Sometimes Jesus did things in bunches. In one instance he walked up on a group of 10 lepers who respectfully kept their distance while yelling, Jesus, Master, have pity on us!

Jesus sent them off to the priests, and the lepers were cleansed. I wonder if part of this miracle involved the priests watching lepers heal before their eyes, knowing Jesus aimed them their direction? Was Jesus giving these priests another opportunity to realize who he was?

Regardless, one of the now healthy lepers returned to Jesus. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. But only one. Jesus asked, Where are the other nine? (Some say this is the first mention of baseball in the Bible, but I’m not so sure).

Only the Samaritan returned, a man from a race scorned up by the Jews. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, this man recognized Jesus as Messiah and returned to give praise.

The incident reminds me again that Jesus heals everyone, people from every tribe, tongue and nation, and every race, color and creed. None of us stand too dirty or too far off or too sick to cry—Jesus, Master, have pity!

To such a cry from the heart Jesus responds, no matter where you’re from or what disease you carry.

Luke 17 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Rosie Kerr