The Thankful Leper
On the border between Samaria and Galilee, ten lepers stood far off - as the law required - and lifted their voices together: 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.' Jesus simply told them to go show themselves to the priests, the required step for certifying a cleansing that had not yet happened; and 'as they went, they were cleansed' - healed in the act of obeying before seeing. But only one, seeing he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell at Jesus's feet in thanks - 'and he was a Samaritan.' Jesus's threefold question still stings: 'Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?' To the one who returned he added something the other nine never heard: 'thy faith hath made thee whole' - a wholeness beyond the healing itself. The story pairs the rarity of gratitude with the recurring Gospel surprise that the outsider gets it right.
Biography
- Era
- New Testament
- Nationality
- Samaritan
Did You Know?
The ten lepers were healed 'as they went' - the cleansing happened mid-obedience, before any evidence appeared.
Jesus's question 'Where are the nine?' is one of only a few times the Gospels record him expressing disappointment at ingratitude.
Leviticus required a cleansed leper to offer two birds, cedar, scarlet, and hyssop - the nine went off to ritual; the Samaritan came back to the healer.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
One of Ten Returns
Luke 17:11-19
Ten received healing; one received wholeness - the difference was a walk back to say thank you, and the one who made it was the foreigner.
11nd it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.