Luke 17:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He instructed the lepers to present themselves to the priests. The priests would assess their condition and determine if they were free from leprosy (Lev. 13). They were equipped with specific signs to identify incurable leprosy. Even in cases where a man had leprosy and subsequently recovered, the priests would conduct an examination, and a restitution offering was given as prescribed by the law. However, in this instance, since the lepers were clearly afflicted, what necessity was there for them to visit the priests if they had not been completely healed? The directive to approach the priests implied nothing less than their impending cleansing. Thus, it is recorded that as they proceeded, they were indeed made whole. For this very purpose, He lowered Himself to restore those caught in such affliction. Moreover, He redeemed the entirety of human nature by taking on flesh and experiencing death on behalf of all.

Why did Christ not simply say, "I desire for you to be healed," as He did with the other leper, but instead instructed them to present themselves to the priests? This was because the Mosaic law provided specific guidance for those who had been cleansed from leprosy, mandating that they show themselves to the priests and offer a sacrifice for purification. Thus, He directed them to go as if they were already healed, symbolically demonstrating to the priests, who were the leaders of Judea and vigilant about divine glory, that they had been astonishingly released from their ailment through Christ’s intention for their healing. He chose not to heal them first but sent them to the priests since they were knowledgeable about the signs of leprosy and its remedies.

Upon seeing them, He instructed them, “Go and present yourselves to the priests.” He directed them to demonstrate their faith in the process of being purified as they journeyed. This act served as a test of their belief. When they trusted that He could cleanse them on their way, they proceeded without delay. Those who were healed went to the priests, so they could be declared clean, and ultimately, they fulfilled the sacrificial requirements established by the law.

As the Law prohibited those in proximity to Jesus from associating with lepers, the Lord reached out to them in His compassion, providing healing through His teachings and miracles without imposing any requirements. He cleansed them from their afflictions, removing barriers that hindered their interaction with others, thus enabling them to live among people and thrive. How did He provide this purification? By instructing them, "Go, show yourselves to the priest; and it shall come to pass that they who go shall be cleansed." With His authoritative command, He sent them forth in faith, and as they went, they experienced healing.

When a subtle and uncertain indication of leprosy manifested on a person's skin, he promptly approached the priest. The priest, after a careful examination lasting forty days, would determine whether the condition was indeed leprosy or something else. If the man was confirmed to have leprosy, he would be separated from others and expelled from the community to prevent further contamination (Leviticus 13:14). Later, upon realizing his healing, the man would return to the priest, who would thoroughly inspect him to confirm his complete recovery. Once assured of his healing, the priest would offer sacrifices for his purification and declare him free from leprosy, permitting him to re-enter the town and return to his home. This was the procedure mandated by the Jewish law.

At the beginning of His final journey, the Lord encountered resistance from His disciples in a certain region of Samaria. In a moment of correction, one Samaritan approached the Lord with far greater gratitude than the nine Jews. As the Lord traveled between Samaria and Galilee, ten lepers approached Him. Upon seeing them, the Lord instructed them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they traveled, they were healed of their leprosy. However, of the ten, only one Samaritan returned to express his gratitude and knelt at Jesus' feet.

When Christ was ready to embark on His journey to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, He didn’t travel straight from Ephraim to the city. Instead, He ventured northward to the region between Samaria and Galilee. There, He encountered ten lepers, nine of whom were Jews and one a Samaritan. They did not dare approach Him due to their infectious condition, which required them to alert anyone who might come near by calling out “unclean, unclean.” So they remained at a distance, calling out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” The Lord promptly responded to their desperate cries, instructing them to go show themselves to the priests. As they proceeded, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

Jesus likely wished to avoid stirring the emotions of the crowd accompanying Him by performing a miracle for the lepers in public view. Instead, He instructed them to go to Jerusalem and present themselves to the priests. Individuals afflicted with leprosy were required to appear before the priests only after being cleansed from the disease, allowing the priests to confirm their healing and accept their offering. Although the ten lepers had not yet received their healing, they promptly followed Jesus' command and set off, believing that they would be restored.

Upon barely hearing their plea: ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ He promptly, without waiting to come closer, proclaimed loudly: ‘Go and present yourselves to the priests!’ They grasped the significance of this directive, understanding that He instructed them to seek the priests’ acknowledgment of their healing, to validate their restoration to the entitlements and privileges of communal life (Leviticus 13:2, Leviticus 14:2). Even at the sound of this miraculous command, they sensed the surge of vibrant life, the renewal of vigor, the purification of the blood coursing through their bodies, ‘and as they went they were cleansed.’ They had received the most remarkable and invaluable blessing, yet how profound is the depth of human ungratefulness!

“Go, present yourselves to the priests”: consider the note on Matthew 8:4. These instructions reveal that through His divine authority, the Lord restored them from their affliction. He directed them to the priests so that they could provide evidence of their recovery from leprosy, which included making a sacrifice and gaining the right to reintegrate into the community. The lepers’ compliance with the Lord’s command to visit the priests for assessment demonstrates their genuine faith in Him; He did not explicitly inform them of their healing, nor did He utilize any visible sign as seen in other miraculous interventions. - ‘Cleansed’: as they journeyed in obedience to the Lord’s command, they observed along the way that their illness had vanished and they had been made whole.

As the Lord Jesus Christ journeyed toward Jerusalem, He traveled along the boundary of Samaria and Galilee. Upon nearing a particular village, He encountered ten lepers, one of whom was a Samaritan. Leprosy was deemed a contagious affliction, and as stated in the Mosaic Law to protect the healthy from contagion, individuals with this disease were prohibited from residing in populated areas. Consequently, they formed communities among themselves, wandering in isolated regions, and were barred from returning to their homes for the duration of their illness.