As Jesus was going into Samira He met 10 men with leprosy, “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. And ONE OF THEM, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and WITH A LOUD VOICE GLORIFIED GOD, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And HE WAS A SAMARITAN. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL.“ (Luke 17:14-19) This event offers us an image of who and what matters to Jesus.
As an impure person, the leper was not supposed to come close to Jesus, but Jesus sympathetically reaches out and touches him. No mention is made of Jesus undergoing any purification rites after coming into contact with this man. Once the leper is healed, Jesus instructs him to perform only the THIRD PHASE of the prescribed purification rite for lepers. Jesus is thus described as having the POWER and AUTHORITY to HEAL the person and to DECLARE HIM HEALED. What remains for the leper is to show himself to the priest and to bring the appropriate sacrifice, so that he could BE ACCEPTED into the society again.
Leprosy attacks the body, leaving sores, missing fingers, missing toes, damaged limbs. In many cases, the initial pain of leprosy gives way to something more terrible than that – a loss of sensation in nerve endings, leading to more damage to more body parts. The disease can take 30 years to run its course, and there is usually no cure. The emotional pain of a leper, however, must have been even worse than the physical pain. He was removed from his family, from his community. There could be no contact, whatsoever, with his children or grandchildren. None. Immediately removed. His wife would not be allowed to kiss him goodbye. He would not have allowed it, for fear that she, too, would become afflicted. “Thus says the LORD, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I WILL HEAL YOU.” (2 Kings 20:5)
It was an amazing thing to be healed of this terrible disease and return to your loved ones and to hear Jesus say, “Arise, go your way. YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL.“
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham