Luke 17.11-19

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy ^h met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17.11-19 NIV)

I would like to think I would be the first to turn around and thank Jesus for what he had done, but to be healed of leprosy was so unbelievable, I’m not sure but I would have been too overwhelmed to even think. Two things from this. First, are you aware of how amazing God’s grace is to you? Second, have you said thank you?

Thought Questions:

How bad do you think it would have been for someone to have leprosy in Jesus’ day? What sort of ways are people ostracized today like lepers were in Jesus’ day? How can we show mercy on these people?

Why do you think Jesus healed these ten in such a simple fashion–no big scene, just “Go, show yourselves to the priests”?

Spend some time writing down the things for which you are thankful to God today.