Jesus may well have been flabbergasted that out of the 10 lepers, who He had healed, only 1 returned to thank and praise Him, and he was a Samaritan - a hated race to a Jew.
The lepers would have been a mixture of Jews and Samaritans, who despite their racial differences, were united together because of their sickness. They were outcasts with nowhere to go.
As Jesus approached the border of Samaria and Galilee, they cried out to Him begging for mercy and to be healed from this terrible plague. There was a strict law of social-distancing with someone who had leprosy. They had to stay at a distance from other people to prevent infecting someone else. Jesus heard them and then did a strange thing. Watch this - He didn't heal them on the spot but sent them to the priest. Now I'm not to sure that the priest would have been too happy about this, but they went.
What was Jesus doing by this? It was a faith thing! At first they didn't realise this but as they went on their way, they were healed and very likely before they reached the priest too. Yet, if they hadn't have obeyed Jesus, they probably would have lost their healing.
At times, its the same with us. We ask Jesus to heal us but He expects us to have faith and receive this instantly, even though we may still have the symptoms. My guess is that the lepers had already have been healed but it wasn't manifested until they put their faith and obedience into operation by visiting the priest.
We need to talk, 'healed not doubt'. When we receive prayer for healing, it can be so easy to think - 'Nothing has happened, I still feel the same'. And if we continue in this manner, nothing will happen rather like if the lepers hadn't have gone to the priest. However, when we receive our healing by faith, it's like we have gone to see the priest and we are healed on the way. Do you get that?
Sadly here, only one of the lepers returned to thank Jesus for his healing. The others just went on their way, like many people do when God has done something wonderful for them. The one who returned had a double-whammy from Jesus. He wasn't only healed but there was a joining of the heart with Jesus - a covenant. He would never be the same again.
We need to always show our gratitude to Jesus. He has given us so much and there is more to come. The 9 lepers who didn't return were healed but they didn't receive that special relationship with Jesus like the other had. He was special to Jesus because of the covenant, and so are you!
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com
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