Luke 17:11 | NKJV (11) Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
Samaria was an area that Orthodox Jews did not go into because the Samaritans were half-breed Jews because they had at one time married Gentiles. Despite all of this, Jesus walked right through (in the midst) of this region. Why? Because religious tradition did not dictate to Jesus where He went or did not go and who He should talk to or not.
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- Jesus went anywhere there were hurting and/or hungry people.
He did not care about what people would say about where He went.
No matter where someone’s life might be, off course, and away from God, Jesus will pass right through the midst of their life to reach them like He did these people. He loves people that much. He was letting this society of outcasts know that He was available to them.
Jesus will never force Himself on someone, but He is available to everyone who will receive Him.
Luke 17:12 | NKJV (12) Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
These men must have been deemed outcasts by the priest because of their physical condition of leprosy. They left their lives, their families, and their society. Therefore, it was not uncommon for lepers to live together in groups, because all they had was each other. They had to stay a certain distance from other people.
Also, if someone caught leprosy, it was believed that they had come under the judgment of God for some reason. They were looked down upon because of this mindset. They did not receive compassion from others in society because it was believed that God had done this to these people. God does not put sickness and disease on anyone! These lepers came as close as they could to Jesus and the other people without violating the guidelines of the law.
Luke 17:13 | NKJV (13) And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
They would not have called out to Jesus for help unless they had heard something about Jesus. They were in a hopeless situation but somehow, they received hope that Jesus could and would help them.
Many people needing healing would cry out for mercy. Sometimes, they would not say, “heal us” but “have mercy on me.” They would cry out for God’s mercy.
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- This tells us that healing is a flow of God’s mercy.
Psalms 145:8-9 | NKJV (8) The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. (9) The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
2 Corinthians 1:3 | NKJV (3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
God has more than one mercy. Forgiveness of sin is one and healing is another.
Matthew 9:27 | NKJV (27) When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Matthew 15:22 | NKJV (22) And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
Matthew 17:15 | NKJV (15) “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
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- Anything that their life needed, God’s mercy could fulfill!
- The mercy of God contains all the help of God!
Luke 17:14 | NKJV (14) So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:14 MSG Taking a good look at them…
The word was given to them, “Go show yourself to the priests” before there was any physical change in their bodies. The ONLY reason to go show themselves to the priests would have been if they were cleansed (healed). The men turned and went believing the words of Jesus and “as they went”, they were cleansed. The removal of leprosy is referred to as a “cleansing” and not as a “healing”. The process of leprosy was stopped at that moment. No more damage to the skin was taking place.
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- When we need a miracle, He will give us a word to obey.
To go and show themselves to the priests meant they were to go somewhere they weren’t supposed to be among people. This required faith to obey this instruction.
Luke 17:15-16 | NKJV (15) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, (16) and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
He must have not seen anything when he first went, but as he obeyed what Jesus said to him, he was healed.
“…loud voice…” (GREEK) megas phōnē
This man got loud in his giving of thanks. He was a Samaritan. He did not know the formal way to worship God. He had not been taught.
Before now, he was visibly a leper, but now he was very loudly healed!
Luke 17:17-18 | NKJV (17) So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? (18) Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
Jesus was expecting all of them to return to give thanks! Returning to give God glory for what He has done for us is important to us and it is important to Him. Only one returned to express proper gratitude for what they had received. Are we showing proper gratitude to the Lord for what He has done in our lives?
Gratitude keeps the door shut from allowing the devil from being able to steal what we have received.
Luke 17:19 | NKJV (19) And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (KJV – “whole”)
When the man returned and worshipped Jesus, Jesus called that “faith”.
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- Worship is one of the highest flows of faith.
The other lepers were healed of leprosy, but this man was made whole. The process of leprosy was stopped in all ten of the men, but this man had received what was taken by the disease restored and made whole. This man’s worship gave him something the others did not receive from Jesus.
Jesus was disappointed that the others did not return because He wanted to make them whole too.
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- Worship connects us to the mercy and the healing power of God.