While on His way to Jerusalem on one occasion, Jesus traveled between Galilee and Samaria. When He arrived at a certain village, 10 men, all of whom were stricken with “serious skin diseases” (Luke 17:12), approached Him and cried out for mercy. Jesus told them, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests” (v. 14). As they went, they were healed.
Jesus’ instructions reflect teachings found in Leviticus 13–14 regarding skin disorders. The King James Version regularly uses the term leprosy to refer to all such diseases, but the Hebrew word is broader, covering a variety of ailments, including skin diseases resulting from infections as well as those caused by fungi.
Priests were directly involved in evaluating whether skin diseases had spread or were contained. Obviously, they were trained in this skill. Skin irregularities such a spot, scab, or place that swelled could give rise to a larger problem. When they did, the individual experiencing symptoms was to present himself to a priest for evaluation. If the priest determined the place on the skin looked suspicious and might be spreading, he would pronounce the infected person ceremonially unclean and would direct that he or she be quarantined for a period of seven days. After the designated time had passed, the priest would evaluate the condition again. If nothing had changed, he would order the person to be placed under a second week-long quarantine. Following this period of isolation, the priest would inspect the skin irregularity once more. If it had diminished, he would declare the person clean and permit him or her to return to normal life and normal associations with others. If the area had spread or worsened, however, the priest was compelled to declare the individual unclean; that person then had to withdraw from his or her own family and from society in general.
Significantly, Leviticus 14:2 states, “This is the law concerning the person afflicted with a skin disease on the day of his cleansing. He is to be brought to the priest, who will go outside the camp and examine him.” In the event that the person had been healed, detailed instructions were given regarding the individual’s restoration to the community. Healing, of course, was the blessing Jesus bestowed on all ten men: “And while they were going, they were healed” (Luke 17:14). Nine kept on going, but one returned to give thanks, and Jesus commended this man for doing so. It is noteworthy that (1) the act of heading in the direction of the priests required faith, (2) healing occurred “while they were going,” (3) the one who returned to give thanks had to at least postpone obeying Jesus’ command to go show himself to the priest, (4) Jesus’ commended the man for returning to glorify God, (5) Jesus noted the man was a foreigner, strongly indicating the gospel was for all people, not just Jews, and, (6) Jesus further affirmed to the man, “Your faith has made you well” (v. 18).
Copyright © 2015 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.