A Meditation for Those Who Feel They Must 'Stand Afar Off' from Iesous

Luke 17:12-19

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men (aner) who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up thier voices and said, "Iesous, Master (one of powerful authority), have mercy on us!" 

So when He saw them, He said to them,"Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed (ekatharisthesan - to clean thoroughly, completely).  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed (iathe), returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Iesous answered and said, "were not there ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?"

"Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  and He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well (sesoke - completely whole in body and soul).

The public health laws during the ministry of the Iesous stipulated that due to the highly contagious nature of leprosy those so afflicted were to be isolated from society.  Therefore, 'they stood afar off' and called to the Iesous with the pathetic appeal, "...have mercy on us."

The Iesous answered their pitable cry for mercy with a command to "Go show yourselves to the priests."  They believes in the authority of the Iesous to end a diseased condition that rotted away their bodies and their spiritual condition too.

He gave them the redemptive word to go to the priest - the public health officials of that day.  In other words, go to those who know your condition.  They obeyed his word and received their collective request for healing on their way to see the priests.

The Iesous cleansed them, not only did he remove the disease that ravaged their bodies, but he also cleansed the wounds that the diseased state had done to their souls.  The work of the Iesous is the 'Cure of Souls.' He healed (Iaomai) or cured them,  He restored them to both physical and spiritual health (vs. 15).

Was there an event or experience in your life that has caused your to 'believe' that you are unclean, and therefore must stand afar off from the Iesous?

You may draw near to Him and call upon Him to have mercy on you and heal you of a condition that has caused you to think that life cannot and will not be better.  He knows the dark side of us all and what we have done to ourselves and others.  He knows that we have missed the mark of God's righteousness or rightness.  Let the Iesous cure your soul today so that you no longer have to stand afar off from Him.

For more information about Dr. Josiah Rich's teachings please visit his web site.