Ten Lepers Meet Jesus

Luke 17:11-19 New King James Version

Luke 17:11

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

Luke 17:12

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.

· Leprosy was not only a skin disease but a social disease.

· “…passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee” (v.11).

o Between Samaria and Galilee

Luke 17:13

And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

· When used elsewhere in the Third Gospel, “Master” denotes one who has authority consistent with miraculous power, and this is its meaning here.[1]

Luke 17:14

So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

· Keeping with the instructions given in Leviticus 14:1-32.

And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

Luke 17:15

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,

Luke 17:16

and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

Luke 17:17

So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

Luke 17:18

Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Luke 17:19

And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

Three Key Words

1. Cleansed (Luke17:14) – to cleanse from ritual contamination or impurity—‘to cleanse, to purify, purification.’[2]

2. Healed (Luke 17:15) – to cause someone to become well again after having been sick—‘to heal, to cure, to make well, healing.’[3]

3. Well (whole KJV) (Luke 17:19) Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.”[4]

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The key to wholeness is returning to Jesus

Luke 17:18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Luke 17:19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

The irony of this narrative so taken up with issues of perception, divine benefaction, and worship surfaces again in v 18b, with Jesus’ description of the one leper as a “foreigner.” This term is found only here in the NT. Its etymology suggests its appropriateness as a label for one born to the wrong family. In terms of the rhetoric of the Lukan narrative, this former leper is thus classified as someone other than a child of Abraham, at least according to usual canons. The usage of this term in the context of temple worship in Jerusalem is also suggestive; there it was found on inscriptions that forbade “foreigners” from access to those areas of the temple available only to Jews.36 Jesus’ use of the term is thus ironic indeed, for he observes how this normally ostracized person has behaved in a manner appropriate to the authentic children of Abraham.[5]

[1] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke(p. 623). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains(electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 534). New York: United Bible Societies. [3] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains(electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 268). New York: United Bible Societies. [4] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press. 36 ἀλλογενής—cf. BAGD 39. [5] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke(p. 626). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.