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Biblical Wisdom

The One Who Came Back

Ten were cleansed on the road. Nine did exactly what they were told.

By EmberKeeper Editorial 1 min read

Scripture Luke 17:11–19

Ten men stand at a distance and shout for mercy. Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to the priests, and Luke says that as they were on their way, they were cleansed.

So the healing happens after they turn to leave and before anything visible has changed. They walk off still sick.

One of them notices, stops, and comes back.

It is worth being fair to the other nine. They were not being disobedient. They were doing precisely what they had been told, and going to the priest was the correct legal step for a man who needed to be readmitted to ordinary life.

The one who turned around was, strictly speaking, the only one not following instructions.

Luke adds two details at the end. He was a Samaritan. And Jesus calls him a foreigner.

Nine went to get their lives back. One went back to the person who gave it.

Scripture in English is from the Berean Standard Bible, placed in the public domain by its publisher on 30 April 2023.

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