One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭15-19‬ NIV)

It is one thing to be a lepard, but what made him different from the other nine was the fact that his nationality was “Samaritan”! The words Luke describes the situation has such a deep impact: and he was a Samaritan… and even Jesus rubs it in by making a strong statement: …this foreigner!
Lets be honest, those words suggest that “being lepard” was not the issue, but being a Samaritan, a foreigner, that’s something different!
No, no, this is not about me, living in a different nation, but it helps to identify the feeling. The moment where we all (together) long for this change/healing but at the end…

Where the 10 found each other in the physical condition being removed from “the city”, at the end, where the “skin disease” was healed, the real issue stayed and wasn’t dealt with. Some how the culture background, the things that comes with the “nationality” is harder to get healed of than the “little problems” we carry with us. That’s why Jesus so specifically emphasized the “foreigner” issue. Remember that the things He mainly addressed was about not being a citizen of this world but of The Kingdom of God as the nine just went back being Jewish! Where the one guy had nothing to loose as the other nine probably had!

I see healing entering the nation, physical healing where we go on the streets and get bold enough to talk to the people and ask if we can pray with them. A great and wonderful phenomena that speaks of faith and boldness.

I hope it will be more than just an other hype that leaves the people just being “Swedish”, but that we all, the “healers” and those in need of healing will deal with this real issue, this thing that can mix the being “christian” and being “national/cultural bounded”!

The Samaritan was impacted by the Kingdom, He received the Kingdom attitude since he already was a foreigner and had nothing to loose! The other nine in contrast went back to life, to familiar, to normal and missed the Kingdom message.

Jesus’ intention is never ever to heal us for the sake of healing and than let us go back to normal. Like Moses, who’s intension was never to just get them out of Egypt! Moses’ only and one calling and desire was to bring them into the promised land. Like the people of Israel the Nine, never entered, never crossed, as Jesus’ main message was the Kingdom and not just salvation or healing!

Just a last thought: Why did Jesus made a distinction between being “cleansed” and being “made well”?