LUKE 17:15-16

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

TO PONDER

In this story of the 10 lepers from Luke's gospel, we are not told about the nationality of the other nine lepers. So why is it important for us to know this one was a Samaritan?

I believe that it is something to do with the 'outsider' view of the Jews towards the Samaritans. The Samaritans were descendants of the Northern kingdom of Israel after the split during the reign of King Rehoboam. During the course of this separation, the people of the Northern kingdom stopped traveling to the temple at Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, they began to intermarry with other nations against the command of God, and rejected many of the prophets and poetry of the Old Testament. The in Judea (the Southern Kingdom) rejected them as a result of their rejection of Gods commands and scripture.

Perhaps this is why the Samaritan is the only one to return in thanks to Jesus. The other 9 men had received physical healing that allowed them to return to their old lives, but for this Samaritan leper, Jesus' healing of his disease was an invitation into the people of God. It was an invitation into a life that was bigger and better than the one he had previously as an 'outsider'.

Too often and too easily, we can fall into the trap of viewing others as outsiders and fail to recognise how our own sin keeps us separated as outsiders from God. What better reason to give thanks and praise than for the way Jesus makes for us to be rescued from our sin and reconciled with God the Father so that we are no longer outsiders!

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, thank you that you came into our mess to help us out of it. To reach out to us and invite us into your death and resurrection and to share in your life now and forever as insiders of the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.