11 “While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Here Jesus performs a wonderful miracle. Leprosy was a devastating and incurable disease and He healed every one of the ten. A great sign or wonder was performed. It struck me that only one of the ten used the miracle as a stimulus to come to Jesus. Only one had a heart for Him. The rest were content to be well and able to go on with their lives. It shows that no amount of signs or wonders, however great they may be, will lead a person to truly come to know and experience Christ. Verses 20 and 21 say this exactly. The Kingdom of God is not coming [or dependent upon] signs, but is that which is within us in Christ. So many today are seeking the outward manifestations, when all the while Jesus is calling them to come and lose their lives to Him that they may come into a true and living relationship with Him.
Barbara Hemig