Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
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 17:11-19
We all know that one guy, if you know what I mean… The truth is you never want to be “that guy.” That guy who can’t take a joke. That guy who drives under the speed limit. That guy who always ruins the ending of movies. That guy who just can’t keep secrets. The list goes on and on of someone just having to be that one guy. Sometimes they just can’t help themselves, but you find them everywhere. At work. At church. At school. At home. On Facebook (insert eye emoji here)… Maybe you’ve even been that guy before. It’s a real epidemic!
In the Gospel of Luke, there’s a story where Jesus came across ten lepers during His travels. And what do you know, this encounter of course has that one guy. At first though, you don’t know who that guy is just yet. He hasn’t revealed himself because no one sticks out. The ten are operating as a team. They are united by their condition and their need. We see them in this story desperately crying out for mercy. During that time in history, people avoided lepers at all costs. Not only was it highly contagious, it made you ceremonially unclean. You would automatically become an outcast. So here they are with no other option but God, which is a good place to be. In usual fashion, the Lord responds in compassion and power, and all ten are supernaturally healed.
The Bible says that Jesus gave them a clear assignment to go show themselves to the priests. That was worth noting because lepers weren’t allowed to go near the temple at all; therefore, it signified that they were going to be made whole. As they responded in faith, they were cleansed. Wow! Jesus does it again. He goes 10 for 10! Yet this is when that guy reveals himself. All ten are healed, but only one former leper comes back full of praise and thanksgiving. He is so moved, he can’t help himself but to fall at Jesus’s feet. He’s that one guy.
Seeing this, even Jesus takes notice of this guy being “that guy.” He asks out loud, “What happened to the other nine?” He also points out that the one who came back to give praise was a foreigner. A Samaritan (This might be the first time someone was “that guy” x2!). It must have been so surprising to see that the one who came back was the unlikely one out of the bunch. It wasn’t the one who grew up learning about God, but the one who was an outsider. He took notice of what Jesus did and gave Him thanks.
Too often, there are people who suffer from “spiritual amnesia.” This condition causes people who have experienced a major blessing or breakthrough from God to quickly forget. We face a problem, God comes through, and we just move on with our lives. So when another problem arises, we are all of a sudden unsure if God is able, or if He’s even good. One of the ways we remember and build our faith is to give Him thanks in the moment. Then choosing to do it again, moment after moment. That way thanksgiving builds momentum towards faith. Simply put, our faith is a response to God’s faithfulness.
If there’s ever a situation where you want to be that one guy, it’s in this story. Not because he was the one healed. All ten actually were. What separated the one from the nine wasn’t what Jesus did for them, but in how they responded. What separated him wasn’t even in that he was a Samaritan. It was because he knew who to thank and how to give it. He was that one guy. That guy who is willing to separate from the crowd. That guy who is willing to run back to Jesus. That guy who is full of thanksgiving and praise. That guy who remembers all that God did and doesn’t forget. That guy who falls at Jesus’ feet in gratitude and worship. I want to be that guy.