Ten men, who had highly contagious leprous skin disease, lived near a village on the border between Galilee and Samaria.  When Jesus travelled nearby, they knew they could not come close to Him; so they shouted from a distance for Him to have mercy on them (Luke 17:11-13).  Jesus took them seriously.  He did not heal them immediately but Jesus told them to have their skin examined by the priest (Luke 17:14).  [The priests acted as the public health officials and followed the specific instruction in Leviticus 13:1-44 to decide if their skin was diseased or normal.  If they were infected, they had to isolate themselves from society – so they lived in leper communities outside the villages (Leviticus 13:45-46).]

As they trusted Jesus, they obeyed Him by going to the priest; and they were healed.  The priest then confirmed that they had no infectious disease and they could return to normal society and worship.  What joy there must have been for those ten men and their families – reunited again, able to worship again and able to work again.  But of the ten who were healed, only one came back to Jesus to say 'thank you' (Luke 17:11-14).  He knew that Jesus had made him clean and was compelled to express his gratitude.  Falling at the Master's feet he gave thanks and worship - he held nothing back.  Initially he had shouted out for mercy, now he shouted his praise.  It made quite an impression on the disciples, especially as he was a Samaritan.

In those days, Samaritans were considered 'religious lepers'.  They were mixed-race people and religiously compromised.  They had no right to worship at the temple and the Jewish religious leaders had no time for them: they thought God had no time for them either.  So, when Jesus healed this man, God reached through all the obstacles of his background, circumstances and disease to liberate him to worship with a full heart.  And Jesus gave him the priestly blessing, for He was the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16).

The mercy and grace which come to us through the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus is truly wonderful; but how often are we as grateful as that Samaritan?  Either we fail to realise the enormity of our sins, or the magnitude of His grace.  But when we do grasp the significance of both at the same time, our hearts should overflow with heartfelt praise. Mary, the mother of Jesus, experienced that joy (Luke 1:46-55); so did the shepherds (Luke 2:15-18), and the wise men (Matthew 2:9-11).  Whatever the season of the year, stop and consider how great is the salvation which has been lavished on you (1 John 3:1-3) - and give praise to God for all that Christ has done for you!