11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Luke continues to take us on Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem. On the way Jesus passes between Samaria and Galilee and on entering an unnamed town, He encounters ten lepers. They clearly knew of Jesus and knew He could help them so they called out to Him for mercy. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests (as instructed in Leviticus 13:1-14:32). All of them obeyed and headed to show themselves to the priests. As they obeyed, they were healed. Only one of them responded to their healing by returning to Jesus and praising God and giving thanks. Jesus pointed out that only one had the proper response and that he was a Samaritan, a foreigner. It seems that ten were healed physically but only one was healed spiritually. This situation showed the general unfaithfulness of the Jewish nation. They were ready to accept what Jesus could do for them, like heal them and feed them, but they didn’t accept Him as the Messiah. Those outside the nation, like the Samaritan, were responding to Jesus in faith.
When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus told them that it wasn’t going to arrive in a physical way that could be observed or pointed out. The kingdom of God was among them. It wasn’t that the kingdom was within them because they hadn’t believed. Jesus’ point was that He was right there with them and if they would acknowledge Him as Messiah, the kingdom would come.
The nine lepers and the Pharisees technically obeyed God but their hearts were far from Him. The Samaritan showed the proper response to God’s work, thankfulness, and praise. God isn’t wanting rote obedience but a relationship. He wants us to relate to Him in love and then obedience will follow from a right heart. Are you serving God from rules and regulation or from love?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Wise Sayings: Ecclesiastes 7-8