Luke

17:11-19

The teachings of Messiah, 9:51-19:44

5. The coming kingdom, 16:14-18:14

iii] The Healing of the Ten Lepers

Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem, journeying between Galilee and Samaria. On the edge of a village, Jesus meets ten lepers who cry out to him for mercy. Jesus heals them and sends them on their way to obtain a health certificate from the religious authorities. A disease like leprosy breaks down racial barriers and so it happened that one of their number was a "foreigner", possibly a Samaritan. This man, one out of the ten, turns back praising God, and, falling at Jesus' feet, thanks him. Jesus declares that the man's faith has healed him, and he a "foreigner".

Faith is the one law that must be obeyed for salvation.

i] Context: See 16:14-31. The story of The Healing of the Ten Lepers, 17:11-19, is the third episode of six dealing with Jesus' teachings on The Great Reversal, 16:14-18:14, episodes which reveal, in the presence of the coming kingdom, the condemnation of the "righteous" (self-righteous) under the law, in contrast to the blessing of the humble (repentant) under grace. Having confirmed the reality of the Great Reversal, Jesus warns his disciples of the danger of causing "one of these little ones to sin". The "little ones" are God's children, Christ's brothers. They may be new believers, or weak believers, or just believers. The "sin" is law-righteousness, pharisaism, nomism - the corrupting idea that a believer who has been set right with God (justified) controls sin and thus progresses holiness for blessings by obedience to the law. Faced with Jesus' utopian demand for forgiveness, the disciples ask for a faith that does, but Jesus offers them a faith that receives. Such a faith can be weak and insignificant, but it will achieve its intended ends. Luke now illustrates this one law that we must obey for the full realisation of the promised blessings of the covenant / salvation. As is the case with the Great Reversal, it is an irreligious outcast who responds to Jesus with a faith that saves him.

ii] Structure: The healing of the ten lepers:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Synoptics:

v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

The Thankful Samaritan, v11-19: i] The setting, v11. The healing took place on "the borderlands of Samaria and Galilee", NEB. Luke has retained the geographical notes that went with this story while continuing with his overall theme of Jesus journeying to Jerusalem.

kai egeneto "now" - it came to pass. Marking a new literary unit; see egeneto, 1:8. "Now it happened", Moffatt.

en tw/ poreuesqai (poreuomai) pres. inf. "on [his] way" - in/on the to go [into jerusalem]. The articular infinitive with the preposition "in/on" forms a temporal clause expressing contemporaneous time. Note again how Luke underlines the journey theme, of messiah moving inexorably toward Jerusalem and his enthronement. "When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem", Barclay.

autoV "Jesus" - [and] he [was travelling]. The singular personal pronoun obviously refers to Jesus, but it is possible that the disciples were with him, so "at that time Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem, and he ....."

dia meson + gen. "along the border" - through [middle]. Here the preposition dia is spatial; "through the middle" = "between". Possibly as NIV or "through the border lands of ..." Bock suggests a broad sense is intended, rather than a specific geographical location.

SamareiaV (a) gen. "Samaria" - of samaria [and of galilee]. As for Galilee, the genitive is adjectival, partitive.

ii] The lepers' call for mercy, v12-13. As Jesus is heading toward a village, he is spied by "ten men suffering from a virulent skin-disease", NJB, probably leprosy. The men are obviously gathered well away from the village. When they see Jesus, they begin to shout out to him for mercy, for healing. They see in Jesus their only hope, and on him they rest - they put their faith in Jesus.

eisercomenou (eisercomai) pres. part. gen. "as [he] was entering" - [and he] entering [a certain village]. The genitive participle and its genitive subject autou, "he", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal. The present tense is durative, so Jesus is in the process of entering, therefore not "on entering", Moffatt, since the lepers would not be in or at the entry of the village, but rather "as he was approaching a village", Phillips.

aphnthsan (apantaw) aor. "met" - [ten leprous men] approached, met, encountered. Obviously not "met" as Jesus only sees them in v14, but rather "approached him", "came toward him", TH.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - him. Dative of direct object after the apo prefix verb "to come before, approach".

porrwqen adv. "at a distance" - [who stood] from afar. The lepers, or properly "ten men suffering from a virulent skin disease", NJB, (the word "leprosy" was used for numerous skin diseases), followed the custom of the time and kept their distance.

autoi "-" - [and] they [they lifted up voice]. Emphatic by position and use; "they raised their voices", Berkeley.

legonteV (legw) pres. part. "called out" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb h\ran, "lifted up [voice]", "they lifted up their voice and said"; somewhat redundant. For the classification, Adverbial, modal, expressing manner, see legwn, 4:35, "they raised their voices, shouting, ...." "As he came to one of the villages, he was faceed by ten lepers, who kept their distance, and called across to him, 'Jesus! Master! Have pity on us'", Rieu.

