There were 10 men with leprosy who met Jesus on the road, begging for mercy that they might be healed. How bold it was to plead for mercy from Jesus. It shows that they trusted and believed that Jesus could heal them. It also shows courage and strength on Jesus’ part that he was willing to draw close enough to the 10 lepers to hear them and listen to them. It was customary at the time not to interact with lepers and not to get too close to them, lest you become infected. If we are sick and in need of help and healing, we should not be too proud or afraid to ask Jesus for assistance. We should not hold back from requesting his mercy toward us. We should seek help and healing from him alone. Whenever we are sick and in need, our first response should be to go to Jesus. Nothing else gives us the help and healing we need, no matter how frightened we may be.

Jesus’ instructions to the men is for them to go and show themselves to the priests. The men did as they were told. On their way they were made clean again. Jesus had healed the men. There was excitement and joy. We can image the men cheering and celebrating and running to their homes to enjoy what had happened to them with their relatives and friends. But the actions of one man was to return to Jesus and give him thanks for the miracle of healing he had been blessed with through Christ.

To the shock of everyone, this man was a Samaritan, not of the people of Israel. The Samaritan knew what it felt like to be ostracized and how special it was to be recognized and healed by Jesus since he was an outsider. This Samaritan bowed before Jesus, showing his humility. He did not deserve this goodness toward him from Jesus, he knew. We, too, should show humility and thanksgiving for the great goodness shown to us in Christ’s help and healing of our illnesses and of our sinful condition.

After the Samaritan bowed before Jesus, Jesus asked, “Is the only one to return to give thanks this foreigner?” Jesus acknowledges that this is unusual. How sad and unfortunate for those who did not return to give thanks and receive blessing from Christ. How joyful and fortunate for the Samaritan to return to give thanks and receive blessing from Jesus. Jesus told the Samaritan man, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Jesus made it clear that healing from him gives us the energy to move forward in our work with him. Having faith and trust in him is what motivates us to act. Faith in action would have been a new way of approaching life for the Samaritan man. Instead of pulling away from others because of his disease, he would now be drawing close to others to care for them and love them as Jesus did for him. Instead of living in fear for his life on the outskirts of town, the man would be living in confidence and strength, knowing that Jesus had healed him. For those who did not turn to give thanks, their lives lacked faith. Their healing is not attached to Christ by not returning to give thanks. The joy of new lives is not accompanied by thanksgiving to Jesus and thus is not as fully experienced by the nine that are healed but did not return to Jesus.