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, "Go and show yourselves to the priests."
And as they went, they were cleansed.
Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
Then said Jesus, "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."
1 comment:
The point of "Show yourself to the priests" is that the priests are authorized to confirm that these lepers are healed, clean, allowed to be considered part of Israel once again.
I'm not sure how the Samaritan's scriptures considered this condition. If the other nine lepers were proper Israelites, they may have been too eager for reinstatement as fully-recognized persons. And he had told them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." What, they're supposed to be mind-readers? "I meant, come back and thank me"? I can't say I understand, or expect to understand, this one!
"Your faith has made you well," now... Commonly taken to mean, "Because you've believed that I'm the Messiah, you could be healed."
Or, alternately: "Because you believed I could heal you, I could heal you." The placebo principle in the world of spiritual medicine.
How about, instead: "Because you have come to trust and rely on God, you no longer need that illness, and so you've been cured of it."
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