Luke 17:11

Luke  17:11 says, And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  While on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria and Galilee.  Jews mostly would not travel through Samaria, but Jesus did not allow this fact to stop Him from doing so.  We cannot allow who people are to keep us from reaching out to them with the gospel.  Verse twelve adds, And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:  On His way, Jesus saw ten lepers standing far-off, which they were required by law to do.  Verse thirteen continues, And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.  Though they were prohibited by law from getting close to Him, they cried out to Jesus, calling Him Master and asking Him to have mercy on them.  This is what we must do in order to be saved.  Verse fourteen states, And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.  Jesus did not go to them and physically touch them.  He did not even tell them that they were healed.  He simply told them to go and show themselves to the priest, who could acknowledge that they were cured of leprosy.  As they went, they were healed.  If we want the blessings of God today, we must first come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ, and then go where and when He sends us.  Verse fifteen adds, And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,  After they were healed, one of the ten turned back and with a loud voice glorified God.  Ten were healed,  but only one came back praising God.  After we receive salvation from God  and anytime that He does something for us after that, we need to loudly praise Him.  Verse sixteen concludes, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.  The man who returned fell at the feet of Jesus and gave Him thanks, and he was a Samaritan.  The Samaritans were people that the Jews didn't want to have anything to do with, but this didn't matter to Jesus.  We don't know if the other nine were Samaritans or Jews, since they never returned to thank Jesus.  We should never allow how the world may feel about certain people to keep us from reaching out to them with the gospel of Christ.  We also should never neglect giving God the praise when He does something miraculous for us.  Verse ten asks, And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?  Jesus asked if there were not ten who were cleansed and where the other nine were.  After we claim to be saved, Jesus should never have to ask where we are spiritually.  Verse eighteen adds, There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.  From this statement, the indication would be that the other nine were Jews, since Jesus said that the only one to return was a stranger.  We can never take God for granted because of who we are or where we were born.   Until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord we will always be a stranger to God, even if He has done something good for us.  Verse nineteen continues, And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.  Just as Jesus told the leper, once we have been made whole by putting our faith in Him, we are to go on our way, giving Him the praise and witnessing for Him.