Luke 1711–19 ESV – Bible Gateway
This passage continues Jesus’ travel narrative as he passes through Samaria onto Jerusalem. When he enters a village, ten lepers shout out at him from a distance. As we learn, one of these men is a Samaritan. There is an interesting dynamic here, as the Navarre commentary references. “There was no love lost between Jews and Samaritans (cf. Jn 4:9), but shared pain, in the case of these lepers, overcame racial antipathy.”[1] When pain or sin brings us low, we reevaluate our assumptions. So often, these assumptions are mostly made up of what separates us from others. Characteristics that are of no real importance are emphasized over our common humanity. Even when there are serious theological disputes, this should not prevent us from seeing others as persons. Pain can sharpen our awareness not only of our own humanity but look beyond ourselves to see others more fully.
It seems likely that this group of lepers had heard stories about Jesus, the miracle worker. That he was something more than those who claimed to be able to do the same.
Peter Kreeft puts this succinctly:
Although only this one of the ten lepers added praise and gratitude to faith, all ten lepers were healed by their faith in Jesus. That faith was shown when they met Jesus’ test. Jesus did not heal them then and there, as soon as they asked (also in a loud voice—the text says they “raised their voices”) “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” The fact that they come to Jesus for a healing expresses one level of faith. The fact that they call him “Master” expresses a higher level of faith. But the fact that they all obey him and go off to show themselves to the priests who will certify that they are cleansed—the fact that they do that before they are cleansed; the fact that it is only on the way to the priests that they receive the miracle—that shows that their faith was on a still higher level. They trusted Jesus so much that they believed they were to be healed, and acted as if they were healed, even before it happened.[2]
The leper’s response is amazing in that they had a level of faith that did not demand an instant cure and proof that something momentous had happened in this encounter. They trusted in him and acted as if they had already been healed.
John Bergsma notes the reason that Jesus gave the command he did to them:
In this, we note the fact that Jesus upholds the written law of God and the authority structure of the Old Covenant, while it stands. Jesus was well aware of corruption in the priesthood, and several chapters earlier (Luke 10), he told a story of a priest and Levite who just “passed by on the other side” (v. 31, 32; RSV2CE). Despite that, the written word of God by Moses had a procedure for the cleansing of leprosy, and Jesus follows it. There is a lesson here. Jesus understands authority and authority structures. Individuals may be corrupt, but that doesn’t justify anarchy in society or in the Church.[3]
We are also a long way off from Jesus when we sin and stand at a distance from him. He hears us when we shout in our pain and bids us draw closer to him. For us, he does this through the Church and the sacraments. There are multiple levels of healing that can occur when we do so.
This story in Luke goes on to illustrate a distinction between the leper from Samaria and the other nine.
Brant Pitre points out a couple of notable differences in their reactions:
And so what happens is one of the ten lepers, who happens to be a Samaritan, realizes that the person he needs to thank for being cleansed is Jesus of Nazareth. So he turns back and he goes to Jesus. Notice what he does. He praises God—literally glorifies God—and gives thanks to Jesus by falling at his feet.
…
He does something kind of striking, he falls on his face. In other words, he gets prostrate before Jesus. That’s a strange thing to do either for a Jew or a Samaritan. Because by the first century AD, Samaritans—like the Jews—are monotheists. They only believe in one God. They actually have accepted the five books of Moses as Scripture and they worship the One God in their temple at Mount Gerizim. And so Samaritans, just like Jews, they’re not like pagans. They don’t fall prostrate before other human beings and take on a posture of worship to another human being.[4]
The Venerable Bede comments on this passage:
He fell upon his face, because he blushes with shame when he remembers the evils he had committed. And he is commanded to rise and walk, because he who, knowing his own weakness, lies lowly on the ground, is led to advance by the consolation of the divine word to mighty deeds. But if faith made him whole, who hurried himself back to give thanks, therefore does unbelief destroy those who have neglected to give glory to God for mercies received. Wherefore that we ought to increase our faith by humility, as it is declared in the former parable, so in this is it exemplified in the actions themselves. [5]
This action of one leper is an echo of the healing of another leper.
The miracle thus recalls Elisha’s healing of Naaman the Syrian (4:27), who likewise was cleansed from a distance after obeying the command of the “prophet in Samaria” to “go” (2 Kings 5:3, 9–14). … Similarly, Naaman had returned and confessed the true God (2 Kings 5:15). Jesus is thus a prophet like Elisha. Moreover, the man also thanked (Greek eucharisteō) Jesus: glorifying God and thanking Jesus are now linked together. In doing so, he literally fell “on his face” (RSV)—like the earlier leper (Luke 5:12)—before Jesus.[6]
The other lepers perceived Jesus as a prophet, an instrument of God. They had turned to God for healing and received it. They had the virtues of faith and hope. Still, they were standoffish in their relationship with God. God had always intended a personal relationship with his people, but the Israelites balked at this, preferring mediators like Moses to go up to the mountain to interact with him. The leper from Samaria perceives something more and provides worship and glory to God. He is moved to love God directly in the personhood of Jesus. The others were thankful to God in a generic sense, this leper is moved to the theological virtue of charity and loves God directly.
Jesus says to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” This leper thus receives even greater healing. Jesus had already noted that the ten were cleansed, indicating the curing of leprosy. The greater cleansing is to be freed of our sins.
It is not indicated that the Samaritan leper goes on to fulfill Jesus’ command to show himself to the priests. Perhaps he perceived, in some way, that Jesus was the true high priest and that by returning to him, he had done as Jesus ordered. Still, the parallel for us is that when we have sinned gravely, we can go directly to Jesus and make a perfect act of contrition and be forgiven, but even then must avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as we are able.
Sources
- Navarre, Saint Luke’s Gospel (2005)
- Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C
- The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C – John Bergsma
- Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
- The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz
- Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers, Volume 3: St. Luke – Verbum
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
- Navarre, Saint Luke’s Gospel (2005) ↩
- Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C ↩
- The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma ↩
- Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre ↩
- Venerable, Presbyter and Monk of Yarrow, A.D. 700. Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers: St. Luke ↩
- The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz ↩
