In the record of the healing of the ten lepers we have, as in the record of all miracles, proof of the divinity of Christ, and an aid to that faith which will give us eternal life. "These [miracles] are recorded that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we might have life through His name." (John 20:31)
In this miracle we see in an especial manner the depth of the love of God, for we see it bestowed on those who had no appreciation of it. From a study of this miracle we shall receive additional proof in the Scripture that: "[God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Leprosy a Type of Sin
Leprosy is one of the most loathsome of diseases. It is constitutional, involving the whole system. It may be said to be a living, progressive death, in that, one after another, the different members of the body lose all sensibility, and finally drop off, the disease inevitably ending in death. It is a disease incurable by any means known to man. So loathsome is it that it forever shuts away its victim from the society of the uninfected.
In all these things it is a fitting type of sin. Sin is a constitutional disease--a disease affecting the whole system. The Lord says to those who have departed from Him, and loaded themselves with sin, "Why should you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more andmore; the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." (Isaiah 1:5-6)
It is incurable by any means known to man. "Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" (Proverbs 20:9) "If I justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me; if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse." (Job 9:20) "For though you wash yourself with niter, and take much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me, says the Lord God." (Jeremiah 2:22)
If a person is diseased in only one member, that member may be cut off, and the spread of the disease be checked in that way, if it is incurable. But when the vital organs are diseased, and the whole body is affected, there is no hope. As the leprosy separates its victims from the society of the pure, so with sin. "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you." (Isaiah 59:2)
"It is possible," says one who has seen much of leprosy, "for lepers who have means to secure such medical treatment as removes most of the external signs of the disease."
So sinners may by their works outwardly appear unto men to be righteous, but within they are full of hypocrisy and iniquity, and all uncleanness.
The Cleansing Touch
But although the leprosy is so loathsome and so dangerous, Jesus did not fear it, nor did He shrink from contact with it. "And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You will, You can make me clean. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matthew 8:2-3)
It was not because leprosy was pleasant to Jesus that He touched the leper; we cannot suppose that it was any more attractive to Him than to other people. But His love for men was so great that he would touch the leper, in spite of his loathsomeness, that He might cleanse him from it.
So sin is not pleasant to the eyes of God; it is most loathsome. Even to our eyes it often appears hideous; how much more so must it seem to the pure and holy God. Nevertheless He so loved men that. "He was made in all things like unto His brethren," (Hebrews 2:17) that He might purify them. "For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
In this we may "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." (1 John 3:1)
He saw me ruined in the fall,
Yet loved me, not withstanding all;
He saved me from my lost estate;
His loving-kindness, oh, how great!
--Samuel Medley, Hymn: Awake, my soul, in joyful lays, 1782.
The readiness of Jesus to touch the poor leper, and the speedy cure which followed, are designed to show to us His willingness to receive sinners, and His power to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
It was not necessary, however, that Jesus should actually put forth His hand and touch the diseased person, in order to heal him. The centurion whose servant was sick of the palsy, and who begged Jesus to heal him, understood this. "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, And saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done unto you. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." (Matthew 8:5-13)
So in the case under consideration, Jesus did not touch the lepers, but healed them with a word. From the case already cited, we know that this was not because He shrank from the contact. It must be to teach us the lesson that the centurion had already learned, that Jesus can speak the word, and heal at any distance.
We cannot see Him; we cannot feel His physical presence; yet all power is given unto Him in heaven and earth, and from the height of His sanctuary, from heaven, His dwelling-place, He can heal as well as when He was present in person.
Acting in Faith
"And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed." (Luke 17:13-14)
The command to go show themselves unto the priests was in accordance with the Mosaic law. (See Leviticus 14:1-20) They were full of leprosy, yet they were commanded to go show themselves to the priests, as though they were cleansed. "And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed." (Luke 17:14)
Their faith was shown in their acting as though they were cleansed before they had any outward evidence of it. Thus they demonstrated the two scriptures, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for," (Hebrews 11:1) and, "What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." (Mark 11:24)
Faith makes its own way.
The steps of faith
Fall on the seeming void,and find
The Rock beneath.
-John Greenleaf Whittier, Poem: My Soul and I, 1847.
Fullness of Blessing
One of the ten turned back to glorify God and gave thanks.
"Whoso offers praise, [says the Lord,] glorifies me." (Psalm 50:23)
Ten lepers were cleansed, but only one returned to give thanks. Very many blessings are lost to men through unthankfulness. The men who once knew God, yet glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, lost their knowledge of God, and their foolish heart was darkened.
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Romans 1:21)
The nine lepers who returned not to give glory to God were cleansed, and God did not withdraw the healing because they did not appreciate it. "If we believe not, yet He abides faithful; He cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13) "He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45)
Yet they could not have failed to lose much that the thankful one received. Jesus said to him, "Arise, go your way; your faith has made you whole." (Luke 17:19)
This seems to imply wholeness in a special sense. It can mean nothing less than healing both of body and soul.
It is easy to see why there was this difference between him and the others. By their failure to give thanks, they showed that they were prompted only by a selfish desire for health. Having received health, they cared nothing for the beautiful Giver. Of course those who thought no more of the Lord than that, could not have received the fullness of divine blessing. And so we see right here what they lost by their failure to glorify God; they shut themselves away from His choicest blessing.
Doing Good to All
Another practical lesson may be learned from this affair. It is this, that Christ did not confine His good offices to those who had living, saving faith in Him, or who would be His disciples. "[He] went about doing good," (Acts 10:38) because that was His nature. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." (2 Corinthians 5:12) It is "the goodness of God that leads men to repentance." (Romans 2:4)
And so Christ, in the fullness of His love and goodness, went about a blessing to all. How often we read that: "He was moved with compassion." (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 18:27; Mark 1:41; 6:34)
He could not see suffering without wishing to alleviate it; and so He healed all who would allow Him to do anything for them. Some were drawn by His goodness to believe in Him to the saving of their souls, while others forgot Him. Thus it is now.
But if we consider Jesus in this light, as doing good to all, and not simply to those who were or would be His disciples, and then remember that this was but a manifestation of the love of God, we shall have a higher appreciation of that love, and will the more readily incline to yield to such unselfish goodness.--Signs of the Times, August 11, 1890--International Lesson Notes, August 17, 1890--Luke 17:11-19.