Leprosy in both Old and New Testament times was as close as one could come to what we would call a “living death.” A leper was excluded – a leper was physically and emotionally expelled – from his community. A leper could not live with people who did not also have leprosy. Lepers could not touch or be touched by anyone other than another leper. Lepers were required to wear torn clothes, to let their hair be unkempt, and to cover the lower part of their faces. Whenever a leper was within any proximity of a healthy person, he or she was required to maintain their distance and shout “Unclean! Unclean!” And not only were lepers cut off from people, they were also cut off from God – for a leper could not worship in the temple or attend the synagogue.
Technically, leprosy in Biblical times was a generalized term covering dozens of different skin conditions, including psoriasis, ringworm, smallpox, eczema and herpes. But under Jewish Law and tradition, leprosy was far more than just an affliction of the skin. Leprosy was an affliction of the soul. Leprosy was considered to be the specific result of sin, a severe and direct punishment from God. Ancient Jewish non-Biblical writings even go so far as to identify seven specific sins that caused leprosy: speaking negatively of others, murder, making a vain oath, illicit sexual intercourse, pride, theft and stinginess.
When we read of all the healings that Jesus performed, it becomes easy to focus on the healings themselves rather than the purpose of those healings. We need to understand that Jesus’ miracles always had multiple purposes. We know that Jesus’ great compassion led him to heal countless men, women and children of countless afflictions. We know that Jesus performed many more miracles—he healed many, many more people – than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have recorded in their Gospels. But most importantly, we know that each and every miracle performed by Jesus during his years on this earth was performed so that He would be recognized as the one, the only, the incarnate Son of God. The Messiah foretold by the prophets. The Redeemer promised to Adam and Eve immediately after their fall into sin.
The ten lepers in our Gospel lesson appear to know who Jesus was. They may know that he has healed many people of serious, even fatal diseases. They may even know that earlier in His ministry Jesus had healed a leper of his disease. So as they have been taught to do, they stand at a distance from Jesus and call to Him. Strangely enough, they don’t specifically ask to be healed. They simply cry with a loud voice: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
Based upon what we’ve seen in Jesus’ earlier miracles, what happens next is somewhat surprising. Usually Jesus touches the person to be healed, but this time he doesn’t. Usually Jesus speaks a word of comfort or issues a command for the person to be healed – but this time He doesn’t. In fact, on this occasion Jesus never actually tells them that they are being healed! Rather, he refers back to the ritualistic laws of Leviticus chapters 13 and 14. “When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’”
At this point the lepers do exactly what Jesus told them to do. They do exactly what Jewish laws required them to do. But only one of the ten realized that his healing represented more than just meeting the demands of the Law. Only one of the ten realized that Jesus was more than just a traveling faith healer. Only one of the ten realized, as St. Paul would later write, that by the works of the Law no human being will be justified – will be made right – in God’s sight. Only one of the ten returned to Jesus, threw himself facedown on the ground, praised God – and said thank you. Only one of the ten realized that this Jesus who had healed his skin was the Messiah promised to the forefathers of both the Jews and the forefathers of the gentiles – indeed, to the forefathers of every man, woman and child who inhabits the earth. In fact, of all the miraculous healings recorded in the four Gospels, this is the only healing in which thanks are not directed to God in heaven – but are directed specifically to Jesus himself.
At this point Luke drops a bombshell on his readers, for we now learn that the only one who returned to thank and praise Jesus was not a righteous, God-fearing Jew – but a hated and despised Samaritan. He was not one of the “chosen” people, for the “chosen people” viewed Samaritans as low-life half-breeds. We can almost detect a tinge of sadness – and can certainly detect even more disappointment – in Jesus’ voice. “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?’”
