Leprosy is referred to many times in the Bible. Leprosy is often used symbolically to represent sin and how sin separates us from God. Leprosy was a horrific disease. Did you know that the symptoms of advanced leprosy can include loss of portions of your nose and fingers, painful sores on the bottom of your feet, paralysis of your hands and feet, vision loss and blindness, and severe nerve damage among others? There was no cure. Thankfully, God has provided a cure for sin and our separation from God in His Son, Jesus.
Unclean Lepers
The only way ancient Israelites had of dealing with this highly contagious disease was to banish people from their homes into leper colonies. If the lepers went out in public they couldn't come withing 6 feet of another person and they were required to say loudly, "Unclean, Unclean", as a warning to others of their presence. The only way a leper could be allowed back into normal society was if the temple priest declared him healed. Their separation mirrors our own separation from God due to sin.
Leprosy Symbolic Of Sin
Leprosy covered a person's skin, just as sin that covers our lives. Psalm 32:1 tells us that a man is blessed whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered. Before God, we are all unclean without the covering of the blood of Christ over our lives. As Isaiah declares in Isaiah 6:5 he is a man of "unclean lips" and in Luke 5:8 Peter tells the Lord to "Go away from me, because I am a sinful man!".
Leprosy Separates
Leprosy separated people from other people, similarly, sin separates us from God. In Biblical times people could do nothing to cure themselves of leprosy, just as we can do nothing to cure our sinful natures. Only Christ's death and resurrection can cleanse us of sin.
Jesus And The Ten Lepers
In Luke 17: 11-19 we read the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. Jesus makes a habit of touching the lives of those considered untouchable. Jesus reaches out in the Gospels time after time to the outcast, the outsider, the unlovable, and the unwanted. His example is our example. Do we ignore those who don't look like us, have as much as we have or perhaps don't behave in a socially acceptable way? These are the very people that Jesus spends the most time with. Later in the story we find out that one of these lepers was not only diseased but also outcast because he was a Samaritan.
Jesus, Have Mercy On Us
As the lepers approach Jesus on the road they call him "Master" or teacher as we would say. They ask him to have mercy on them. They don't specifically ask for healing, but simply the mercy of God which to them meant healing from the horrible disease they had been afflicted with. Jesus's response was to tell them to go to the priest so he can declare them healed and clean, as was required by Jewish law (Leviticus 14). In response, they immediately head in the direction of Jerusalem to the priest, even though they had not yet been healed. They responded in faith and along the way realized they had been healed.
The Thankful Samaritan
But before they could be declared clean, one of them, the leper who was a Samaritan, turned back and fell at the feet of Jesus, praising God and giving Jesus thanks. Jesus asks the Samaritan where are the others? Is there none but you to give thanks to God for this great blessing? It is God's will that we give thanks to God in every circumstance. (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Even though the Samaritan has already been physically healed of his disease, Jesus tells him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19).
Saved and Healed
The implication is that the man was both healed physically and healed spiritually. His faith had saved him. We are not told this of the rest of the lepers who were physically healed but did not turn back to give thanks. This teaches us that no one is outside of God's saving grace. The Samaritan was not a Jew. This showed that God's forgiveness was for everyone. 1 Timothy 2:6 tells us that Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all people.
Don't Wait To Feel Worthy
Today, if we have not been saved by faith in Christ, we are also unclean. But our compassionate and merciful God has made a way for us to be healed, washed clean of the stains of sin. The lepers asked for mercy, they probably didn't feel worthy to even ask, but they did. We don't have to wait till we feel worthy either. God's mercy is there waiting for us, always near.
Outsiders See Their Need
Just as the Samaritan outsider was more responsive to Jesus than the Jewish lepers were, so sometimes, those of us who think of ourselves as the most religious church goers may not be as responsive to His call as those outside of our church. Maybe outsiders more clearly see their need than we do.
Faith In Action
Another thing we see in this story is that the lepers acted on their faith before they were actually healed. They believed so strongly that Jesus was telling them they would be healed they didn't wait to see proof. They headed straight for the priest to be declared healed. We can also act on faith and believe in what God will do for us even if we don't see it just yet. As Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Take Time To Be Thankful
Being thankful takes a moment. Maybe we are so busy we delay or forget to give thanks. It is clear from this story that being thankful should be our very first response. We pray and thank, and bless God for his benefits first and foremost.
Cry Out To Jesus
In the same way that the lepers called to Jesus from "far off", we can also call to Him even though our sin has caused us to be far from Jesus. We can always go before the throne of God and cry out in a loud voice,
“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Luke 17:13
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