(Synoptics: Luke 17:11-19)The Lord Jesus Christ is on the way to Jerusalem. He is about to enter into the last phase of his work.
The Lord Jesus Christ particularly loved to heal lepers. We can imagine why. If all the people thought that the leper was a leper in the Bible sense of that disease; if everybody thought that the leper was a leper because of his sin and because of his pride, then that person was a wonderful candidate on whom the Lord Jesus Christ could demonstrate his mission to sinners. He had come especially for sinners; he had the power to forgive sins. So we are not surprised to find him healing the leper. He had compassion for the leper. He wanted to heal the leper, because he is God and because he is love. But also to heal a leper suited him very well, because it demonstrated that he has come to deal with sinful people and to show his love to them and his forgiveness to them and his restoration of them. So the leper provided a perfect demonstration for his compassion and his power. All the healings of the Lord were spontaneous and complete; he never failed. Although he was dealing with a condition which nothing could be done about, humanly speaking, he rejoiced to go right into that situation and heal that person at a word, and then all the people would know that he had demonstrated his mighty power.