Leprosy was a feared disease. In the old days, there was no medicine that was able to halt the destructions of leprosy upon one’s body. It was the Israelites’ custom that the people with leprosy had to live separately, they had to wear different clothing, and when they walked through a town with people, they had to announce loudly, “Dirty! Dirty!” Other people would then move away from them. The priest had the authority to examine and declare whether someone no longer had the disease, and would also give them permission to rejoin the community.
On the way to Jerusalem, Christ stopped by a small village where ten lepers came out to welcome Him. They stood far away and begged Him to cure them. Jesus did not cure them instantly, but instructed them to go see the priest. Going to see the priest while their bodies still had leprosy was useless, but all ten of them possessed faith and they walked together anyway. Because of their faith, they were cured while going to see the priest. When they recognized that they were cured, they discussed with each other whether they should come back to give thanks to Jesus or whether they should go see the priest first. The majority wanted to receive the certificate declaring them as cured. There was only one person, a Samaritan, who thought that, “I can see the priest anytime because I am now cure. It is more important and necessary to return to give thanks to God”; Therefore he returned. The words Jesus used gave the impression that He was surprised that the other nine lepers did not return; But in reality, He was surprised that one person returned! Christ lived in a world where people were indifferent and thankless and He understood them. He knew that they only ran to Him when they needed something, and turned their face from Him when the job was done! God was happy that one person returned, because even though there were thousands of thankless people, at least one person was still thankful. Let us look at our own attitude when we receive the many blessings from God. Does our gratefulness cause us to be motivated and eager to give thanks and serve Him? We remember clearly the good deeds we perform for other people, but we easily forget those who do favors for us.
Pastor Thoai Duong
Translated by Minh Merideth
