Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:12-19)

The Unthankful

During the ministry of Jesus, multitudes of people were healed of disease and infirmities through the healing power of the Holy Spirit. A woman with a blood disorder suffered for twelve years before being healed. Some men born blind were given sight for the first time. Demon-possessed people had their horrors taken away from them, giving them peace. The age of miracles was a time of great change in the world of Palestine, unknown in any other time in history by people who experienced the grace of God in a real way. No other time in history saw the power of God so manifested as it was during the ministry of Jesus.

A man born blind would find great joy in being given sight. He had never seen a blue sky, a green tree, or the blue waters of Galilee. Words fail to describe how the lives of so many people were changed by the hand of God. The demon-possessed man of Gadarene wanted to follow after Jesus, but the Lord told him to spread the good news of what had happened. There was no hesitation in the former possessed man telling the world what great things Jesus had done for him. Leprosy was a feared disease that meant an inevitable and slow death. Lepers were shunned by society, cast out by family, and lived in communes filled with death. There was no more loathsome disease than leprosy.

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem when he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers who, standing afar off, begged the Son of God to have mercy on them. They recognized Jesus of Nazareth and had heard of His power to cure any disease. Their faith was shown by seeking the grace of God through Jesus to heal them of leprosy. This kind of faith was a challenge for a disease that was incurable. There was nothing that could be done for leprosy. The last time a leper had been healed was hundreds of years earlier when Naaman, a Syrian commander, was cleansed. There were many lepers in that day but only one had found the grace of God to be healed.

Jesus had compassion on the ten lepers and told them to show themselves to the priest. The Law of Moses required a man to confirm whether he had leprosy by going to the priests. A remarkable thing happened as the men turned to go to the priests. The ten lepers felt the horror and stench of leprosy leave their bodies and were pure once again. It must have been an incredible feeling to endure the ravages of leprosy and then, in a moment, feel no pain or distress. They realized the curse of death was lifted. The sentence of certain death by a slow and horrible disease was gone. How happy they must have been. Their joy so overcame them that they forgot one essential part of their healing.

As Jesus watched the ten men hurry to the priests, He noticed one of the men stop, look at himself, and turn back to find Jesus. A lone soul, a leper moments before, stood before Jesus Christ and glorified God with a loud voice for the mercy shown to him. To the sadness of Jesus, the nine did not return to give thanks to the God of mercy. Jesus did not heal the men to beg for acknowledgment or thanks. He healed them from a compassionate heart. His power to destroy leprosy confirmed He was the Son of God, the Divine. The difference between the nine and the one is that one saw the glory of God and gave thanks.

God has done so much for man. There is not enough time or space to reflect upon all that God has provided for sinful man through His Son. Jesus left His Father to become a man and live as a man. God became flesh to experience everything about the flesh. Jesus died a horrible death at the hands of the Jews and Romans with mockery, abuse, humiliation, torture, and crucifixion. The ten lepers were healed of a disease that would have taken their lives, but a great disease is the sin that will destroy an eternal soul. Nine men did not return to the Lord to give thanks. One leper returned to acknowledge the glory of God. How many of the blood-bought children of God give thanks to God for the cleansing power of Jesus to destroy sin?

The nine ungrateful lepers illustrate the humanity of those who enjoy the blessings of God’s mercy and fail to give Him glory for what He has done. What is sad in the kingdom of God are the innumerable saints who have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and refuse to give thanks or glory to His name. They have little interest in the memorial of remembrance instituted by Jesus on the night He was betrayed. A spirit of ingratitude fills their hearts. The lives of the ungrateful expect God to save them with little or no effort on their part. They live like the world and hope for life in the eternal.

When Jesus saw the one return, He saw hope in a heart moved by the mercy of God. It is sad that only one returned. Jesus said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” There are many who will not give glory to God for His grace. Their lives are ungrateful, unkind, and filled with an unthankful heart. Be thankful. God’s grace is undeserved. Tell Him often how much the cleansing of sin has meant to you. Do not be numbered with the nine. Stand apart. Be the one who returned.