Welcome to another installment of “Well That’s Interesting” (you can find the first post with a detailed explanation of the series here, or bookmark this page to keep track of the whole series).
For the first time in a while, we’re heading back to one of the gospels—today it’s Luke! It’s also been a while since we’ve taken a smaller passage and taken it verse-by-verse, so that’s what we’re going to do today. We’re going to be looking at a passage that is unique to Luke’s gospel, so let’s just dive right in with Luke 17:11.
While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
Luke 17:11 NASB
One of the things I love about Luke’s gospel is that in many places it is very detailed. Luke was a doctor, and he wasn’t afraid to highlight specifics of an event when he, as led by the Holy Spirit, wrote his account. What’s great about this, is when a story or event does not have a lot of detail, we can infer that the missing specifics aren’t relevant, and really focus on what is included. Such is the case with the first verse in our passage today. Luke tells us that Jesus was “on the way to Jerusalem”, and that he “was passing between Samaria and Galilee”. The next verse simply tells us that he entered “a village”. It all seems very vague, so what is important and what isn’t?
Well, the fact that Jesus was heading for Jerusalem is something that Luke highlights multiple times in his gospel. In Luke 9:51 we read: “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem”. Then in 13:22 he “was passing through one city and village after another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem”. He knows what is coming, and he is working his way there. We might see it as Luke’s way of sort of consistently reminding the reader of Jesus’ end goal, and how his various actions fit into that picture and worked towards that end. The fact that he was on the border of Samaria and Galilee will be relevant a little later on in the story so let’s continue with the next couple of verses, entering into the body of the story.
The People
And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
Luke 17:12–13 NASB
Jesus enters a village, the specifics of which are clearly not important. What is important is that ten men with leprosy were by the entrance, keeping their distance. This was the custom for those with a (potentially contagious) skin disease. According to Jewish purity laws, they were considered “unclean” and were not welcome in an amongst others in society (Lev. 13). For risk of passing on their uncleanliness (physically or ritually), those with leprosy were not even allowed to come close to other non-infected people, and they had to call out to anyone who came too near so that contact could be avoided. To think about it in today’s terms, in spring of 2021 as I write this, imagine someone walking around with a big sign that says “I have COVID!” To use an idiom that is perhaps cliché at this point, we’d avoid them like the plague! Or imagine you tested positive for the virus, and instead of being told to go home and isolate, you were told you had to leave the town, to live out your days as an outcast. Leprosy was completely and utterly life-altering.
What’s important to note here, however, is that these men are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. They meet Jesus as he is entering the village, which implies that they, themselves, are on the outskirts. And rather than getting too close or rushing up to him, as many who desired healing have done throughout the gospels, they call out to him, keeping their distance. They do what is expected of them. But that doesn’t stop them from recognizing this travelling Rabbi, whose reputation for healing had no-doubt preceded him. “Master”, they call him, a title used only by Luke in the New Testament; “Have mercy on us!” It’s the same cry as the blind men in Matthew 9 which we just heard about in last week’s sermon. It’s a call for compassion, restoration, and healing. At this point in the narrative, Jesus had already had interactions with a leprous man in 5:12. Let’s see how this event compares.
The Healing
When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:14 NASB
I think this has to be one of Jesus’ most interesting healing miracles. In contrast to the aforementioned leper in chapter 5, where Jesus breaks the mold by touching the unclean man and healing him instantly, this situation is quite different. It also feels distinct from many of the other healings from a distance, where Jesus tells the Centurion that his servant will be healed in Matthew 8, for instance. Here, we don’t see Jesus touch them, or even directly proclaim healing upon them. He tells them to go present themselves to the priests, which was the proper follow-up for when a skin disease was cured (Lev. 14). It’s a unique circumstance where Jesus invites the men to demonstrate faith that he will give them what they seek, without even directly addressing the issue at hand. The subtext is: “go to the priest, trusting that by the time you get there, you will be healed and can be declared clean“; but how interesting it is that Jesus doesn’t fully say that. It must only be because these men knew of Jesus and his reputation as a healer, that they also knew what to expect when they did what he told them to do. And sure enough, as they step out in faith, they are cleansed.
