One Came Back

Ten men stood at a distance and shouted.

That’s how lepers had to do it. Close enough to be heard, far enough to stay out of the way. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

He didn’t touch them this time. He just told them to go show themselves to the priests. And somewhere on that road, between the asking and the arriving, their skin came clean.

Nine kept walking.

One stopped. He looked down at his hands, turned around, and came back shouting again. This time it wasn’t for mercy. It was praise. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him.

Luke adds one more detail, almost quietly: “And he was a Samaritan.” The outsider. The one nobody expected to know better.

Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Then He told the man, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11–19)

All ten were cleansed. But the word Jesus spoke to the one who came back means more than that. It’s sōzō, the word for saved, made whole. The nine got their skin back. The one got Jesus.

On Friday we talked about grace as a gift, not a wage. After all those years as an accountant, I can tell you nobody sends a thank-you note for a paycheck. You thank someone for a gift. Gratitude is how you know you understood what you received.

When was the last time you turned around just to say thank You?

On Wednesday: the woman who reached for His hem.