Tenth Leper and Young Ruler

Leprosy has historically been one of the most feared diseases. Although people did not understand about germs or bacteria until relatively recently, they did know leprosy was communicable, so lepers have always been shunned and separated from their communities and families.

Leprosy was not just a skin disease that appeared like severe acne or sebaceous cysts—it caused horrible deformities. Since their flesh literally rotted away, lepers often lost fingers, toes, noses, or other appendages. In past times, when people did not often live long enough to deal with heart issues and cancer, leprosy was a greatly feared disease. God instructed the Jews to separate lepers so their disease would not spread. This was a devastating development for people used to living with intimate relationships in close communities.

The complete opposite of being a leper was to be a rich, young ruler. There were few rich people in the Jewish society, and wealth was often correlated with being righteous. How could it be any better than to be young, rich, “righteous,” and the boss? The young ruler and Jesus knew that there was something better…being truly righteous in God’s eyes, not man’s.

In Luke 17:20, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. The Pharisees could have been referring to a time when the Romans would leave Israel and a Davidic kingdom would be established. They could have been referring to a future time when God and the Jews would enjoy a blissful existence together as they ruled over all other kingdoms. Whatever kingdom they were referring to most likely had to do with the Jews receiving special blessings.

Jesus told the Pharisees that the kingdom would not be physical, but that the kingdom was already in their midst. No doubt the Pharisees were clueless about his meaning. Then Jesus gave his disciples much more information about God’s coming kingdom, but even then the disciples were probably as confused as the Pharisees. They could not fathom a situation where the Messiah would go away, be rejected, and then revealed.