Luke 17 contains one of my favorite events in the life of Jesus. Verses 11-19 tell the story of the ten lepers who came to Jesus asking to be healed. They stood at a distance and cried out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” [vs13]
Jesus told them to do what was prescribed in the law and go show themselves to the priests. That is what they did and along the way they discovered that they were “cleansed.” Their skin disease (likely leprosy) was gone.
One of them, however, upon finding out that he was cleansed, made a U-turn. He came back to Jesus and fell at His feet, giving glory to God and thanking Him. Only one? Only one – and even more remarkable, this only one was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked where the other nine were who were also cleansed. Then He turned to the only one at His feet and added a remarkable blessing, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.” [vs19 HCSB]
That word for “well” is sózó. It means to save, rescue, preserve. It means to deliver out of danger and into safety, and in the Scriptures, it is used primarily of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin.
Only one returned and gave thanks and glory to God. Only one received a further blessing. Not just one healing of the body but also a healing of the soul.