Ihsou epistata "Jesus, master" - jesus, master. Vocative. A term normally used by disciples.

elehson (eleew) aor. imp. "have pity on" - have mercy on [us]. The aorist may be used here to express urgency. Probably nothing more than a request for aid, to show compassion. A person begging for alms would say much the same.

iii] The healing, v14. Jesus tells them to have their condition inspected by the priests. This is proper practice, for they cannot return to their community and participate in its religious and cultural life unless they are declared free of their skin disease. Jesus actually tells them to go before they are healed, but as they head off, they are "cleansed". The command to "go" may be a test of faith, but it is most likely just a practical directive, since they have already acted in faith by asking Jesus to heal them.

idwn (eidon) aor. part. "when he saw them" - seeing them / this. The object is unclear, either "them" or "this". The participle is adverbial, best taken to introduce a temporal clause. The Greek implies that Jesus had not noticed them until they had shouted out; "directly he saw them", Plummer.

atuoiV dat. pro. "[he said]" - [he said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

poreuqenteV (poreuomai) aor. pas. part. "go" - having gone. An attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "to show", so as usual, treated as a finite verb, and here as an imperative; "go and show ..." Interestingly, Jesus asks them to go and show themselves to the priests before they are healed. Normally a person's skin disease would have improved before they went to the priests to have their condition assessed and to then be allowed to return to the wider community.

toiV iJereusin (uV ewV) dat. "priests" - [show yourselves] to the priests. Dative of indirect object. Marshall suggests that the plural of priests implies that the lepers were a mixed group of Jews and Samaritans and that each would need to go to their own priest. A rather long bow!!! Stein argues that the "plural is because there were ten lepers."

en tw/ uJpagein (uJpagw) pres. inf. "as they went" - [and it came to pass] in/on the to go away. The articular infinitive with the preposition en forms a temporal clause expressing contemporaneous time; "while they were on their way", REB. Nolland suggests "as they set off", implying that the lepers were healed at a distance.

ekaqarisqhsan (kaqarizw) aor. pas. "they were cleansed" - they were cleansed. "They had not gone far before they were healed of their leprosy." Note the parallel with the healing of Naaman, 2King.5:10. Is Luke hinting at a parallel here?

iv] The Samaritan's gratitude, v15-16. Out of the ten, the Samaritan, the hated outcast, is the only one to return to Jesus and worship him. The point is not that faith without thanksgiving is powerless to save. This would make thanksgiving a necessary work for salvation. Nor is the point of the story that we should always be thankful when confronted by God's grace. Of course, we should always be thankful to God, but this is not the point of the story. The Samaritan's response simply illustrates a saving faith, a faith that rests wholly on Jesus for salvation. Faith in Jesus for salvation is the one and only necessary act of obedience for a child of God. The Pharisees argued that law-obedience is the way God's children progress holiness (brownie-points for blessing), but in this little story, a "foreigner" reminds us that God asks one thing of us, faith in Jesus.

ex (ek) + gen. "of [them]" - [but/and one] from [them]. Here taking the place of a partitive genitive.

idwn (eidon) aor. par. "when he saw" - having seen. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal, as NIV. "Seen", in the sense of having seen that he was now healed, rather than gaining spiritual insight.

oJti "that" - that [he was healed]. Here introducing a dependent statement of perception expressing what the leper had seen, namely "that he was healed."

uJpestreyen (uJpostrefw) aor. "came back" - returned. Of course, he could have continued on his way and praised God at the temple, but in all likelihood, the story serves to make the point that the faith that saves is a faith in Jesus. So, his return to Jesus serves to refocus on the one who saves, and thus, the one who is the proper focus of saving faith.

doxazwn (doxazw) pres. part. "praising" - glorifying, praising [god]. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner in which he "came back."

meta + gen. "with / in" - with [a loud voice]. Here adverbial, expressing the manner of his praising God; "He turned back praising God at the top of his voice", Barclay.

epi .... para + acc. "at" - [and he fell] on [face] beside [the feet of him]. Both prepositions are spatial here, the first with the sense of "down upon" and the second "at, near, beside." The language is descriptive of a prostrate position taken up by a person who stretches out with their face on the ground, a proper position to take when confronted by a theophany. Here an expression of adoration, worship, emphasising that Jesus is the proper focus of faith. He "fell on his face before Jesus and thanked him", Phillips.

eucaristwn (eucaristw) pres. part. "and thanked" - thanking, giving thanks to. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "fell", as NIV, but adverbial, modal, expressing manner, is also possible, "he fell on his face ....., giving him thanks", ESV.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - to him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to give thanks to."

