Amy C Walters

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers | Luke 17:11-19

This healing is unique in several ways–it’s at a distance, to a whole group, and it’s not immediate. The men are healed as they are going on their way to see the priest. This required faith. But only the man who came back to thank Jesus was commended for his faith. Because saving faith is only found in Jesus.

One of the things that intrigues me about this story is the way that Jesus heals these men. With so many other healings, he’s a lot closer, sometimes touching the person. But with this one, there’s distance and there’s delay, as he tells them to go and show themselves to the priests.

Let’s imagine for a moment what the conversation is among the ten men after Jesus tells them to go see the priest. Do you think they all agreed? Do you think that they all right away said, “Okay, let’s go”? Or do you think there was probably some disagreement?

I would imagine that there was some debate among them. I mean, they weren’t healed yet. If they show up at the priests in their current leprous condition, they would look foolish. He might even get angry at them for wasting his time. Could they really trust Jesus? I’m sure all of these things were a part of their conversation.

But somehow they all decide to go. And the story tells us that “as they went, they were healed.” It had to take some faith for those men to start that trip to the priest. They had enough faith to turn around and go. And for most of them, that’s where the story ends. 

But for the Samaritan man, his story continues. He turns back to go and thank Jesus. He praises God loudly and throws himself at Jesus’ feet. It’s this whole big scene. 

After Jesus asks some questions about the missing nine, he then turns to the Samaritan man and says, “Rise and go, your faith has saved you.” 

Now, it can be easy to stop at the moral lesson of the story–be thankful. And certainly gratitude is a main point. But there’s something else significant happening here. 

Again, Jesus tells him, “rise and go, your faith has saved you.” Some Bible translations here say, “your faith has healed you” or “your faith has made you well.” But this man has already been physically healed. So why would Jesus say that? What is happening by faith at this moment? 

Jesus is telling us that this man has not just found physical healing. He’s found spiritual healing at the feet of Jesus. His faith in Jesus has saved him.

All the men in this story had some kind of faith and all were physically healed. But only one came back to Jesus and was spiritually healed. 

The Old Testament regulations for leprosy include a process for someone to be restored. And just like God provided a way for people with this physical disease of leprosy to be restored, he has provided Jesus as a way for people to be spiritually restored, to find healing from spiritual leprosy. 

Those men can go to the priest to find ceremonial restoration, but they missed out on going to Jesus for the restoration that they really needed to be clean inside and out. These nine men show us that it’s possible to have faith that is not saving faith.

That might be faith in the universe, faith in humanity or human kindness, faith in yourself, in the force, in God in general, and some spiritual energy out there. But saving faith is only in Jesus. And that’s our key truth for today.

All these men benefited from their faith, but the nine missed out on what they truly needed. Healing of the soul.

You may have faith in God in general. Maybe you go to church, you experience the blessings of being a part of a community of faith. But if your faith is not in Jesus, then you’re missing out on what you truly need.

These nine men had settled for physical healing when spiritual healing was available. They settled, they missed out on what was possible. 

Don’t be like that. Turn to Jesus, praise Jesus, and place your faith in him so that you can get what you truly need. 

Maybe even reading this blog is a bit of a step of faith for you. You’re reading because you’re curious or you think it’s good to have some Bible teaching in your life. But if you are not applying what you’re learning to placing your faith in Jesus for your salvation, then you are missing the point, and you are missing out on what you really need.