We need to recognize that Jesus’ disappointment was not that he had healed a Samaritan or that he was being worshipped by a Samaritan. His disappointment was due to the fact that many or even most of the chosen people of Israel were either unable or unwilling to recognize Him as the Messiah. Jesus had been sent by God the Father to redeem both Jews and Gentiles, but the sad fact of His ministry on earth is that he was repeatedly rebuffed, reviled and rejected by the children of Abraham. Some believed, many did not. And they just could not understand that when Jesus said that he “came not to call the righteous, but sinners,” He was extending His grace and His salvation to all peoples of all races and all nations.
But what about the other nine lepers? Are they really so bad? After all, didn’t they receive the exact same physical healing that the Samaritan received? Well, perhaps, you might be thinking, we should try harder to understand the motivation behind their actions. After all, they had suffered – really suffered – for probably a long time. When Jesus told them to show themselves to the priests, they simply did exactly what he told them to do. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? They were probably overcome with joy and excitement about the very idea of being declared clean and being able to return to family, friends and even the temple or synagogue. Under that same set of circumstances, we’d be excited, too. We might be so excited that we forget to say thank you before taking off. And since Jesus was traveling from one place to another, he’d probably be long gone by the time we got back. So perhaps all we’re talking about is a simple oversight. Regrettable, perhaps – but really no big deal.
Well, it is a big deal in Jesus’ eyes. Yes, they did do what He told them to do. But they couldn’t for the life of them – and we’re talking eternal life here – see past the laws. They couldn’t see past the rituals. And they were so concerned about the laws and the rituals that they couldn’t even recognize Jesus for the Messiah that he is. The Law was the most important thing in their life and that probably never changed. They lived by rules and regulations instead something as simple as faith. They thought that if they lived good lives, then God would look with favor on them. Whatever sin had brought about the leprosy in the first place was forgiven, gone, forgotten. And if they were just a little more careful about following the Law and not breaking the Commandments, then life – and death – would be good indeed.
But they were wrong. To their eternal peril, they were tragically wrong. Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When the nine ran off to show themselves to the priests, they ran away from the Messiah, the Son of God. When they were lepers they were required to keep their distance from people. Now that they were healed they voluntarily kept their distance from their Savior. And again we remember the words of St. Paul: “For by works of the law no human being will be justified” in the sight of God.
Jesus’ final words to the Samaritan leper are words that undoubtedly gave great comfort to him – and should give us great comfort even today. Jesus told the Samaritan to “rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” The words that Jesus used here are often translated as “your faith has made you well” – but they can be more accurately translated as “your faith has rescued you” or “your faith has saved you.” During this brief encounter along the road, Jesus had made ten men well, but only one possessed the faith that had truly “saved” him for this life and for his eternal life in heaven. Because this isn’t really a story about physical healings – it’s actually a story about redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Remember that the Jews thought that anyone who had leprosy was guilty of committing one of seven specific sins. Truth be told, their illness actually represented the plague of sin – the sin that entered the world when Adam and Eve defied God and the punishment for all sin that has corrupted God’s perfect creation. Ten lepers were healed on that day of a physical illness … but only one was truly saved.
When a baby is born, we often remark about the beauty and the softness of its skin. But beneath that beautiful skin is a body corrupted by sin – a body that deserves nothing more than to stand before God and cry: “Unclean! Unclean!” But praise be to God, we have the gift of Holy Baptism to wash that baby – to wash us – of our sins. We have the gift of Christ’s body and blood, shed for the forgiveness of sins and given to us in, with and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion.
And like the Samaritan leper who returned to praise and thank Jesus, we too have faith that has made us well – faith that has saved us. Faith not of our own works, faith not of our own doing, faith that is not in any way due to any personal decision that we have ever made, faith not resulting from our failed attempts to keep the Law. It is faith that as St. Paul so beautifully states, is a gift of God. A gift intended for Jew and gentile alike. A gift that allows us and all believers to stop calling ourselves unclean before God – as we thank and praise Him throughout our lives here on earth and throughout all eternity with Him in heaven.
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