One of Ten

photo courtesy O'Reilly Lewis

Leprosy, a dreadful disease that affects the skin is painful, highly contagious and quite noticeable due to its white, scaly appearance, loss of skin and the physical deformities it produces to the fingers, toes, ears and even the nose.

Moses’ law deemed lepers unclean.

If you have a dreaded skin disease, you must wear torn clothes, leave your hair uncombed, cover the lower part of your face, and call out, “Unclean, unclean!” – Leviticus 13:45 (GNT)

The laws related to leprosy were not based on sanitary conditions alone but were religious, since uncleanness was akin to sin, therefore as far as the Jews were concerned, leprosy was symbolic of sin.

Command the people of Israel to expel from the camp everyone with a dreaded skin disease or a bodily discharge and everyone who is unclean by contact with a corpse.   – Numbers 5:2 (GNT)

Notice that after King David was visited by the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12), he saw himself as spiritually unclean.

“You sinned in secret, but I will make this happen in broad daylight for all Israel to see.” “I have sinned against the Lord”, David said. (v 12 & 13)

The king could blame no-one but himself for his sinful failure and in sorrowful repentance, considering his own sin to be like leprosy, wrote Psalm 51 entreating God to Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean (v 7). In those days, hyssop was used in the ritual cleansing of healed lepers (see Leviticus 14:4).

Hyssop is symbolic of Jesus, who cleanses us from all sin (see 1 John 1:7). In Luke 17:11-19, we see that symbolism in effect when Jesus, traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee on His way to Jerusalem, enters a village and encounters ten lepers. Standing at a distance the lepers shouted, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!” (v 13).

Jesus saw their condition and said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” (v 14) and it was while they were on their way to the priests that the healing miracle occurred. This reminds me of the centurion in Matthew 8:8 (GNT) who told Jesus, Just give the order, and my servant will get well.

It’s interesting to note that immediately before we are told of the healing miracle of the centurion’s servant beginning at verse 5, verses 1-4 recount Jesus’ healing of a leper.

And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed. – Matthew 8:2-3 (AMPC)

In Luke’s account of the ten lepers, Jesus did not even have to touch the ten, all He did was give the order and all ten lepers were healed.

When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. – Luke 17:15-16 (GNT)

These two verses hold so much meaning. We are told that one leper returned to Jesus. Have you ever wondered why only one of ten healed lepers returned to thank Jesus? What is the significance of that?

One of ten, a tenth, is related to tithing. The word tithe means tenth. Tithing is an ancient practice that pre-dated the Law of Moses. In Genesis chapter 14, Abram gave Melchizedek, the High Priest, a tenth of the spoils, voluntarily and under no written obligation. Abram did this to show those around him that it was God and not man who had made him rich (Genesis 14:21-24).

In the same way, the leper, one of ten – a tenth – under no obligation, returned voluntarily to Jesus, showing that it was Jesus, God incarnate, who had healed him, not man, the priest.

This account of the one of ten lepers highlights the concept of the living tithe; it speaks of the giving of yourself to God, not prompted by law, or rules or tradition but by love for Him.

Did you notice how Luke purposely let us know that the man who came back was a Samaritan?

You see, to Jews, Samaritans were unclean, so, place your feet in Luke’s Jewish readers’ shoes; an already unclean Samaritan with leprosy represented what Paul referred to as the extreme malignity and immeasurable sinfulness of sin (Romans 7:13 AMPC). Luke is emphasizing Jesus’ complete and absolute power over sin.

I know that I skipped ahead, that’s because I wanted to leave the former leper’s gratitude for last.

Experiencing the genuine love of God drives us back to Him in sincere gratitude.

Just like anyone of us who has been delivered from physical circumstances, the one of ten, in recognizing God’s miracle as an awesome blessing, would have undoubtedly felt the pull of wanting to be in His presence again, making returning to express his gratefulness not difficult.

What do you think this Scripture is saying to you about your own response to God's blessings? Are you grateful? Are you habitually thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18 GNT)?

There is so much you can be grateful for, so why aren’t you expressing your heartfelt gratitude every moment of every day? Giving thanks is at the heart of Christian spirituality.

Luke 17:11-19 is a call to every person who professes their belief in Jesus Christ to true thanksgiving and undivided devotion to God.

 Beloved, we may not have the physical disease, but we, like king David, certainly have had spiritual leprosy, for we have suffered the effects of spiritual and moral brokenness, shame, condemnation and got ourselves entangled in things and with people we ought not have got involved.

Spiritual Leprosy today is no different than it was two thousand years ago, that’s why this story of the ten lepers can be applied to our own lives.

The truth is, we are all lepers, and all of us, you and me, need to honestly examine our hearts, our priorities, and our worship. The one of ten threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked Him. The leper in Matthew chapter 8 came to Jesus and prostrating himself, worshiped Him.

Jesus is still healing all who come to Him suffering spiritual leprosy but unfortunately, still only one tenth will return to Him, to give God the glory for the life-changing experience through their healing encounter with Jesus.

You must be the one of ten, one tenth, 10%, the living tithe, who will be truly thankful that Jesus has set you free, the one of ten who would be filled with gratitude out of an overflow of love for Him and what He has done in your life to forever change the course of your future.

Be the one of ten who, apprehending that God Himself is your exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1), returns to Jesus to follow Him, trust Him, worship Him and become His true disciple, never to return to the harmful moral and sinful influences of spiritual leprosy.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “One of ten” © 2026 July 29, 2026