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. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Luke 17:14-19

Previously, we saw that all ten of these men trusted Jesus even though He had not healed them yet. This is important to understand because it means they all exhibited faith in Christ. All ten of them.

But only one turned back and thanked Jesus.

Luke mentions that this man was a Samaritan. That means the other nine were Jews. This scene is a microcosm of the entire ministry of Jesus. Jesus had mercy on so many people but very few gave Him the glory He deserved. Many enjoyed the miracles but did not recognize Him as the Messiah. You would think that the nine men who were raised in Jewish homes would have been the ones to give Jesus the glory He deserved. But, just like so many in Judea, they enjoyed His blessing but did not seek to worship Him.

I will mention once again that all ten of these men had faith. They were all healed but only one man went deeper with his faith and gave thanks to Jesus. This man was made whole. This does not mean that he was born again at this point, for all ten had already exhibited faith. This means that this man had more to heal than just his physical infirmities. And he was made whole in that part too.

So many times the Lord’s people are living the life of a person who has been delivered from only part of their troubles and problems. They experience deliverance, but they do not go deeper with their faith to become disciples. So many people are walking around healed of their sickness from sin, but they are not whole. They do not enjoy the blessing of being in fellowship with Jesus every day.

This wholeness only comes when we thank the Lord for His deliverance and worship Him as He deserves. Each time we are delivered, let us not forget the Great Deliverer Who set us free!