Ten Lepers Healed During Jesus' Final Trip To Jerusalem

JESUS frustrates the efforts of the Sanhedrin to kill him by leaving Jerusalem and traveling to the city of Ephraim, perhaps only 15 miles or so northeast of Jerusalem. There he remains with his disciples, away from his enemies. However, the time for Passover of 33 C.E. is drawing near, and soon Jesus is on the move again. He travels through Samaria and up into Galilee. This is his last visit to this area prior to his death. While in Galilee, likely he and his disciples join others who are on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. They take the route through the district of Perea, east of the Jordan River.

Early in the trip, while Jesus is entering a village either in Samaria or in Galilee, he is met by ten men who have leprosy. This terrible disease gradually eats away a person's body parts-his fingers, his toes, his ears, his nose and his lips. To safeguard others from being infected, God's Law says regarding a leper: "He should cover over the mustache and call out, 'unclean, unclean!' All the days that the plague is in him he will be unclean. . . .He should dwell isolated."

The ten lepers observe the Law's restrictions for lepers and remain a long way off from Jesus. Yet, they cry out with loud voices: "Jesus, Instructor, have mercy on us!" Seeing them in the distance, Jesus commands: "Go and show yourselves to the priests." Jesus says this because God's Law authorizes the priests to pronounce as cured lepers who have recovered from their illness. In this way such ones receive approval to live again with healthy people.

The ten lepers have confidence in Jesus' miraculous powers. So they hurry off to see the priests, even though they have not yet been healed. While on the way, their faith in Jesus is rewarded. They begin to see and to fill their restored health!

Next time: Conclusion of Ten Lepers Healed During Jesus' Final Trip To Jerusalem

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991