Bible Study - Luke 17

S — As he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:12–16 ESV

O — Only one of the men — a foreigner, that is, a Samaritan — came back to thank Jesus. This one understood the significance of what had been done for him. He was praising God and threw himself at Jesus' feet, a posture of worship. He apparently understood that Jesus is God, for he placed his faith in Him. Whether or not he understood that Jesus is the Messiah is not mentioned by Luke. The lack of gratitude by the other nine was typical of the rejection of His ministry by the Jewish nation. He alone had the power to cleanse the nation and make it ceremonially clean. However, the nation did not respond properly to Him. The nation accepted the things that Jesus could do — such as heal them and feed them — but did not want to accept Him as Messiah. However, those outside the nation (such as this Samaritan leper, a person doubly repulsive to the Jews) were responding.

John A. Martin, "Luke," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 248.

A — Two big takeaways from this. First, we need to express our gratitude to God. When we recognize all that the Lord has done for us, we should say, "Thank you!" We surely did not deserve His forgiveness of sins or the price He paid through Jesus for them. Plus, there is His daily provision that we don't want to take for granted. Second, we are quick to dismiss people. The lepers were rejected by the village because of their disease. The others rejected the Samaritan because of his nationality. We need to see the value in every person. Even when we disagree or someone is different from us, they are loved by God.

R — Heavenly Father, You are a loving God. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins and pay the price we could not pay. Thank you for providing for us. We do not want to take it for granted. Help us to see the value in people — all people. They are loved by You just as much as You love us.