Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?

Luke 17:11-37 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; ¹³ and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? ¹⁸ Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

²⁰ Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; ²¹ nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

²² And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ²³ They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. ²⁴ For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. ²⁵ But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. ²⁶ And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; ²⁹ but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife. ³³ Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁶ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.” ³⁷ And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”

1 Peter 3:18 says:  Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.     Once for all means both that Jesus sacrifice was for every person and also for every sin. So no one is excluded from redemption and salvation through the cross of Christ. Yet we read in today’s text what Jesus Himself says about the end times, His return to establish His kingdom. He says:  “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.”     In the examples Jesus gives as comparison to the days of His return many more were lost than were saved. Even as He continues He says:  “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”    So even though Christ has indeed died once for all, not all are saved. One of the key things Jesus says about what separates those who are saved is:   “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”  In each case, the days of Noah, the days of Lot and the future time Jesus speaks of, it is those who are holding fast to the things of the world rather than the call of God, who miss being saved. John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  Given a choice, not everyone believes in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.  

Today’s text begins:  While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised 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 were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”    We are not told what the end result of the other nine was. We only know that the one, a Samaritan, was told “your faith has made you well.”  All ten had cried out calling Jesus Master, but only one retuned and gave thanks. The others hurried away, perhaps to return to and to reclaim what they had lost in the world. That the one who returned was a Samaritan assures us that salvation does not come through a birthright or heritage. It is not for one group of people over another, but rather for all who believe. Again we are not told what the final outcome of the other nine was. We only know that the one who returned, the one who gave thanks, the one who gave glory to God, the one who truly believed that Christ was/is the Master, the Son of God, that one was saved, healed, made whole by His faith.

In this time, when we acknowledge that Jesus died for our sins, once for all, may we also acknowledge that He rose from the grave and He lives. May we not be so busy, may we not hold so tightly to the things of this world that we neglect, today and every day to return, to give thanks, to glorify God. May we be like the one and not like the nine. Jesus died once for all, but it is everyone who believes, everyone who has faith in Christ who is saved.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Master, Savior, Son of God I believe. Thank You for the cross where You died once for all. Thank You that as I believe, I am saved. Through the indwelling and transforming power of the Holy Spirit may I not hold to the things of this world, but rather may I live for You. May I be as Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   May my life and my testimony of thanksgiving to You be a light to the world, that other too will glorify You.    Amen.