As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, He reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As He entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God! He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done. This man was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you. “
Luke 17:11-19
I suggested yesterday that there is a problem with the position or placement of this story here in Luke’s gospel. We need to sort out why Luke placed this story here in the first instance. Did you spot the problem during your investigation of this section? The geographical reference in this segment makes it a new section. But there appears little to connect it with either what went before it or what follows. Furthermore, there is the problem of the translation of [mesos] meaning “middle”. What does that mean exactly? Does it mean that Jesus goes through the middle of Galilee and then the middle of Samaria? In which case, the provinces should be listed in the opposite order: Galilee and then Samaria. After all, they are heading south to Jerusalem. Most modern translations opt for the sense of passing between the border of Galilee and Samaria. The normal way for the Jews to bypass Samaria was to go eastward along the border between Galilee and Samaria, across the Jordan into TransJordan and then down the other side, crossing back again at the ford of Jericho. (See the map.)
I dealt with some of the issues of this section related to the geographical elements in Gem 930 to 933. After the Samaritans refused to welcome them in Luke 9:52-56, we are told they went to other villages. But where? Normally they would carry on the circuitous route to Jerusalem. The geographical references in Luke are few and far between. He is not majoring on geographic routes or time sequences. Luke very rarely mentions place names, much less specific place names. Places are often just a general reference in Luke’s gospel. Between Luke 9:51 and today’s passage we have the following geographic references in order:
- Martha and Mary’s village, namely Bethany (Luke 10:38)
- A certain place (Luke 11:1)
- Through towns and villages on the way to Jerusalem (Luke 13:22)
- Along the border between Samaria and Galilee (Luke 17:11)
- The first healing of a leper took place in one of the towns of Galilee (5:12)
There is no way to make the references fit the schema in an orderly way. In fact, Luke has Jesus entering Judea through Jericho, suggesting He has taken the longer route. Yet, all the towns and villages along that route are not in Israel, they are in TransJordan. Thus, to have Jesus now back up on the northern border of Samaria is confusing. Jesus was in this area eight chapters ago.
The options open to us for harmonizing this fact are:
- Jesus went south only to come back north again. The visit to towns and villages on the way to Jerusalem was not linear but rather circular.
- The reference here is to the border between Samaria and Perea not Galilee. But Perea was recognized as a part of Galilee.
- Luke is not placing the narrative or the parables in geographic or time sequence.
The fact that Samaria is mentioned first infers:
- Jesus first went north through Samaria and then Galilee, then crossed the Jordan near Bethshean and turned south again through Perea to Jerusalem.
- Samaria is only mentioned first for thematic reasons and the presence of the Samaritan in the story, so Luke is arranging his material with complete disregard for geographic sequence. I.e. Luke has deliberately saved this story which happened earlier (during the only journey along the border between Galilee and Samaria) to use here, for a reason.
- Either Jesus did this journey twice or Luke has recorded this particular story in this place, simply because of the inclusion of the Samaritan leper. Note too, the reference to Martha and Mary’s village (Bethany) in Luke 10, which brings the travellers close to Jerusalem too early in the journey. (See Bible Gem 950)
Something is going on here which is puzzling, but we must come short of criticising Luke and claiming that he is in error, as some do. There is depth in this segment which we have to explore further.
Some other aspects to point out for you to ponder:
- The lepers stood at a distance
- Master
- Have mercy on us
- He looked at them
- Show yourselves to the priests
- As they went, they were cleansed
- One of them came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!
- Fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet,
- Thanking Him for what He had done.
- This man was a Samaritan.
- “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
- No one gave glory to God except this foreigner
- Your faith has healed you.
We will discuss them in the next Gem. This problem has already taken enough of our time for today.
A working knowledge of the Bible is based on at least 15 minutes of reading and 15 minutes of studying each day over a three year period.
Tim LaHaye
I don’t see how the average person will ever develop an adequate knowledge of the Word on less than thirty minutes a day.
Tim LaHaye
Until you decide that your spiritual development is worth at least 15 minutes a day in the Word of God, you will remain a mediocre Christian.
Tim LaHaye
One hour with the biblical text is worth ten in secondary literature.
Andy Naselli