(15–20 minutes, easy setup)
Learners will study Luke 17:11-19 to discover how the lepers responded when Jesus healed them.
Provide a copy of the Learner Worksheet and a pen for each learner. Also provide paper, a dry erase board, and markers.
Enlist a volunteer to read Luke 17:11-13. Ask: What do you already know about lepers from the Bible? Explain that "leprosy" in biblical times did not mean exactly what it does today, as it included not only what we call leprosy, but also other serious skin diseases as well (France, pp. 86-87). Share this information about leprosy with learners:
[Adapted from France, pp. 87-91.]
Explain that the lepers who approached Jesus were in a socially and medically desperate situation. Ask: Why do you think they cried out to Jesus for mercy? (They realized their desperate need and knew they had little hope other than divine healing.) Discuss: Can you think of situations today that might be considered just as desperate?
Highlight the importance of this first point to learners. Ask: How do the attitudes of pride and humility impact our willingness to seek help from God? From showing gratitude to God for the blessings He provides? (Those who are most prideful and feel most self-sufficient are the least likely to come to God with their needs and then to thank Him for meeting those needs, while those who recognize their need for God are filled with gratitude and joy when they see that every good thing in their life is a gift from Him.) Say: While we may not have the physical reminders of our need for God like the lepers did, we are all in a desperate situation before God because of our sin. Emphasize that we, like the lepers, are completely powerless to change our situation and need the same thing from Jesus that they did—mercy. Encourage learners to complete the blanks on the first line of their worksheets with desperate situation.
Enlist a volunteer to read Luke 17:14. Ask learners: If you had no knowledge of the Bible or of the requirements of the Law at this time, would you find this verse strange? Explain that the Levitical laws required that lepers be pronounced clean by the priests before they could rejoin the community. (The “Closer Look” activity offers more explanation about the Levitical laws concerning leprosy.) Ask: What is significant about Jesus’ telling the lepers to present themselves to the priests? Emphasize that Jesus had not physically healed the lepers yet. Ask: What do you learn about the lepers’ faith, since they obviously began walking to the priest before they were healed? Confirm that these ten men must have had enormous faith to believe that Jesus would work in their lives after they had made their request of Him (France, p. 275). Emphasize that this was a great picture of faith—acting as though God had already done what they asked of Him in faith. Discuss: Is it easy to believe that Jesus has already handled a situation even before we see the results? Is it easy to act like He has when we're in the middle of difficult circumstances? Encourage learners to complete the second line on their worksheets with act of faith.
Enlist a volunteer to read Luke 17:15-16. Explain that it is likely that the Samaritan man had already split off from the other nine to go to the Samaritan priests, and not the Jewish priests like the other lepers (France, p. 275). Say: Regardless of whether he was with the others or not, this man made a special point to go back and thank Jesus.
Discuss with learners: Do you think that the other nine men were simply not thankful that they had been healed? If they were thankful, why do you think they did not return? Explain that it seems unlikely that the other nine men simply didn't recognize or appreciate the gift of healing that they had received, but that they simply did not take time to show their gratitude to Jesus as the Samaritan man did. Ask: What were the remaining nine lepers intent on doing? Point out that, ironically, they were busy doing what Jesus had commanded them (showing themselves to the priests), so they did not take time to go back and thank Him. Discuss: Do you ever see that spirit in your own life? Do you ever feel thankfulness towards God, but fail to express it?
Have a volunteer read Luke 17:17-19. Point out that Jesus emphasized a fact about the man that we learned in verse 16—he was a Samaritan. Ask: What do you already know about relationships between Jews and Samaritans at this time? Explain that the Jews looked down upon, even hated, the Samaritans (this is discussed more in the Context Study below). Point out that this man was already an outcast because of his leprosy, and being a Samaritan was a second strike against him in the eyes of many of the people of that day. Discuss: Do you think the man's status as an outcast contributed to his show of gratitude? Note that usually those who truly recognize their need for God are often the most joyous and thankful people that there are. Encourage learners to complete the third line on their worksheets with joy and praise.
Explain that Jesus not only showed compassion to this man by healing him, but also by commending Him for coming back to glorify God, even though he was a foreigner. Say: The Jews in this story, and in many other instances in the Gospels, were too willing to reap the benefits of Jesus' ministry without recognizing God's grace and goodness in what they received. Explain that the most unlikely of the men, the foreigner, was the one to return and give thanks, which contributes to one of the larger themes of the New Testament—outcasts and foreigners being brought in and experiencing God's grace. Ask: Why do you think Jesus told the Samaritan that his faith had made him well? Explain that Jesus' statement here likely means that the man had not only been physically cured, but Spiritually cured as well, since He demonstrated faith in Jesus and recognized and thanked God for his healing.