When the Lepers Encountered Jesus

Imagine what the people in the Bible who interacted with Jesus may have been feeling as they personally encountered Him. In doing so, it will really breathe new life into those familiar Scripture passages that we read and study every day. And as we put ourselves in their place, we find that we can become part of the story as we see things from their perspectives.  As a matter of fact let’s start with one of those passages right now. Let’s look at the ten men in Luke 17 who had the worst disease of their day. The physical ramifications of their disease were horrendous. They had Leprosy.  Leprosy attacks the entire body, causing sores, disabling it’s victims with the loss of fingers, missing toes, damaged limbs, disfiguring their faces as well as their entire body.  In most cases, the initial pain of leprosy gave way to something more terrible than even the agonizing disfiguring pain of their body; it was the pain from the loss of being disconnected from family and loved ones. The disease could take up to 30 years to run its course, and in that time span, a person could lose entire limbs and other body parts, if, they were able to endure the disease in its entirety. It is, assuredly, a most horrible disease. It is almost nearly an impossible task in trying to fathom what it was like 2,000 years ago and what people had to endure without the proper medical treatment as we know it today.

In her book, “Jesus, The One and Only”, Beth Moore tells the story of an occasion that she once had to be near a modern day leper colony. She noted that she had always had a desire to minister to a leper and on that trip, she had her opportunity to be near such a place. She said that as she walked by the entrance of the colony three different times, she could see inside those who were suffering. She pleaded with herself to go inside. But she could not. Her reason was that the smell overwhelmed her and she simply could not work up the stomach to go in where the leapers were. She could not bear the thought of not witnessing for the Lord, but became violently ill as she faced those human beings already acutely aware that they were different. The trip passed and she was not able to go inside.

The ten Lepers of Luke 17 were acutely aware of being different. They were outcast from their homes, their family and from their friends. The emotional pain of a leper had to be the worst part of their pain. Being removed from their family and their community, they could have no contact, whatsoever with their children or grandchildren for fear that they too would become afflicted. Even the religious leaders looked upon them with contempt. At that time, leprosy was thought to be highly contagious and only centuries later was it found that 95 percent of all human beings are immune to it. Leprosy was also thought to be incurable and those that had it were quarantined into settlements or colonies and were shunned and disgraced. I think that with knowing these things, we can gain a new appreciation of how bad this disease must have been in the days of Christ. For it wasn't just the grotesque damage to one’s sight or the loud cries from the disease attacking their hearing but, it was also the smell of rotting, decaying flesh, overwhelming even their own sense of smell and of which was no escape.

Luke 17 tells us that one day when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem he encountered 10 Lepers. The men met him, but stayed at a distance. For it was written in Jewish law that a leper must not come near another Jew and must call out in a loud voice "Unclean!", so that all the people around them would know that they were a leper. These ten men called out to Jesus as they saw Him, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!".  For they knew, he had healed others. They might had seen it for themselves or had heard people talking and sharing the good news about Jesus and His miracles, and believed. It did not matter how they knew, the fact was that they knew, and believed that Jesus could do the same for them as He had for others.  Jesus responded to them and told them to go and show themselves to the priests, and as they were going, a wonderful thing happened. Their skin became clean and free from their leprosy. Part of the duties of the local priest other than reading from the Torah to the people and making sacrifices was that they were also something of a health official. If a person was miraculously healed of leprosy, it was up to the priest to inspect the body and declare if it was true healing. And only then could that person reenter the community and be restored to their family. Nine of the men continued to go on to see the priest, but one man turned and came back to Jesus. He began praising God with a loud voice, and he fell at Jesus' feet and thanked him. Because of the way this Leper fell at the Lord’s feet, crying out in a loud voice,  I am reminded of the woman of Luke 7:47 that also came and fell at Jesus’ feet in gratitude, Jesus said this about her, “…her many sins have been forgiven…for she loveth much. But he who is forgiven little, loveth little.” and this is a perfect picture to me as to how someone would feel towards Jesus once they have received such “a great act” of forgiveness. This man was also a Samaritan. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. For the other Lepers, they simply walked on, maybe they felt worthy because they were of the descendants of Abraham. Had they felt worthy, because they were Jews? Were they in such a hurry to get their blessing that they simply forgot to stop and say thanks for what they were receiving? Who knows, but the one Jesus chose worthy to mention was the one who was the most outcast of them all, the Samaritan. He came back to thank Jesus. The foreigner, the outcast, the stinking Samaritan. I am so glad that Jesus is not a respecter of people and that the foot of the cross is level, for us all.  Jesus also asked where the other nine men were. Ten were healed, but only one came back to say "Thank you", and he was a foreigner. Jesus told the man, "Rise and go. Your faith has made you well."
 

While on a short term mission trip, a young preacher from North Carolina was leading worship at a leper colony on the island if Tabango. Having time for one more song, he asked if anyone had a request. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned to him to make her request. The pastor said that she had the most hideous face that he had ever seen. The woman's nose and ears were entirely gone. The disease had destroyed her lips as well. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, 'Can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?'" Overcome with emotion, the young pastor left the service. He was followed by a fellow team member who said, "… I guess you'll never be able to sing that song again." and with that statement the young preacher replied, "Yes, I will, but I will never be able to sing it that way again!”

Some of you are in horrible circumstances, right now. And what awaits you is the facing of this question. Will you be thankful despite your difficult circumstance? If you can say yes, then you will have applied and experienced faith as the Leper in this story. For the story of these ten men puts everything into perspective for us and places gratitude in its proper perspective. God is deserving of our gratitude because of the grace and mercy that He freely gives to those who do not deserve it.

Is there a more potent lesson for us to learn than this one? God tells us that the just (meaning His children), shall live by faith. You cannot wait until the problems are over to start walking in faith. You cannot put conditions on God. You cannot say, "Lord, as soon as there's enough money, I will follow your instructions." You cannot pray, "Lord, if you'll just solve this issue in my family, I'll start going to church." You cannot put conditions on God! Instead, God places a demand for faith on us, before any of our circumstances have change. We must be aggressive in our faith and put it into action. Then we can see the hand of God at work. The Leper’s received their healing as they were going in obedience to Jesus’ telling them to go the priest. They arrived just in time, to be declared healed. God’s timing is always perfect. Our attitudes will only slow His working in us and for us down.

Sweet Friend God might say to us, "Love me despite this disease. Obey me despite the lack of talent that I have given you, or the lack of resources that you have”. And He is assuredly saying,  “Follow me now, despite the depression, despite the disappointments that you have had in me in the past. Say no to the temptation, to complain and take a negative attitude about your situation even though it is very difficult on you. Praise me in the darkest of nights, and in the worst of circumstances."

For this sweet friend is the nature of God. He'll give you the opportunity to be thankful when nothing about your circumstances gives you that motivation. For that is the very definition of faith.

In a letter to his brother Saint Philomena who established a church for the Lepers of Hawaii said,...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ. Saint Paul said, that he counted everything loss but save Christ in His life. He also said for him to live was Christ, to die was gain. May I encourage you today, to live for Christ! Throw off the old nature by allowing God to save you and work in you to do His good will. If it would help and I could, I would gladly throw myself at your feet today, begging you to turn to Christ and be absolutely set free and sold out for Him.

May your ending be brighter than your beginning in Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for you!
Loving on you today!
Bren