Luke 17:12-19 - Giving to the Ungrateful

"12 As Jesus entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14a When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  Luke 17:12–14a (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

Leprosy was so contagious that anyone who contracted it was required to live separately from the community. If they thought they were healed of their disease, before they could rejoin family and friends, they had to be checked over by a priest. That was AFTER symptoms were gone. Jesus is telling them to go to the priest as if they were already healed.

14b And as they were going, they were cleansed.

They all had faith: not just to call out to Jesus, but to follow instructions that were counterintuitive, if not downright absurd.

15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.

Samaritans were despised. Their ancestry had mixed Jewish and Gentile bloodlines, and their religion was likewise "syncretistic," meaning it was a mixture of orthodox and unorthodox belief. So they were outcasts.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

This happened more than once in the Gospels, that Jesus held up a Samaritan as an example to emulate. Remember the "Good Samaritan?" In our culture, it would be like saying, "The good illegal alien," ... or pick whatever minority group is despised in your own town.

The explanation of "your faith has made you well," applied to the Jewish lepers who did not return to thank Jesus. But it was a Samaritan that was commended for returning to give glory to God.

This incident is usually used as a lesson about gratitude: be sure to thank God for the good things He does in your life.

There's one other lesson, though, that Jesus taught by example. He knew who would return or not return to thank Him. Yet He healed all of them--the grateful and the ungrateful.

Father, You've given us faith, but we need greater faith to obey when doing so makes little sense.
You've given us healing, but we need gratitude that will turn our steps back to You.
You've given us opportunities to serve others, but we need generosity that gives even to the ungrateful. In Jesus' name, Amen.