The ten walked together, headed toward Jerusalem as they had been instructed by the Master. “Go and show yourselves to the priests,” Jesus had told them. The months and years of a common malady had fomented the unlikely bond of despair between them. And yet, as they were going, they were cleansed. Cleansed from years of leprosy, the debilitating numbness, loss of appendages, shame and social rejection; pushed to the margins of society, and loss of familial intimacy.
Luke 17:15 says “Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back.” It’s hard to imagine what it would be like watching leprosy healed before your very eyes in the matter of a few steps, or even a few miles. One must wonder how this presented. Were open wounds closed? Were digits restored? Was the stench of rotting flesh miraculously absent? We do not know, but the man knew… and he turned back.
Only moments before, this unlikely ensemble had cried out from a distance, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” One may not recognize this at first glance, but when an entreaty like this is directed to the Sovereign, it is called a prayer. All ten had petitioned Jesus to deliver them from this walking death. All ten yearned to be healed. All ten desired to be restored to the warmth of affection and society. All ten “saw” that they had been healed. Yet only one turned back.
He returned to Jesus, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. When one gives God the glory, when one falls on his face before the Master, when one thanks the Creator in an act like this, it is called worship.
Disappointment is heard in the words of Jesus: “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?’” Ten were healed, nine continued in their courses. One came back–a Samaritan—the one least expected to do so! The math was easy… Ten had been spared a miserable death at the hands of this merciless disease, and yet, only one returned. The logical response should have been one of gratitude for this act of mercy. Still, only one knelt before the Giver of life.
Jesus had seen their pain. He had heard their cries for deliverance. He had honored their request, as only the Creator could do. He did not—He would not—force their gratitude. That needed to be of their own volition.
“And He said to him, ‘Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.’”
It’s hard to discern the level of blessing conferred in these words. Was Jesus dismissing him and affirming that his faith had healed him physically? Or, was He stating that the man had gained the greater blessing, that Jesus had restored his life on a higher, eternal level? My understanding is the latter, that salvation through faith was granted.
Ten were healed, one came back.
Ten were healed, one was saved.
Ten were healed. One would join Him in Eternity.
It is always good to ask the Savior. It is always good to acknowledge His hand. It is always good to come back and worship Him for who He is, and what He has done. Lord, may I be the one who recognizes my need. May I be the one who sees Your grace. May I be the one who returns… to worship You.
[One Came Back is chapter 22 of a forthcoming book The Sheep of His Pasture]
So beautiful, timely, so appropriate for me. Two of my favorite scriptures Isaiah 6:1&2
They just lift my soul!! Praise God!
Looking forward to the rest of the book.