List of Appendices
5.4. Proclaiming the Year of the Lord’s Favour
5.6.7 A Limited Zone and Uniting Force
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argued that the saying could not have been original to Jesus but a ‘imitation saying’
which violates the most important feature of what it imitates. Marshall (1978:625) takes Betz’s deduction from Bultmann’s observation as illogical and sees no justification in his assumption that the story is unhistorical. The mournful remarks by Jesus about the nine lepers (all of who are assumed to be Jews) who did not return creates a difficulty for expositors. Manson (1942:196) claimed the nine can hardly be condemned for not returning from an errand on which Jesus had just sent them unless we assume that they all went first to the temple and that only one return to give thanks.
Why then Jesus’ remark? The problem here is that if this incident is historical is whether Jesus expected them to return or if it is entirely due to Luke or pre-Lukan redactor, one wonders why he makes only one out of them, and a Samaritan at that, return. Geldenhuys (1961:436) and Morris (1974:258), both of whom agreed with the historicity of this account, are satisfied with the remark that the nine were so selfishly taken up by their unexpected cure that they forgot to return appreciation to the person who had made their new freedom possible. It follows also that the problem of misunderstanding the meaning of bodily healing through divine grace on the part of many is raised, we may accept that it is of Jewish unbelief and their failure to recognize Jesus as the anointed one in spite of the many miracles he had performed; those healed went back to remain in Judaism. In the light of this Wallace (1960:184) talks of those who remain at a distance from Christ all their lives; even though they are healed, they never come back to Jesus, they keep their lives to themselves and remained untouched by Jesus in their inmost being.
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them strong. A group of ten standing together and shouting attracts meaningful attention and response. The lepers in their location were free to discover a new fundamental human community where discrimination or boundaries do not exists (Turner 1969). The lepers were in a new human community binded together. Hendricksen (1978) said “when one is afflicted with leprosy, nationality ceases to be a barrier to fellowship: Jew and Samaritan unite”.
Before their healing, all ten lepers were together, although one of them was from a despised and shunned people. People having experienced a common loss of similar condition have an unnamed bond established among them. They have something (common cause) binding them regardless of how much money or status they have, regardless of colour or ethnic, religious or political background. For those ten lepers, in the days before leprosy, the Jews would never have considered joining forces with Samaritans, but here they share the same hopeless disease – leprosy. They stand the accompanying experiences – being ostracized living outside the towns and villages. Cox (1941:52) said these men made common cause in their wretchedness. He said ‘think what their affliction had done for them, it brought them to a common level, causing them to forget racial hatred. Their wretchedness reduced them to a common level of need before God. It made them unclean, isolated them and made them hopeless”. The miserable malady suffered by the lepers broke down the racial barrier between the Jews and Samaritan among them; for under normal circumstances they would have nothing to do with one another.
5.6.8 “Your faith has made you well”.
Healing and Salvation (Luke 17: 19) for this aspect of the exegesis, I will dwell in form of review on the work of Fredrick J. Gaiser (1996). He argues that the words ‘healing’
‘cure’ and ‘being well’ are three distinct expressions adopted in the gospels. Following Richard Ya Deau he recognizes the triune being (the human) as composed of a physical entity, a psycho-social entity, and a spiritual entity, curing becomes that endeavour which rectifies a disease or a disorder in one component of the triune being, while healing addresses the integration of these three components into a single entity, and is independent of the extent to which an individual physical body is cured”. It presupposes
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an holistic healing as in the case of shalom in Hebrew language or being well (σέσωκεν) in the New Testament.
Luke’s account of the story of the ten lepers does seems to make a distinction between what might be called cure and healing. Ten lepers were cured of the symptoms of leprosy. One is pronounced ‘well’ (σέσωκεν). The other nine lepers were healed physically but not made whole in their relationship with the Lord.
Perhaps there is a progression about salvation and healing from verses 14, 15 and 19. Betz (1971:315) therefore speaks of a ‘two stage’ soteriology and a theological progression in the narrative. The pronouncement “your faith has made you well” by Jesus appears to have been a regular set of expression on the lips of Jesus found not only in Luke but also in Mark and Matthew (Luke 7:50, 8:48; Mark 5:34, 10:52; Matt. 9:22,29).
Many commentators are prepared to see σέσωκένσε as not just implying physical healing but salvation in the fullest sense of restoration to life in relationship to God and fellow human beings (Betz 1971:315-325, Geldenhuys 1961:436-438; Marshall 1978:650-670; Ragg 1922:228-229). For the Samaritan, the very concept of healing has broadened its meaning: the realization that he has been healed… becomes the realization that he has been saved (Betz 1971:318). The Samaritan obtained full salvation because of his faith in the person of Jesus which resulted in gratitude. The faith of the nine was superficial and incomplete, out to seek miracles for their selfish sake.
Another dimension in this healing account is that of humble gratitude which leads to a more personal relationship: this definitely has some appeal to a Yoruba man.
Yorubas are naturally a grateful people and to the Yorubas gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, it is the parent of all others. To this they would agree, for among them gratitude for benefits received is a highly valued virtue. The child is taught to be grateful to parents and all older people for what they have done for him. Neighbours meticulously practice the art of gratitude among themselves. Gratitude by the Yoruba is not only practiced on the human plane but also in their relationship with the deities.
Idowu (1962:122) observed that the Yoruba people of Nigeria naturally offer thanks to the divinities just as they do to humans. According to him, the Yoruba abhor ingratitude which to them is a grievous sin and they show this in their dealing with God; whom they believe to have conducted their destiny prosperously (Idowu 1962:123). That being the
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case, the Yoruba Christian can apply this cultural trait in their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The accounts of the cleansing of ten lepers by Jesus in Luke, had served as a source of inspiration to many Christian missionaries in establishing leper settlements in different parts of Africa for the care and cure of lepers. The Gospel of Luke alone tells us of what appears to be a colony of lepers and the soteriological nature of the healing was well displayed.