SamarithV "Samaritan" - [and he was] a samaritan. Predicate nominative. In the wider context, the fact that the one who returns to give thanks is a Samaritan, further illustrates the Great Reversal theme, a judgment theme associated with the coming of the kingdom of God - the righteous (self-righteous) rejected; the sinners (humble, repentant) received. Luke's choice of this particular story may also reflect the overall theme in Luke/Acts of the movement of the gospel from Jew to Samaritan, to god-fearer and finally, to Gentiles.

v] Jesus commends a faith that saves, v17-19. Jesus observes that the only one to return to him and give God thanks and praise is a "foreigner", an outcast of Israel. In v19, many Bible translations have "your faith has made you well", but "your faith has saved you" carries the sense better.

apokriqeiV (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "-" - having answered [jesus said]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "said", virtually redundant; see apokriqeiV, 1:19.

ouci "not" - were not [the ten cleansed]? This negation implies a positive answer to the question.

pou "where" - [but/and] where [are the nine]? Local interrogative particle. The position is emphatic, "the nine, where are they?"

Usually treated as a question with the negation ouc implying an affirmative answer. Given the syntax, Nolland translates it as a statement; "It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God except this foreigner", NJB.

uJpostreyanteV (uJpostrefw) aor. part. "[found] to return / returned" - [they have not found, discovered] having returned. The function of the participle here is somewhat unclear. It is probably complementary, complementing the sense of the main verb "found". We might have expected a complementary infinitive, "found to return", as translated by the NIV, so prompting NIV11, "no one returned"; "Other than this foreigner, none (no certain persons) have been found to return = have returned ....." "None of them, except this foreigner, have come back", Rieu. Culy suggests the participle is functioning as a subject complement in a double nominative construction; "have none of them come back to give glory to God", Culy; see uiJoV 1:32. Thompson agrees.

dounai (didwmi) aor. inf. "to give [praise]" - to give [glory]. The infinitive is verbal expressing purpose, "in order to give praise."

tw/ qew/ (oV) dat. "to God" - to god. Dative of indirect object.

ei mh "except" - if not = except. Introducing an exceptive clause establishing a contrast by designating an exception; "except, other than."

oJ allogenhV "[this] foreigner" - [this] stranger, foreigner. Hapax legomenon, once only use in the NT. Interestingly, the leper who returned to Jesus is not quite a foreigner, rather, he is a half-cast Jew. The word was used for non-Jews on the keep-out sign at the temple. Again, the point may be that this man, who would normally be barred from the religious life of Israel, has a better understanding of how to respond to God's grace than the righteous; see v16.

kai "then" - and. Here introducing a concluding thought, so inferential, "and so therefore", or consecutive; "and so as a result"

autw/ dat. pro. "to him" - [he said] to him. Dative of indirect object.

anastaV (anisthmi) aor. part. "rise and [go]" - having arisen [go]. Attendant circumstance participle, expressing action accompanying the main verb "go". "Stand up and go on your way", REB.

sou gen. "your [faith]" - [the faith] of you. The genitive is adjectival, treated either as possessive, "belonging to you", or verbal, subjective, "exercised by you." Identifying the key ingredient of the story, namely saving faith, faith in the terms of a reliance (doubts and all = mustard seed size) upon Jesus. Elsewhere Scripture fine tunes faith to a reliance on Jesus' word - a reliance on his promises.

seswken (swzw) perf. "has made [you] well" - has saved, preserved, delivered, healed [you]. The perfect tense indicates a past act with ongoing consequences. As noted above, "your faith has cured you", Barclay, etc., is unlikely, given Luke's theological intentions, it is more likely "your faith has saved you", Rieu, NJB, NAB, Berkeley.

Luke Introduction

Exposition

Exegetical Commentaries

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