TEN LEPERS CURED (LUKE 17:11-19)

The center sections of Luke's Gospel can be shown to have the following mirror-image relationship to one another.

V. The Kingdom of God (8:1-56)

VI. Jesus and the Disciples (9:1-50)

VII. Jesus causes division (9:51-10:42)

VIII. Blessings and curses (11:1-12:34)

VII'. Jesus causes division (12:35-13:21)

VI'. Jesus and the Pharisees (13:22-16:31)

V'. The Kingdom of God (17:1-18:17)

Thus we see a parallel between the section in which this miracle story appears and Luke 8. Confirming this relationship are the following similarities:

Parallel                                     Section V                     Section V'“

doing” what is commanded     8:21                              17:10

healing of non-Jews                8:26-39                         17:11-19

worship at Jesus' feet              8:35,41                          17:11-19

faith saves                               8:48                               17:19

turning back                            8:55                               17:4,31

And then if one looks at the breakdown of Section V' itself, another set of parallels is revealed:

A. To the disciples: causing little ones to sin (17:1-4)

B. On faith and a humble attitude (17:5-19)

C. To the Pharisees – Kingdom signs (17:20-21)

                                    C'. To the disciples – Kingdom signs (17:22-37)

B'. On faith and a humble attitude (18:1-14)

A'. To the disciples: let the children come (18:15-17)

This arrangement, in turn, is partially confirmed by two verbal parallels between B and B':

“ten” (17:12) and “tenth” (18:12)

“have mercy on us” (17:13) and “be merciful to us” (18:13)

Historical or Imaginary?

Next it is necessary to deal with the issue as to the historicity of this miracle story. Fitzmyer says, “R. Bultmann went so far as to call the story 'secondary,' being of Hellenistic origin...and nothing more than an 'imaginary' transposition of Mark 1:40-45 'in which gratitude and ingratitude are depicted on one and the same dramatic canvas.'”

And concerning Luke 17:19 in particular, Marshall adds, “Most commentators regard the verse as a schematic, redactional addition; it may well be pre-Lucan, but this does not solve the problem whether it is secondary to the original story. It is, however, an integral part of the story, since the whole point of the second part of the story lies in the relationship of the man to Jesus, and not simply in the fact that he gives thanks.”

Applications

Rather than concentrating on a detailed, verse-by-verse exposition of this story, let us consider its practical implications for us. After all, the analysis above places this narrative in parallel arrangement with 18:1-14, which is a teaching section, not a collection of miracles. As Ellis says, “With this real-life parable Luke emphasizes once more that the grace of God and the powers of the new age can be experienced in two ways, in their true meaningfulness or in vain...this is the fourth healing included in the 'teaching division'...In each case the theme of the episode is not the miraculous act [in itself] but the teaching-word arising from it.”

This is an important point since in my teaching ministry over the years I have run into Christians who, when discussing biblical miracles, have said in effect, “Yes, it is a miracle, and I believe in miracles. So what is there to discuss? Now let's go on to some application sections of the Bible instead that have more pertinence for me today.” In fact, each one of Jesus' miracles contains a valuable lesson.

Since there is an obvious contrast between the nine lepers and the one who returned, before delving into that contrast we should point out that the nine were not without their good points. In the first place, like good Jews, verse 13 indicates that they stood far off, as required by the law (Numbers 5:2-3; Leviticus 13:46,48; 14:1-3). Secondly, and of even more importance, was the fact that in the following verse they headed off to their local priests (again as required by Jewish law) relying on Jesus' word that they would be healed, and it was only when they were on their way that they noticed that healing had actually occurred.

Fitzmyer points out that “the Lucan Jesus does not counsel against the Mosaic Law.” This definitely speaks to those who believe that they have reached the point of perfection where they are beyond any law.

So what was the problem with the nine Jewish lepers? Marshall says, “The story does not necessarily imply that the other nine lacked faith; the point is rather that faith was incomplete because it did not issue in gratitude.” There was a rather sad example of such a person in a Sunday school class I attended years ago. He prided himself on his faith, which he felt was far superior to that of the rest of us in the class. He was of the “name it – claim it” school of belief and actually told us that God has no choice but to forgive us for anything we do. All we have to do is search the Scriptures for an appropriate promise and quote it back to God without confessing or repenting and we will be automatically forgiven. Gratitude did not come into the picture at all.

Ellis defines “faith” in v. 19 as “not a merit achieved but a grace manifested. Therefore it does not demand thanks but is thankful.”

Geldenhuys states, “Although the other nine had also received their healing, they had no further connection with Him, owing to the superficiality of their faith (which was merely a belief in 'miracles') and their ingratitude...The contrast of nine with one further expresses the pathos, for the nine were presumably Jews, members of the house of Israel. Obedient enough to carry out Jesus' injunction to present themselves to the priest, they were well physically...but have missed the greatest moment of their lives.”

Kistemaker echoes the above thought: “The faith of the nine Jews was superficial and vanished once they were healed. They had faith in miracles but only momentarily. They were ungrateful and at the same time unwilling to risk becoming followers of Jesus. And last, they used Jesus for their own physical interests and after that had no further need of him.” That last point should speak to followers of the “prosperity gospel” which tends to stress all the good things here on earth that are just waiting for a believer if he gives enough money to the church first.

So what did the Samaritan leper receive that the others didn't?

“The return of the one leper implies his conversion to Jesus. Luke uses a form of the vb. hypostrephein, a favorite [of his].” (Fitzmyer) Craddock: “When Jesus says, 'Your faith has made you well' (RSV), the blessing certainly refers to some benefit other than that which all, including the other nine, had received earlier. The verb translated 'made well' is the same word often translated 'to be saved.'”

There is second valuable lesson to be gained from this story. The particular leper colony in this story consisted of both Jews and Samaritans. As Kistemaker says, “As patients suffering of the same disease, national differences were set aside. That is, the colony housed Jews as well as Samaritans, who in isolation sought and needed each others' company.”

And getting back to the narrative, note that the Jews separated from the Samaritan once they were healed and no longer needed to band together. I have noted this tendency in the Christian church today. When my family and I lived in the Northeastern U.S. years ago, we looked for a congregation belonging to the tradition in which we had been raised. But that particular tradition had long ago split into three separate denominations which had virtually no contact with one another other. However, in the Northeast it was almost impossible to even locate an evangelical church of any denomination. At last we came upon a tiny start-up church with only about a dozen members. It turned out that between them we had people who came from all three branches of that same movement. But in this relatively “hostile” environment all of these members were willing to set their differences aside (which seemed rather minor compared to the beliefs and practices of the other denominations in that area) and work together.

The same pattern has unfortunately haunted the Christian church throughout the ages. At first the fledgling groups of believers consisted of communities in which both Jews and Gentiles banded together against a pagan world. Then once they were officially blessed by the head of the Roman Empire, they grew in numbers to the point where they began to see enemies everywhere, even among fellow believers who differed from them somewhat in worship style and stressed different doctrinal points. At that point, bloodshed would ensue between the different branches of Christianity with one or both sides willing to kill in order to eliminate the “heretics” and defend their own version of Christianity.

If you investigate the other miracle stories in the NT, you will find similarly valuable lessons for your life.