“As they went, they were healed.” - Luke 17:14b
Perhaps you may be familiar with the story of the 10 lepers. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem along the Samarian / Galilean border. The Jews had a serious hate for Samaritans (1), whom they considered half-breeds and very unspiritual.
It just so happened that on his way the Lord came across 10 lepers on the side of the road. They were each crying out for Jesus to have mercy on them. “Leprosy is a horrendous illness that affects the skin, eyes, nose, and peripheral nerves. Highly contagious, those who were diagnosed with leprosy were quarantined and isolated from the rest of society. Jewish law required that those with leprosy shout, “Unclean, unclean” when people approached, to avoid contaminating others. At the time of Jesus, there was no known cure which left those with leprosy without hope.” (2)
Even though Jesus was moved with compassion for the plight of these men, instead of healing them right away he simply responded by telling them to go show themselves to the priests. As the men went they were healed. Whether it was gradual or instantaneous is not known, for scripture does not say, but regardless, they were healed on the way to follow Jesus’ instructions. Once they had completed that which they had been told to do only one man came back to Jesus, “praising God in a loud voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus to thank him” (Luke 17:15-16) The kicker is that this lone man was none other than a Samaritan. How about that. A foreigner was the only one to take the time to come back an undeclared distance on foot to praise God and thank Jesus.
We pray so often for healings, yet how many of us actually take the time to lift up the name of God in praise and thank him for his answer to our fervent prayers. Many of us do just that, but this post today is to remind us not to be like the 9 men who got healed from a very contagious, horrible disease, only to go on about their lives as if nothing significant had just taken place in their lives. It’s part of the healing process … being humble enough to thank God for all he has done for you. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His name & for His glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
(1) “The Samaritans were half-Jew, half-Gentile. The race came about after the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C. Certain people from the nation of Israel stayed behind. These people intermarried with the Assyrians producing the Samaritans. They Had No Dealings with The Jews.” - taken from the Blue Letter Bible; contributor - Don Stewart
(2) Taken from article titled 5 Lessons on Gratitude from Jesus Healing the 10 Lepers, authored by Becky Harling, who has published 11 books and is a popular Christian speaker.
Resource: www.crosswalk.com
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