content to have found salvation and redemption? Or to the one who was not satisfied with that alone, but wanted to thank His Saviour and Redeemer?
Thanks is not a nicety we may skip. It is basic decency, and God notices when it is missing.
Is it a fit thing to receive a gift and not return thanks? Between man and man it is a breach of manners; and that God takes notice of such failure towards Him is certain from the case of the ten lepers.
- Cleansed — All ten received the same cure. The Lord's question is about what happened after the gift.
- Content — Nine stopped at the blessing and never reached the Blesser. Being glad about a gift is not the same as caring about the Giver.
- Constrained — One man turned back, and what looked like disobedience was faith. Jesus took his thanksgiving as the proof of it.
- Counted least — The outsider with the smallest claim valued grace the most. He alone received a further word from the Lord.
- Called out — "Where are the nine?" still asks the reader one thing: are you content with rescue, or do you go back to thank the Rescuer?
There have not been found to return and give glory to God save this stranger.
The Lord had just healed ten men of leprosy, and only one came back — a Samaritan, an outsider to Israel. His question about the missing nine goes deeper than manners. It shows the gap between taking a blessing and knowing the One who gave it.
Nine men walked away cured and never came back. God noticed.
Is it right to receive a gift and give no thanks? Between one person and another it is bad manners. And the case of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) proves that God notices the same failure towards Him. Only one of the ten cleansed men came back to give thanks, and how moving the Lord's comment is!
All ten had the same cure. The difference lay in whether the healing carried them any further than their own relief.
How ready even believers are to settle down content with the blessing they needed, and to stop short of the Blesser! But one man rose above the letter and above himself. One of them saw the new responsibility that grace had created. One of the ten felt that his first and highest duty was to turn back and give glory to God, and to honour the Man who is His image and His Son, just as the Father is honoured.
The Lord's word "foreigner" also tells us something about the nine.
How easy it is to be glad about what we receive and have almost no thought for the Giver! What a sad, selfish state! Also, at least some of the nine were Jews. We know this because the Lord called the Samaritan "this foreigner." So even Jews, blessed as they were by Him, still had no real heart for their Messiah!
The law told a cleansed leper where to go. This man went somewhere else — to the feet of Jesus.
But why did he not go to the priest and keep the law? Why was no bird killed over running water, and no second bird dipped in its blood and set free over the open field — pictures of death and resurrection? Why did he not need the washings and the blood of the sin-offering that Leviticus 14 commands for cleansing? He came to Jesus, the reality that those offerings only pictured. He does not go back to the shadows. He comes to Jesus, the reality, and owns Him as God. He falls at His feet as a cleansed worshipper, giving glory to God with a loud voice.
The Lord accepted that worship at His own feet, instead of sending the man on to the temple.
The Samaritan leper did not go on to the High Priest. He turned back and fell down at the feet of the Lord. By this Jesus owned Himself as the Lord of the temple, and His own presence as the temple of the Lord. "Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"
Jesus had told all ten to go to the priests. This one turned round instead. On the surface, the nine had the stronger case.
The Lord Jesus accepts this man's thanksgiving as the special mark of his faith. The others had received the same blessing, and it was not that they were unthankful. But this man alone came back to give glory to God — and he was a foreigner. Nothing is good for the soul without a sense of the glory of God. The Samaritan may not have been able to explain himself, but his heart was true and God guided it. So he was far more right than others who seemed to reason better.
The nine had every religious advantage. It made no difference.
So here we have grace for the worst. But the lowest person that grace reaches is very often the one who enters most into the fullness of grace in God. He may be the neediest of men. Yet the very depth of his need shows what God is. So grace is often seen and enjoyed far more simply by him than by others who could boast of much greater privileges.
He alone heard a second word from Christ — "your faith has made you well" — spoken to a man already cured.
The Lord was not speaking of the man's body, because the other nine had been healed too, even without faith. This man's healing was spiritual. Real faith had brought him to God, and the Lord gave him this precious assurance. Again, only faith can value the pure grace of God and respond to it.
