“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’” (Luke 17:15-19)
Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem, where Jesus would suffer and die. They were on the road through Samaria when they were confronted by a group of ten lepers. Leprosy, now known as Hansen’s disease, a neurological disorder, was, in ancient times, probably nothing more than a rash, psoriasis, or eczema. Nevertheless such disorders were considered a punishment for sin. Lepers were outcasts and pariahs. They could not go into the Temple, worship or offer sacrifice, nor could not participate in the social life of the community. They had to be isolated in the countryside away from everyone including loved ones. The ten Jesus encountered and healed included one non-Jew, a Samaritan. The Jews hated the Samaritans because they were half-breeds whose religion was a mixture of pagan idolatry and Judaism. Contact with Samaritans made them as much unclean as contact with lepers. This Samaritan was doubly cursed, doubly unclean. Not only was he a leper, an outcast from his own society, he was not a member of God’s chosen people and had no hope of ever becoming one.
Yet this Samaritan was granted saving faith by Jesus Himself. Like the other lepers he had initially trusted in the reputation of Jesus as a miracle worker. But something happened within his heart when he realized he was cleansed. Because this man was twice as far from the kingdom of God as the others, perhaps he was the only one who was in the very position to know that this mercy granted to Him came from God Himself. He realized that His healing meant that God had blessed Him not just with physical health but with acceptance. He realized even that he, outside of God’s covenant family, had received a great blessing that demonstrated that God loved him. The one who had cleansed him cared enough about him that He made him whole.
Jesus does the same for all who come to faith in Him. Each one of us is like those lepers, tainted by the leprosy of sin. Some realize it, most do not. We who realize it are the ones who call out for God’s mercy and grace and receive it because we realize are sinners who can never make ourselves right with Him. We know we need God to save us. Those who do not realize this remain under the curse of sin and death. They may be satisfied with the blessings of daily life but they fail to see the need for eternal life. We who realize we are spiritual lepers are indeed blessed for though we may have little or nothing in this world we have faith, we have eternal life. We are citizens of God’s Kingdom. And we must tell the lepers of this world that there is hope of eternal life for them in Jesus.