In Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning wrote: “Let’s say I interviewed ten people, asking each the same question – “Do you trust God?” And each answered, “Yes, I trust God,” but nine of the ten actually did not trust him. How would I find out which one of the ragamuffins was telling the truth? I would videotape each of the ten lives for a month and then, after watching the videos, pass judgment using this criterion: the person with an abiding spirit of gratitude is the one who trusts God.” 

Manning concludes: “The foremost quality of a trusting disciple is gratefulness.” That’s a big claim! The double miracle in Luke 17:11-19 backs it up. 

Luke 17:1-4 records a warning about temptation and a call to forgiveness. In verse 5, the disciples respond to Jesus’ commands with a request: “Increase our faith.” Jesus rebukes this request in verse 6. Do not confuse maturity and obedience. Genuine faith practices obedience without excuses.

Verses 7-10 emphasize this point with a mini-parable about the relationship between a master and a servant. When a servant comes in from the field, the master does not immediately invite him to dinner. The servant only eats after he has served his master’s meal. The servant carries out these duties without receiving any thanks. Verse 10 concludes: “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Luke strategically places the miracle of the ten lepers after this parable. Luke alone records this miracle. It is the second time in this Gospel that Jesus cleanses leprosy. In Luke 5:12-16, Jesus touches a leper and cleanses him. Here, Jesus cleanses ten lepers without touching them. But the miracle of the ten lepers is not about the miracle of the ten lepers. It is about the double miracle one of the lepers received when he returned to give thanks to Jesus. The miracle in our text conveys the themes of the parable in the preceding text. 

• What is genuine faith? 
• How does faith obey? 
• Who should thank who? 

Our text shows faith at work: The one who trusts is the one who thanks. David Garland wrote: “Faith and thanksgiving are inseparable.” What is the relationship between trust and thanks? The two miracles in our text reveal the relationship between trust and thanks.

Ten Men Received a Miracle of Healing. 

Verse 11 says, “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.” This is the third time Luke notes that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. Luke 9:51 says he “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus was somewhere between Samaria and Galilee. Where he was headed is more important than where he was. This miracle takes place in the shadow of the cross. As Jesus marched to his death, he cleansed ten lepers. 

The Leper’s Cry. Verses 12-13 make two points about the leper’s cry. 

Their Condition. Verse 12 says, “And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance.” Leprosy was a debilitating skin disease that rendered its victim ceremonially unclean. The fact the misery loves company brought ten lepers together in a small colony. Their disease distanced them from their city and society. All they had was each other. According to the Law of Moses, anyone who came in contact with a leper was also unclean. Thus, these lepers “stood at a distance.” Lepers had to stay a hundred paces from others. When someone approached, they cried out, “Unclean! Unclean!”  

Their Petition. Verse 13 says the ten lepers “lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’” Leprosy had weakened their voices. But with all their strength, they cried out to Jesus. They may have heard about Jesus cleansing the leper in Luke 5. Whatever and however they heard, they were convinced Jesus was able to help and heal them. They addressed him as “Master.” The term is only used for Jesus in Luke. It is only used by the followers of Jesus, except here. Addressing the one in charge, they pleaded for mercy. 

• “Master” affirms the power of Jesus. 
• “Mercy” affirms the pity of Jesus. 

The lepers asked Jesus to cleanse them. Their language admitted they did not deserve what they requested. Neither do we! Psalm 23:6 is our only hope: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

The Lord’s Command. What happened when these lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy?  

A Radical Command. Verse 14 records Jesus’ response to the leper’s plea for mercy. 

 Jesus saw them. It was more than a casual observance. Jesus saw in and through them. 

• He saw how they contracted leprosy. 
• He saw what leprosy had done to them. 
• He saw them underneath the skin. 

What Jesus saw invoked his compassionate help. The Lord has not changed! He sits high, but he looks low. He sees and cares and works for those who trust in him. 

Jesus spoke to them. He said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” In Luke 5:13, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the leper. Here he sends the lepers away to the priests. Leviticus 14 commands the cleansing of leprosy to be verified by the priests. Jesus gave these strange instructions to submit to the Mosaic Law. Matthew 5:17 says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” 

The priests acted as health inspectors. If these lepers were cleansed, the priests would be unwitting witnesses to the healing power of Jesus. Ultimately, Jesus told these lepers to show themselves to the priests as a test of faith. Jesus gave this command to unclean lepers. How they responded would demonstrate what they truly believed about Jesus’ power. 

