Show Yourselves to the Priests
Exploring the Gospel of Luke
The day of the crucifixion in Jerusalem draws near. Yet, that doesn’t mean that the messianic mission is coming to an end. Even as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem, he is still on a mission to bring healing and restoration to others:
Luke 17:11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
At that time, the promised land consisted of three major regions: Galilee (in the north), Samaria (in the middle), and Judea (in the south). So, as Jesus is moving south toward Jerusalem (in Judea) from Galilee, he comes up against the land of Samaria. Hence, he’s at the border between Galilee and Samaria.
At this border, Jesus encounters 10 lepers, who cry out to him. Do you think this sounds familiar? Where else have we read about Jesus encountering the leprous? Back in Luke 5, where we read:
Luke 5:12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Not only that, but Jesus gives parallel instructions to the leprous in both Luke 5 and 17:
Luke 5:14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
Luke 17:14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
In both cases, Jesus instructs them to adhere to the commandments of the Torah, regarding the ritual cleansing of those with skin conditions/diseases in Leviticus 14:1-32.
However, I wonder what priests the lepers in Luke 17 appeared before, since they were at the border between Galilee and Samaria. Did they go to Jewish or Samaritan priests?
During this time, the Jews and Samaritans had distinct priesthoods, which they claimed were in continuity with the ancient Israelite priesthood described in the Torah.
Remember: Both Jews and Samaritans are descendants of the ancient Israelites, and they have passed down different versions of the Torah. Both of these versions are available for us to read on this very day! The Jewish version is what we have in our Bibles, and the Samaritan version can be read in what’s called the “Samaritan Pentateuch.”
In both versions, there are instructions for ritual purification after being healed from leprosy, which can be traced back to the days of Moses. Therefore, Jesus’ instructions to the lepers wouldn’t have been foreign to them, regardless of whether they were Jewish or Samaritan.
After the 10 lepers go to the priests for ritual purification, only one of them returns:
Luke 17:15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
The clarification, “he was a Samaritan,” in verse 16 seems to imply that the other nine lepers were Jewish. The irony of the situation is what Jesus explicitly points out—the “foreigner” among the 10 lepers is the only one who came back in praise of God.
In other words, the Samaritan was the only one among his Israelite kinsmen to praise the God of his ancestors before the Messiah. This is another instance where the “least expected person” has a fuller experience with the Lord than those who were “expected to.”
The healing of the nine Jewish lepers and the one Samaritan leper is a foreshadowing of the healing that Messiah Jesus will bring to the house of Israel. He has come to reunite Jews and Samaritans, healing them of their physical, spiritual, and cultural wounds.
Yet, only the Samaritan leper had the eyes to see that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was on the move amongst the house of Israel. God was moving in and through the One who healed him. And that was worth praising, as he did unashamedly.