- Cleansed. Ten men received the same cure from the same word. The gift alone proves nothing about the heart.
- Counted. Christ noticed the nine who never came back. God takes account of thanks we never give.
- Returned. One man turned to the Giver, not just the gift, and that took him straight to the feet of Jesus.
- Foreigner. The man with the least religious standing valued grace the most. Deep need shows what God is.
- Whole. The one who came back heard a word the others never heard. His healing went deeper than his skin, because faith brought him to God Himself.
And he said to him, Rise up and go thy way thy faith has made thee well.
Ten men with an incurable disease called out to Jesus, and He cleansed all ten as they walked away. Only one came back. To him alone the Lord speaks this further word. What did he get that the other nine did not?
The Lord cured all ten. So this last word must mean more than the cure.
The Lord gave the Samaritan an assurance He gave to none of the others: "Your faith has made you well." He was not speaking about the man's body. The other nine had been healed too, even apart from faith. This man was healed in his soul. Real faith had brought him to God, and the Lord gave him this precious assurance.
The Lord's word can also be translated "saved."
"Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well" (or, "saved you"). The cleansing was wonderful, but it was only a picture of a deeper cure — the salvation of the soul. God in Christ came out to man in his sins, and man justified can now go in to God, even in the holiest.
Nine men had what they asked for, and kept walking.
Even believers easily settle for the blessing they needed and stop short of the Blesser! But one man rose above the letter and above himself. One of them saw the new responsibility that grace had created. One of the ten felt that his first and highest duty was to go back, to give glory to God, and to honour the Man who is His image and His Son, just as the Father is honoured.
Jesus had told all ten to go and show themselves to the priests. The one who turned back seemed to be breaking that instruction — and the Lord commended him.
Yes, the despised Samaritan alone turned back when he saw that he was healed. The nine might argue and blame the faith that outgrew theirs. "What! You are going back to Jesus! Did He not tell us all to go and show ourselves to the priests?" That sounded reasonable, and it clings to the letter. But above the letter is the spirit, and nothing but God's mind satisfies the spirit. And God is not truly honoured apart from Jesus.
His instinct was better than the argument against it.
He got lifted above the customs of the law by a glimpse of the Person who dispensed the mercy. So he heard from the Lord's own lips that he was made whole, and heard too that his faith had been the instrument of it. This was worth far more than any assurance he could get from the priests. Intelligent faith always puts Christ first.
He was a Samaritan — an outsider to Israel with no standing to claim help from Israel's Messiah.
All had been lepers. All were healed. But nine of them were Jews, who as such could claim Messiah's help. The tenth was a Samaritan, who could not rightly claim it... He, who was the most striking example of grace among them all, valued it most. And he got what the others did not — another word from the Lord: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." Did he lose by turning back? Without question he gained.
The Lord never sends him on to the priest after all.
When God brings a soul to Himself like this, there is no question of showing yourself to priests on earth. Priests had their place once, for those who were under the law. But when grace set a soul free from it... grace could not leave him under the law, still less put him there. So the Lord says, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." ... He was to go his way in liberty of heart. This is the calling of a Christian.
One came back out of ten. Commentators put that ratio to readers today.
This poor Samaritan stranger had none of the Jewish religious leanings that drew the other nine back to the law and its shadows. The religion of the nine kept them away. They never took that happy place at the feet of Jesus, as cleansed worshippers giving glory to God. And it is the same today. Think of those who are cleansed, who are Christians. Is even one in ten of them giving glory to God from the heart? Do they know their happy place as purged worshippers?
- Cleansed. Ten obeyed, and the Lord cured all ten; the cure showed His power but did not by itself bring anyone to God.
- Returned. One turned back to the Giver instead of stopping at the gift — the move that separates him from the nine.
- Whole. The Lord's extra word means more than a healed body. The cleansing pictures salvation of the soul.
- Valued. The outsider with the least claim prized the mercy most, and gained rather than lost by coming back.
- Free. "Go your way" sends him off in liberty, with no priest left to satisfy — the standing of everyone who believes.