A Radical Obedience. Verse 14 says, “And as they went they were cleansed.” Note Luke’s matter-of-fact report of this miracle. In a sense, Jesus did not do anything. There is no special announcement or supernatural touch. He sent the lepers on their way. As they went, they were cleansed. Divine intervention is often the result of radical obedience.

• In John 2, Jesus told the servants to pour in water and pour out wine. 
• In Mark 3, Jesus told the man with the withered hand to stretch it out. 
• In John 9, Jesus told the blind man to wash his face in the pool of Siloam. 

In each instance, a miracle happened when there was radical obedience to a radical command. If you want to see the mercy of Jesus in your life, do what he says! Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

One Man Received a Miracle of Salvation.

Jesus performed a mass healing on ten lepers. Yet this remarkable miracle is severely overlooked. Why? Because it is only the opening act to a greater miracle. 

• Ten lepers were cleansed. 
• One was cleansed and saved. 

  How did this one receive a double miracle? 

A Samaritan Man Returned. Verses 15-16 tell us what he did and who he was. 

What He Did. Verse 15 says, “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.” As the lepers raced to the priests, they saw they were cleansed. Their healing caused them to pick up their pace. One slowed up and turned around, “praising God with a loud voice.” He knew his healing was a divine act. He praised God at the top of his lungs. In verse 13, he cried out to Jesus with a hoarse voice. Now he sings praise to God with a healed voice. It’s the proper response to divine mercy. Psalm 107:22 says, “And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!”

Verse 16 says, “And he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.”

• “On his face” is the posture of worship. 
• “At Jesus’ feet” is the place of worship. 

In verse 15, he praises God. In verse 16, he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and gave him thanks. His worship confessed that Jesus is God. Colossians 1:15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 2:9 says, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Thank you Jesus is the highest praise to God!

Who He Was. Verse 16 ends: “Now he was a Samaritan.” Luke did not give personal information about these ten lepers. He now reveals the cleansed leper who returned was a Samaritan. John 4:9 states parenthetically: “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” A common disease caused the lepers to forget their ethnic hostilities. The race of the lepers was not significant until now. The other nine lepers were Jews who should have recognized the supernatural authority of the long-awaited Messiah-King. Only the outsider saw what the insiders missed. 

In Luke 10:30-37, a Samaritan shows mercy to a mugging victim when the priest and Levite pass by. Here a Samaritan recognizes mercy when his Jewish friends fail to see God at work among them. Race, gender, and status are non-factors in saving grace. Romans 10:13 says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

A Saved Man Departed. Verses 17-19 record Jesus’ response to the cleansed leper who returned to give thanks.

Jesus counts. Verses 17-18 record a series of rhetorical questions Jesus asked the one who returned. Jesus asked, “Where not ten cleansed?” Jesus knew it was ten of them. His question put what he did for them on the record. Jesus has a record of all he has done for you! Jesus asked, “Where are the nine?” This question is a lamentation. It grieved Jesus that the nine did not return to give him thanks. There is a sad answer to this rhetorical question: They got what they wanted and were gone. It is the common response to divine mercy. 

• People seek the Lord when they have a need.
• People forsake the Lord when the need is met. 

Where are the nine? Where are you? Verse 18 asks, “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” The Greek word for “foreigner” hung on a sign outside of the temple telling them to stay out. Here is a big point that is often missed. The Samaritan did not go to show himself to the priests because he was a foreigner who was not allowed in the temple. He turned around to praise God at the feet of Jesus and found himself in the true temple. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

Jesus converts. Jesus condemned the nine lepers for not returning to thank him. But he did not hold Samaritan responsible for what the others did not do. Verse 19 says, “And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’” The Samaritan was on his face at Jesus’ feet. Jesus told him to stand up. Then he told him to go his way. He was to go do what the other nine had already done. He was to get on with his life. 

• Praising Jesus did not close the door to life’s blessings. 
• Praising Jesus opened the door to greater blessings. 

Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” The text does not say the lepers were cleansed because of their faith. But Jesus said the returning leper’s faith made him well. “Made you well” translates the Greek word for salvation. His body was healed, and his soul was saved. The former is nothing without the latter. God is holy. All are sinners. We need salvation. Only Jesus saves. He died on the cross and rose from the dead to make you well! 

• You cannot fall at his feet. 
• You can run to the cross. 

What is the evidence of saving faith? The one who trusts is the one who thanks. An elderly woman said to Charles Spurgeon, “Ah, Mr. Spurgeon, if Jesus Christ does save me, he shall never hear the end of it.” She was talking better than she understood. If the Lord has saved you, he should never hear the end of it. Psalm 107:1-3 says, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.”