As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was entering a village, ten lepers met [him]. They stood at a distance from him 13 and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” 14 And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; 16 and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? 18 Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” 19 Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
Jesus is still on the road to Jerusalem, where his mission reaches its goal. On the way, he meets ten lepers who stand at a distance as the Law required and cry out for mercy (v. 11; cf. Lev. 13:45-46; Lk. 9:51).
They call him “Master,” acknowledging his authority to heal them, and ask for pity. Jesus sends them to the priests, the ones who could certify cleansing under the Law (v. 14; cf. Lev. 14:2-3). They obey, and as they go, all are cleansed. Luke has shown this pattern before: God’s power works through Jesus’ word and is met by trusting obedience (cf. Lk. 5:12-14).
One of the ten notices he is healed, turns back, glorifies God loudly, falls at Jesus’ feet, and gives thanks (vv. 15-16). Luke then tells us he is a Samaritan, an outsider to Israel’s worship (cf. Jn. 4:9). The accent is not on his ethnic label but on what he sees clearly: God’s saving action has come to him through Jesus, and true worship means returning to the Giver.
Jesus laments that only one returned to give thanks (vv. 17-18). The nine received a gift but did not complete the movement of faith with thanksgiving. Scripture links thanksgiving with the right response to God’s mercy: “He who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me” (Ps. 50:23). Paul later names ingratitude as a mark of darkened hearts (Rom. 1:21). Gratitude is not manners; it is worship.
Finally, Jesus says to the Samaritan, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you” (v. 19). The ten were cleansed; the one who returned enters a deeper grace. In Luke, this phrase marks personal salvation—more than bodily healing (cf. Lk. 7:50; 8:48; 18:42). Obedience on the road brought cleansing; returning to Jesus with thanksgiving brought communion. The outsider becomes an insider to God’s mercy (cf. Eph. 2:12-13).
This scene fits a larger thread in Luke. The Samaritan who “saw and was moved” helped the wounded man (Lk. 10:33). Here, another Samaritan “sees” and glorifies God. Seeing leads to worship. Jesus accepts thanksgiving at his feet, revealing that in him God’s presence is encountered (cf. Lk. 5:8; Jn. 20:28). The way to Jerusalem is already the way God gathers the nations.
For us, the pattern is clear. Ask for mercy. Obey the Lord’s word. And when grace is given, turn back to the Giver. Thanksgiving is the language of faith, the posture that keeps the heart near God. To receive without returning leaves the gift unfinished; to return in gratitude lets grace ripen into salvation.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you hear our cry from a distance and draw near with mercy. Give us obedient hearts and grateful tongues, that receiving your gifts we may always return to you, and in thanksgiving live the salvation you give. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (Four Courts/Scepter).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990).
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