Now, before we continue on to the next couple of verses, I want to acknowledge a recurring theme that shows up in this passage that is also important in the earlier verses of chapter 17. The theme is expectations. We see the lepers doing what is expected of them. We see Jesus doing what they expect him to do, and in the process, he also commands them to do what is expected, in going to the priests. In verses 7–10, Jesus talks about how a servant of his should expect to be treated for doing what is expected of them. That is, they should not expect gratitude just for doing what they ought to do. But in this next section of verses, we’re going to see the expectations shift a bit.
The Response
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:15–16 NASB
This is the first time in the story that one of the men breaks out of the expectation in one sense, and yet in another sense does exactly what is expected of him. While heading to the priest, he notices that he is healed, and rather than continue on to do what the Law demands with the other men, he takes time to turn and run back to Jesus, praising God and demonstrating his gratitude. Luke adds in the interesting detail that this man was a Samaritan. As was the case with the parable of the commonly titled “Good Samaritan” in Luke 10, this man steps away from the assumptions of the Jewish people. In fact, in “praising God” by prostrating himself at the feet of Jesus, the man demonstrates a better understanding of Jesus’ identity and mission than most. Jesus’ response couldn’t be clearer:
But Jesus responded and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
Luke 17:17–18 NASB
In breaking away from the rest, this Samaritan, despised as he would have been by the Jewish people, whether with leprosy or without, is the one who has the response that Jesus expects. Really it’s the response that they all should have had, as we can infer from Jesus’ rhetorical questions. How world-bending and mind-shifting it would have been that the leprous Samaritan, the “foreigner”, was the one who actually did what he ought to have done; the one who demonstrated the gratitude a miracle like this deserved. It reminds me, although I contrasted them above, of the story of the Roman Centurion, whom Jesus says demonstrates more faith than all of Israel (Matt. 8:10). Part of what is important here, as I mentioned above, is that the man returned to Jesus to show his praise to God. It could be that the other healed lepers praised God where they were, or praised God after being declared clean by the priest. But of all ten of them, only this man returns to thank Jesus. That’s big. Let’s read the final verse.
And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 11:19 NASB
In turn, only this man receives the gift that is encapsulated in these final words of proclamation from Jesus himself. He receives the blessing of assurance that he has put his faith in the right place, not only by trusting Jesus for healing, but in returning to worship him with gratitude.
Why Does it Matter?
In moving to application today, I want to take a moment to focus on the nine and then the one. First, the nine leprous men who did not return. Part of what I think is really interesting about this text is that we don’t hear anything more about them. In many ways, they are unremarkable, as for all intents and purposes, they did what was expected of them culturally. That is to say, according to the purity Laws, upon being cleansed of their leprosy, miraculous thought it was, they ought to have gone to the priest to be declared clean. Yet when they don’t return to Jesus, what the text leads us to understand was what they really should have done, what are the consequences? We aren’t told that their leprosy came back, or that they failed to pass the cleanliness test with the priest. We also note that just in following Jesus’ command to go to the priests, while still leprous, they demonstrated the trust and faith that brought about their healing.
Yet the text clearly draws the focus to the one who acted differently. The one who broke away from the cultural, societal, and religious expectations and is instead acknowledged as being the one who did what Jesus wanted him to do. He put his praise of God and his faith in Jesus above the other priorities and expectations in his life. And so I want to end today’s post by considering the steps of faith this man took, and ask some questions for all of us to consider that I’ve been thinking about as I read this text. Do I ever allow cultural/societal/familial/religious/etc. expectations get in the way of worshiping God? Do I ever miss out on opportunities to be blessed by God because of my lack of willingness to step out in faith? Do I ever forget to demonstrate my gratitude for the blessings God has given me, or the ways he has answered my prayers?
Andrew is the Associate Pastor at Oakridge Bible Chapel. He grew up in a Christian home, and spent time serving in churches of varying sizes and denominations before landing at Oakridge with his wife in 2017. He likes to verbally process theological issues he finds challenging and is always ready to learn something new. He has a passion for teaching the Bible, and seeking to explain confusing passages in a clear way, preferably with a good illustration or two.