We are considering the account of the ten lepers, as told in Luke chapter 17 verses 11-19. We discussed how one was a Samaritan, thus making him doubly rejected, doubly isolated, and doubly hated by society. The lepers recognised that Jesus was no ordinary teacher. They knew he had a higher authority. They asked for pity, possibly seeing themselves as unworthy of a gift as great as healing. Then Jesus presented them with a divine predicament by telling them to go to the priests, which was something people with leprosy legally couldn’t do. We thought about our own divine predicaments, and the times in which Jesus has given us strength to do things we never thought we could.
Verse 14 says that as they went, they were cleansed. But what had they done? I mean, what miraculous thing did they do? They just walked. Jesus said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests,” and they said “Okay.” That’s all they did. They didn’t cartwheel all the way there. They heard the word of God and they simply obeyed.
The Bible says that as they went, they were cleansed. Now notice something here. It was as they went. They didn’t feel any different from how they felt before. Nothing had changed yet. They still felt weak. They were still rejected. They still looked the same. They still had rotting flesh. They were still struggling to walk – possibly just walking dragging their limbs. it was so difficult, but they went. They walked in the Word of the Lord on that day, and it led them to their healing. Here are people with leprosy who must have been so disabled struggling to walk, yet they didn’t make any excuses. They began to walk in the Word of God that was given without knowing how it was going to work out.
we don’t know how long they had suffered from leprosy, but what we do know is this: That every single day they would aimlessly walk around. They had no family, no job, no friends. They were family together – the 10 of them. They just loved and looked after one another, as they walked around crying the word: “Unclean!”
Now when they called out “Unclean” they also rang a bell in case people couldn’t see them coming from a distance. If they couldn’t see them, they would hear them shouting, and they would hear the bell. That was a signal for people to avoid them.
Imagine what this did to them, both emotionally and mentally, as they spoke that negative word over themselves and rang the bell. They were, in effect, announcing: “Unclean! Rejected! Unloved! Isolated!” Every single time they walked, they were confessing death and doom over themselves, their lives, and their futures. After a period of years, that bell must have resounded in their own ears as well. “Unloved! Rejected! Abandoned!” This went on for months, and maybe even for years. They just carried on walking around ringing the bell.
This got me thinking. Jesus told them to begin walking to the priest, but remember, they weren’t healed yet. It says that as they went, they were healed. So something happened in the natural, and I believe in the spiritual as well. They were walking to the priest feeling unloved, deserted, rejected, isolated, lonely, hungry, … And then at some point, they surely started to sense the healing of God over them.
We don’t know what it looked like. Did it happen in a moment? Or did it happen as they walked? We don’t fully understand what happened, but what we do know is that they were healed.
So I was thinking to myself, at what point did the bell stop ringing? This bell that represented death over them. They were healed, but did they still keep ringing it out of habit? I wonder how long it took for them to stop ringing the bell of death over their lives, even though they’d had a healing encounter with Jesus.
How many of us have had an encounter with Jesus? We are set free. We are adopted. We come into the family of God. We are citizens of heaven. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet we keep ringing our bell. Deserted, lonely, depressed? No, you’re adopted! How often does that happen?
Let’s be honest, those lepers were scarred. It was real to them. It wasn’t as if their physical body was healed, and then suddenly mentally everything was good. They faced a battle of being transformed. You know, the Bible tells us in Romans 12 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. However, some Christians carry on ringing the bell of rejection. They say: “I was once rejected!” but that was twenty years ago, and now you’re accepted! They say: “I’ve been bullied! I’ve been hurt!” yes, these things are real, but twenty-five years later you are a new creation, and you’ve got to come in line with that reality.
Ringing the bell over your future isn’t going to help you, so put your bell down and say: “That is who I was, but it isn’t who I am now, and it has nothing to do with my future.” You’ve got to say: “That isn’t who I am anymore. I’ve had an encounter with Jesus. I’ve been set free.”
Verse 15 says that one of them, when he saw he was healed, came back. The Message version says: he turned around and he came back. Praising God in a loud voice, he threw himself at Jesus’ feet and he thanked him.” And we are reminded that he was the one who was doubly outcast, because he was the Samaritan. And his joy was so great that he couldn’t contain himself. He ran back. He had to turn around. He couldn’t keep going. He had to go back to the one who had healed him and had given his life back to him. No more unclean. No more rejected but accepted. No more detestable but valuable. Jesus had given these lepers back their lives. Now they could go home to their families and hold their children.
What we learn from this story is that it’s essential to respond to what we receive from God, because he awaits a response. The other nine kept walking, but the tenth turned back. Don’t be the person who receives a miracle from God, whether it is a miracle of salvation, forgiveness, or whatever, and then keeps on walking in the same direction. Be the one who, after being healed or receiving a revelation or grace poured out, turns around and comes back to Jesus in gratitude.
Don’t look at the other nine and think: “Well, I’ll go with them.” Think about what Jesus has done for you and stand proud. Be the one who goes back to the person who has saved, healed, and restored you.
Finally, in closing, God’s divine goodness demands our gratitude. Jesus asked: “Were not all ten cleansed?” he knew the answer, but he wanted a conversation.
Naturally speaking, the Samaritan was the least likely to return, but he was the one who came back. He could have thought: “I’d better not return because I’m a foreigner. Maybe he healed me by mistake because he didn’t realise I was a Samaritan.” He could have had many similar thoughts and reasoned himself out of praising God for the miracle he had received.
Let’s not fall into the trap of battering the other nine lepers. Likely they continued to walk in the Word of God they had been given. They probably went to the priest, and they were healed just as Jesus said they would be. Then they probably praised God at the temple. That would have been okay, but it shows me that they walked in old revelation, whereas the tenth walked in new revelation.
So I want to leave you with this question. What revelation are you walking in now? Are you walking in old revelation that you heard ten years ago from God, but you haven’t received anything new? Or if new revelation has come, have you persisted in walking in the old? I believe the tenth leper had revelation in the moment he was healed. He realised Jesus was more than a teacher. He was the son of God, and he decided to go back to him. So he started to walk in new revelation.
When God blesses us by touching our lives in special ways, he really does expect us to come and give him praise. We can all think of times when God has done something amazing in our lives – when he has blessed us, rescued us, or given us strength for the season we were going through. Then at the other side of that season, or blessing, or miracle, rather than rushing to his feet and getting down on our knees in worship, we say: “that’s just not my personality,” because it feels awkward. So we make the excuse and say: “God knows my heart.”
However, Jesus didn’t say: “It doesn’t matter about the other nine because I know their hearts.” He asked: “Where are they?” This proves to me that giving thanks, coming to his feet, and recognising who he is and the part he has played in our miracle matters to God. It’s not just a formal thing so you can tick the “I’ve done it” box, but a passionate internal obsession with Jesus, the Lover of our Souls, where getting on our knees is a privilege not a duty.
Some of you may feel as though you’ve walked along limping for so long, but the Lord is saying just keep walking in my Word. Stop ringing the bell. Put it down. It’s been ringing for too long, and it’s not who you are. Don’t keep thinking like a leper with rotting flesh and dry bones, because the answer is Jesus. He is the answer to every question, dilemma, and to every sore point in your life. All he needs is for you to respond and to have an encounter with him today.
At the end of the story, Jesus said: “Rise and go. Your faith has made you well.” In the Greek, the phrase used means more than just being healed. It meant he was saved. In that moment, he was set free. When you come to Jesus, he sets you free not just physically, but spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. When you come to him, you always get more than you ask for. So what is it you are asking for today?