Devotional:

“On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” — Luke 17:11-19

As I read this passage and pray for God to give me His words for this devotional, I am in awe of everything around me. I am so blessed to be in Israel for the next eight days. I am sitting in Capernaum with my feet dangling from a rocky cliff with the Sea of Galilee under me and as far as I can see in front of me, I write to you and pray for God to speak to each person reading or listening.

As the tears flow down my cheeks, I am reminded that Jesus was here, just like I am right now. This is my third time visiting Israel, but writing these devotionals about Jesus’s miracles has completely changed my perspective. Everything I’ve read, written about and studied has come flooding back as if I were there with Jesus, seeing it all happen right before me. From the wedding at Cana to the paralyzed man who was lowered from the rooftop to the empty tomb, I am amazed and so grateful.

I can see the ruins of Peter’s home and although a church sits above those ruins today, I imagine what a beautiful view of the sea Peter and his family must have had and how convenient it must have been for a career fisherman! Jesus’s hometown of Nazareth rejected Him, so after that, He came to Capernaum to live. This is where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law; He healed the man with the withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath and so many more. Although this miracle did not happen in Capernaum, I imagined how the story must have gone as I walked toward the city gate.

Ten men stood outside a city gate somewhere between Galilee and Samaria. They weren’t allowed to enter the town because they had been deemed unclean. Leprosy is a skin disease that has been misunderstood for centuries. They believed it was contagious through contact and it was also a curse from God. Sin, shame and a lifetime of isolation were all these men had known since the priests had diagnosed and exiled them from the town.

One afternoon, as these men sat outside the gate begging for anything they could get thrown at them, they recognized Jesus in the distance. He hoped to stop for the night and sleep before continuing His journey to Jerusalem. The men stood in total disbelief that Jesus was actually walking toward them. Standing at an appropriate distance, they remained in the shadows, fearing that someone would force them to leave before Jesus reached them. Jesus walked closer and closer and they waited desperately, hearts racing and eyes full of tears. When He was close enough to hear them yell, they cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”Jesus stopped, looked at them, and said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  Jesus didn’t ask questions and He didn’t walk over to touch all of them individually. He yelled back across the street and told them to go to the priests. Jesus knew the priests were the only ones who could officially pronounce these men clean again and allow them back into the city and the temple.

But this is what is so powerful to me, Jesus did not immediately heal them. They didn’t look down and see clear skin and then turn to go to the priests. When they turned to do what Jesus said, they still had leprosy. Nothing had changed. It took complete faith for them to turn around and trust Jesus. Verse 14 says, “as they went, they were healed.” The healing did not begin until they heard Jesus’s words, believed His words and went and did what He said. How hard must that have been as they turned away and started toward the temple with flaky white patches of skin still swollen and oozing…one-step, two steps, three steps…and on they went. They were obedient and at some point, as they walked, they were healed.

I know I need to ask myself if I have faith like these 10 lepers. Can I hear God’s voice well enough to turn in obedience and do what He says even before I receive an answer or a miracle? Or do I need to see the evidence before I can walk in obedience toward Him?

The tenth leper looked down as they walked and realized he had been healed. Then they all looked down and saw they had been healed too! But the tenth leper was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t help but run back to Jesus, praising Him and falling at His feet in thanks. Jesus told him his faith had made him well. Because of his faith, he was healed not just physically, but spiritually.

The other nine lepers kept walking because they cared more about the priests blessing than the acknowledgment of Jesus, the one who gave them this miracle. Were the other men still healed? I do believe they were healed physically, but spiritually, they still walked with the same death sentence as they did before the miracle. The physical healing would only get them so far. Without the acceptance and love of Christ, living with their physically healed bodies still left them eternally separated from God. So, who do you relate to?

Do you relate to the nine lepers that kept walking to get their clearance from the priests instead of giving praise and thanks to the One who gave them the miracle? Is the thing you so desperately cry out to God for, more important than your relationship with Jesus?

Or do you relate to the tenth leper who recognized Jesus was the only reason for his miracle and could live life whole again and walk in the confidence of that every day and into eternity with Christ?

Heavenly Father, no amount of praise and thanks in the world are enough for what You deserve. You are the only reason for our blessings and our miracles. Forgive us for not stopping to realize that every single day. Amen