June 30, 2026 · Mark Bishop
Complete
“On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.””
Luke 17:11-19 →
## Unclean
I was wrestling with my oldest daughter (age 6 at the time of this writing) the other day and after several minutes of fun she said, “Daddy, feel my muscles!” I smiled and felt her arm as she flexed to impress, then she asked to feel mine. When she did, her eyes got wide and her response was, “Wow dad! You’re like the strongest. I want to be that strong one day.” In the eyes of my daughter, she saw something that she could be and just wanted to be like her dad. Could you imagine what these ten lepers felt like? They were not only left alone because they were unclean, but they could remember what it was like to be normal. Perhaps at night, they would dream of conversations they once had with their best friend only to wake up with strangers who were only together due to a disease. They would look at the normal and dream that they would be like them– a normal person again. They were on the outside of the village and their only hope was to yell to get the attention of a man they probably heard about. Once he saw them, without touching He told them to go present themselves before the priests, as it was their custom to do so to make sure they
were cleansed. As they were going, they became healed. They had to take the step to turn and walk to the temple before their healing came. One turned back and wanted to make sure he let Jesus know how grateful he was for being made whole again. The one could have been a parent’s young child or a parent to their own children. Maybe they were missing friends or missing having the freedom to go to the store or work. What’s more compelling is this person was a Samaritan who was not on the best of terms with the Jews. Their identity as a Samaritan and a Leper was erased at the meeting with Jesus. Anyone who accepts Christ is made children of God. Paul says there is no Greek or Jew in Christ, but that all who believe are made equal at the foot of the cross. It was their faith in Jesus that made them well. It is only in Christ we are made well.
## Self-Check
You were once a foreigner and enemy of God, but Jesus came to you as well. When we come to Jesus, we can lay aside even our nationality because it’s Him who makes us whole, not the nation we live in or the group of people we belong to. Stop today and give thanks because He came. He heard you when you yelled out with a loud voice that you were not a part His family. He accepted you and made you whole.
## Faith to See