Where Are The Nine?

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Luke 17:11-19
Ten Lepers Cleansed
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 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.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

Jesus healed ten lepers as He made His way to Jerusalem. In this particular journey, He went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As He was going into a certain village, He met these ten men. They were suffering from leprosy, a dreaded skin disease.

What is leprosy? In ancient Bible times, those people having this disease were considered and treated as outcasts. As there was no physical cure for this disease during those days, the lepers were left alone. They would be disfigured gradually through the loss of their fingers and toes, and eventually their limbs were lost. They had to suffer not only for their afflictions and pains, they also had to bear social rejections and separations from others.

In Leviticus 13, leprosy could grow and develop without any apparent cause, and could spread from head to feet. It normally started as an inflammation but it slowly became open sores.

Leprosy was often considered and regarded as an awful punishment from the Lord.

Numbers 12:10
And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.

2 Chronicles 26:20
And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him.

Though leprosy was not contagious, lepers were required to isolate themselves, and to live outside the camp or city.

Numbers 5:1-4
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.
3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.”
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

Leprosy has small beginnings. But little by little, it gradually spreads to the whole body. Though noticeable on the outside, the real problem may be on the inside. It may be a spiritual problem or a hidden sin as the lepers are not allowed to come into the presence of the Lord. The inside may be defiled, and has degraded. But thanks be to God for His mercy, grace and love, He still loves and heals lepers.

Though lepers lived outside the camp or city, they were allowed to move in open villages by ripping their garments, and covering themselves with their mantles. This was to show that they were really grieving and lamenting. They had to keep a safe and social distance from others, warning passers-by to stay away by calling out, "Unclean! unclean!" They were also not allowed to speak to anyone, or to receive or return a greeting!

When Jesus arrived at the village, the lepers stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!” They probably had heard about Jesus and His miracles and healings! They were waiting for the Lord!

Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.” On their way, they were made clean.

The Lord did not put out His hand and touch them, or even pray for them one by one. This was unlike what happened in Luke 5 when Jesus healed another leper. He first touched and healed him, and then instructed him to go and show himself to the priest.

Luke 5:12-14
12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”

But here in Luke 17, there was no praying or evidence of any healing taking place. Jesus simply asked the ten lepers to go and show themselves to the priests. It was truly a test of faith for them.

Some of them might have debated about whether to go to the priests or not. Would they be fools? Would they be scorned and mocked by others? Had their leprous conditions remained the same? Had healing taken place? Were they truly healed? A lot of uncertainties and unknowns. But all of them went.

As they were going, their leprosy disappeared. But one of them came back to Jesus, shouting, “Glory to God, I’m healed!” He fell flat on the ground in front of Jesus. With his face downward in the dust, he thanked the Lord for what He had done. And this man was a Samaritan.

Who were the Samaritans? The Samaritans were greatly despised by the Israelites. In 721 B.C., the Assyrians attacked and conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Many Israelites in the north were led into Assyria as captives. But some remained in the land of Israel and intermarried with other foreigners placed there by the Assyrians. These half-Jewish and half-Gentile people later became known as the Samaritans.

Out of the ten lepers who were healed, only one man returned and gave thanks to the Lord! Then Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?” And Jesus said to the Samaritan man, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

Sad to say, most of the other nine lepers might be Israelites or the people of God. They might have taken the Lord and His healing for granted. This was exactly the same thing their forefathers did when the Lord delivered them from their slavery in Egypt.

The Lord performed many miracles in the land of Egypt. He sent the 10 plagues which resulted in the release of the Israelites from their bondages. The Lord parted the Red Sea, and was with them throughout their whole journey to the Promised Land. He provided for their every need including daily bread and drinking water. Surely, we expect the Israelites would count their blessings by giving thanks to the Lord. Instead, they murmured against Him continually! They were very unthankful and ungrateful!

This is the problem about human nature. We are always in the midst of some changes in life. But sometimes, the journey from a bitter past to a better future may involve some hard works, painful decisions and drastic changes! Sometimes we do not desire any better or new ways. We just want to stay put and hold fast to our old ways! When the going gets too tough, some of us may just forget where we came from in the first place, and continue to grumble all the way! Some of us just want to go back to our old ways and lifestyles! Even if some good things from the Lord happen along the journey, we may not acknowledge and give thanks to the Lord! We just want to be free and easy, hoping to reach the final destination without any personal participations, problems and pains! Even after reaching the destination, there are always some things lacking or missing as the vacuums in human hearts are like big black holes, very difficult to please and satisfy. Nothing is good enough. There will never be enough for hearts that cannot be easily satisfied and be fully contented!

The other nine lepers were healed but they did not return to Jesus, and give glory to God! They might be healed of their leprosy on the outside, but inside them, there were still some spiritual issues pending to be tackled! Maybe all their senses were numbed or lost because of their leprosy! But surely, there were enormous changes taking place inside them. It was a time of great rejoicing as they were healed! The Samaritan in fact glorified God with a loud voice! He shouted with exceedingly great joy! He was healed! And he gave thanks to the Lord! But the other nine men were unthankful even though they were also healed!

2 Timothy 3:1-5
Perilous Times and Perilous Men
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

In the last days, there will be difficult times. Many Christians will be selfish, greedy, boastful and arrogant! They will be abusive and disobedient to their own parents! They will be unthankful and unholy! They will be unloving and unkind. They will be merciless, slanderers, violent and fierce. They will hate the good. They will be treacherous, reckless, and full with self and pride. They will love pleasure rather than God. They will hold to the outward form of the Christian faith, but reject the true power of God. We must stay away from such people.

In the midst of perilous times and perilous men, what can we do?

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.
15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
20 Do not despise prophecies.
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
22 Abstain from every form of evil.

We must warn and correct those who are disorderly and disobedient to the Lord! We must comfort those who are frightened, and take good and tender care of those who are weak. We must be patient with everyone. We must not pay back evil for evil. We must always try to do good to each other and to everyone else. We must always be joyful. We must always continue praying. And no matter what happens, we must always be thankful, for this is God’s will for all of us who belong to Christ Jesus. We must neither quench the Holy Spirit nor scoff at those who prophesy. But we must test everything that is said to be sure it is true, and if it is, then hold fast to it. We must keep away from every kind of evil.

Where are the nine? Maybe a better question is this: Are we the ones who will return and give thanks to the Lord? We may not have leprosy today. But we have a global pandemic. If unaffected, will we give thanks to the Lord for protecting and preserving us? If infected, will we give thanks to the Lord if we are healed? We should not be unthankful and ungrateful! We cannot take God for granted!

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

Age to age, God is wonderful, loving, gracious, merciful, good, faithful and just! Therefore, we will give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever!

Written on 2 November 2021