In the time of Jesus, people considered lepers ceremonially “unclean,” and separated them from healthy people, including their families. They lived outside of their communities. They could not work, attend synagogue, or even live in the city. Let’s look at the story of when Jesus heals the ten lepers, and see how each man reacted.
They were societal outcasts in every way, living with a miserable and sometimes fatal condition. Leprosy was a terrible disease that could affect all body parts- nerves (causing them to lose feeling) and the appearance of sores on their skin and eyes. Losing the sense of touch and pain led to an increase in injuries. It was a progressive and disfiguring death that could take years to die from.
Jesus Christ healed several lepers during His ministry. We’re going to concentrate on the story of Jesus healing a group of lepers found in the Gospel of Luke.
We first encounter leprosy, however, in the Old Testament. Jewish law in the book of Leviticus had specific regulations for those suffering from any skin disorders or infectious diseases, including leprosy. (Leviticus 13:1-45)
Verse 45 gives these instructions for skin conditions:
“The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside of camp.”
People also believed that leprosy symbolized divine punishment, or a mark of sin or impurity, which only added to their social exclusion and isolation. (Bacteria causes leprosy, but without this knowledge, the causes were a mystery in Bible times.)
Leprosy could go into remission, and if the leper thought this was the case, they were to go to the priest, who could declare him clean.
Is there a spiritual meaning of leprosy? Leprosy was a dreaded skin disease that slowly ate away at a person’s flesh. This disease kept the leper separated from all others without the disease.
In a spiritual sense, isn’t this a vivid picture of what sin does to us? Spiritually, we are all “lepers,” or sinners in God’s eyes. Sin slowly eats away at us, separating us from our heavenly Father. We must fall at the feet of Jesus and repent of our sin, accepting His sacrifice and forgiveness. We need faith to be cleansed.
Luke 17:12-19
While on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. He heals ten men with leprosy.
“As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ When he saw them, He said, ‘Go, show ourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed. 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.”
Jesus didn’t reject the men or ignore their cries for help. They didn’t even ask for healing. He acknowledged their request and spoke to them; healing with only His words from afar.
Their faith was strong enough that they all went to see the priest before the healing took place. He blesses them for their faith to obey His command.
Jesus healed 10 lepers, but only one, as he recognized his healing, returned to give thanks with deep gratefulness and joy. Jesus took notice of the Samaritan man’s heart of gratitude.
All ten received physical healing, but the nine Jewish men received their gift with an ungrateful spirit. They received their healing and moved on. Maybe they were too busy or excited; looking forward to a reunion with their families. Maybe they were already making plans for their new future.
Why would they not think of thanking Jesus for His amazing gift? How could this amazing encounter with Jesus not be life-changing for them?
No one looking on would have thought the foreigner- the Samaritan- would be the one man to return and give thanks. In Jesus’ day, people considered Samaritans a despised class of Israelites who built their own temple, only read the first 5 books of the Bible, and intermarried with non-Jews. The Jews considered them lower than the Gentiles!
The other nine went through with the religious ceremonial cleansing, but the thankful leper also had a grateful heart that overflowed with loud and spontaneous praise!
Jesus expresses His dismay that the nine others lacked an attitude of gratitude and did not return to give thanks. Just as Jesus noticed the lack of gratitude in the nine lepers, He also notices ours.
Importance of Gratitude
In our culture today, being self-sufficient, comparison with others, and the refusal to depend on God are stumbling blocks to show gratitude. Christians have the advantage of truly knowing the goodness of God and the awesome gift of redemption. Meeting Jesus transforms our lives! We are a new creation!
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old thing have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Gratitude to our Savior is more than good manners. Gratitude brings God’s blessings when expressed. The leper received the blessing of not only physical healing, but spiritual healing. The leper received this gift because of his thankfulness. He was more enthralled with who Jesus was than what Jesus could do for him.
Acknowledging who He is, as well as the gifts He brings, is pleasing to God. We should be worshipping Him and giving Him all the glory. That is true thanksgiving. A heart of gratitude, full of love for the blessings He brings, honors God.
Jesus knew an attitude of gratitude contributes to a wholeness and healing of not only our bodies, but our mind and soul as well. It keeps us focused on Him- the source of love and grace in our lives.
Let’s make it a priority to not only love His gifts and blessings, but to remember God is the giver. Let’s give back thoughtful, enthusiastic worship and praise that flows from grateful hearts.
How can we grow our own attitude of gratitude?
*Practice writing out your gratitude, either through a journal or a note on our phone/computer. The practice of putting effort into thinking of the things we are thankful for and writing them out forces us to take but a few moments of our day to be grateful to God.
*Practice expressing your gratitude (verbally or written) to your friends and family. It can be a day brightener for them, and encourage/remind you to do it more often.
*Remember to be thankful for the little things– a beautiful sunset, your child’s laughter, beautiful flowers, etc.
Dear God, Thank you for this story and the lessons it offers. Forgive us for our ingratitude. Distractions and stress consume us so often; we forget about all the things that come from your love and grace. You have chosen us and redeemed us. You have sealed us with your Holy Spirit. We pray to be convicted to not only give you thanks, but also to give you the glory and worship you so deserve. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Thanksgiving Blessings!
AnnMarie
Reflection:
*Is your faith as strong as these 10 men? Would act on what He says even before seeing any evidence of it at work?
*I had never thought about the fact that God notices when we express our gratitude to Him. He knows I’m thankful, right? It certainly pricked my conscience a bit to know sometimes I am like the nine lepers who didn’t come back to thank Jesus.
*How many times do we pray for something specific and when that prayer is answered, we move on to the latest need? I realized that there’s a difference in feeling grateful vs expressing our thanks to the Giver.
*How many times do we ask for things (health, safety, etc,) instead of Him??
My top take away: don’t just feel grateful rather also take the time to thank God for his gifts, answered prayer and all the things throughout the day we are thankful for.
Right? It’s taking the time to thank Him from our hearts, with praise and worship! We get so busy and while feeling grateful, need to express it. I was convicted!