Jesus Heals Ten Lepers
While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered iand said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
— Luke 17:11-21
The events of John 11, Jesus' raising of Lazarus, separated Jesus' discourse in Luke 14:25 to 17:10 from verse 11, the healing of the ten lepers. Even though at this time Jesus was travelling away from Jerusalem geographically speaking, Luke says He was on the way to Jerusalem. Darrell Bock explains this:
"We should see the journey-to-Jerusalem theme as more temporal or literary than strictly geographical. In this light it would be accurate to say Jesus was “nearing” Jerusalem even when he was not physically moving toward it, for all the while the time was drawing nearer for him to go to Jerusalem. This passage refers to a journey of destiny, not an itinerary."
Upon entering a village near the border between Samaria and Galilee Jesus was welcomed by a mixed group of lepers. Jews and Samaritans don't normally go together, 'For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans' (John 4:9). But because they are all outcasts and unfit for social life anyway, their ethnic quarrels no longer matter. Jewish law requires them to live in seclusion and warn others of their disease.
“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
— Leviticus 13:45-46
Because physical contact will cause defilement, they shouted at Jesus from a distance begging for His mercy to heal them. The Jews know no cure for leprosy. Although there are instructions to examine, quarantine, and isolate the infected, there are no provision for treatment. They are completely to leave it in God's hands to cure. There are some people in the Old Testament who are miraculously cured of leprosy like Moses (Ex. 4:7), Miriam (Num. 12:10), and Naaman (2 Kin. 5:1, 10).
The ten lepers believed that Jesus can supernaturally heal them as at this time there are no known natural cure. Jesus told them to show themselves to the priests as instructed in Leviticus 14 to perform ceremonial purification. Once publicly declared clean by the priests they can be accepted back to the community. They obeyed Jesus even if they haven't been cured yet and as they were on their way they were healed.
The nine Jewish lepers, perhaps excited to get their old life back with their families, forgot to thank the One who healed them. They were fervent in prayer to Jesus in their desperate condition but quick to disregard Him when they are well. We must also ask ourselves how much longer is our list of prayer requests than our thanksgivings? How often do we pray when we need something from God than when we feel we are self-sufficient? How quick do we enjoy God's blessings before praising Him? How easier do we complain with a little discomfort than appreciating the daily providence we often take for granted?
An ungrateful heart, left unchecked to accumulate bitterness, discontentment, and entitlement, is a root of many evils.
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
— Romans 1:21
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
— Romans 1:28-32
The Samaritan however, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. It is unclear if he already knew Jesus as God but the Samaritan knew his healing can only come from God. Prostrating himself at Jesus' feet is an act of worship done only to God and forbidden to others. The fact that Jesus didn't prevent the man means He receives worship as God.
When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am just a man.”
— Acts 10:25-26
Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
— Revelation 19:10
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”
— Revelation 22:8-9
Warren Wiersbe comments:
"By coming to Jesus, the man received something greater than physical healing: He was also saved from his sins. Jesus said, “Your faith has saved you” (literal translation), the same words He spoke to the repentant woman who anointed His feet (Luke 7:50). The Samaritan’s nine friends were declared clean by the priest, but he was declared saved by the Son of God! While it is wonderful to experience the miracle of physical healing, it is even more wonderful to experience the miracle of eternal salvation. Every child of God should cultivate the grace of gratitude. It not only opens the heart to further blessings but glorifies and pleases the Father."
Because John the baptist and Jesus have been preaching that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" since the beginning of their ministry, the Pharisees were curious when it would come. Jesus answered them that it would not come by spying or careful observation and watching of signs. Looking for the kingdom that way clouds their view that the King is right in front of them.
Michael Vlach explains it accurately:
There are three reasons for preferring the “in your midst” view over the “within you” perspective.
First, the immediate audience to whom Jesus was speaking was the Pharisees (“He answered them and said”). Jesus probably would not say the kingdom of God was in their hearts. The Pharisees had wicked hearts, not hearts in which the kingdom resided. Some have claimed, though, that Jesus was speaking in a generic fashion and making a general statement that the kingdom is an inner spiritual reality for those who receive it without claiming the kingdom was presently in the heart of the Pharisees. But v. 20 makes it clear the Pharisees were the recipients of His words, an unlikely target for a present inner kingdom of the heart. As Geerhardus Vos puts it, “of the unbelieving Pharisees it could scarcely be said that the kingdom was ‘within’ them.”6
Second, the later passages of Luke 19:11–27 and 21:31 reveal the kingdom is not a present spiritual kingdom in the heart but a kingdom that will come in the future with Jesus’ return. Jesus offers the parable of the minas to counter the idea that the kingdom would be established immediately (Luke 19:11–27). With Luke 21:31 Jesus indicates the kingdom would only be near with the cataclysmic events of the coming tribulation period. If Jesus was preaching a spiritual kingdom of the heart why does He make it so clear after 17:21 that the kingdom was a tangible and future entity?
Third, the “within reach” or “in your midst” understanding aligns best with the engiken term that was used several times concerning the kingdom in passages like Matt 3:2; 4:17; and 10:7. This term is best translated “near” or “at hand” and indicates imminence but not arrival.
The reason Jesus told the religious leaders not to look for signs of the kingdom is because the kingdom was present in Jesus’ person as He stood before them at that time. To paraphrase, Jesus is saying something like, “Don’t look for signs of the kingdom because, the kingdom is right in front of you with My presence.” Why search for that which is standing before you? Jesus’ personal presence means a presence of the kingdom. When Jesus foretells future events in Luke 21, He tells His apostles that cosmic signs and other future events are signs of the kingdom’s nearness (“So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near”—Luke 21:31).
Note the difference between Luke 17:21 and Luke 21:31:
Luke 17:20–21: Jesus says not to look for signs concerning the kingdom.
Luke 21:31: Jesus says to look for signs concerning the kingdom.
The best way to harmonize these two passages is to understand that Jesus’ bodily presence carries with it a presence of the kingdom. Yet His presence changes when He ascends bodily to heaven. His physical presence awaits His second coming and kingdom. So at the time of Luke 17:20–21 there was no need to look for signs of the kingdom. People were responsible to respond to Jesus who was standing before them. The kingdom was present at that time in His person. But when Jesus ascends to heaven and is bodily absent from the earth, circumstances change. One then can look for signs of His return and the coming of the kingdom of God (Luke 21:31). When Jesus returns He will bring the kingdom with Him (Matt 25:31).
There is much debate over Luke 17:20–21, but context reveals that “in your midst” is a better translation than “within you.” This passage does not teach the kingdom is only a present spiritual kingdom. Viviano warns against using this verse as a starting part for an overly spiritualized view of the kingdom:
Unfortunately, this verse has been abused throughout history and led to an overly spiritual depoliticized and then trivialized interpretation of the Kingdom. It is a mistake to make this verse the starting point of our understanding of the Kingdom in the proclamation of Jesus.
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