WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE?
O nce, on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men, who had leprosy, met him. They stood at a distance and cried out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When Jesus saw them, his heart melted. He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And, as they went, they were all cleansed. One of the lepers, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then, he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” I n those days, the Samaritans – the people from Samaria – were treated by Jews as an inferior tribe, the ‘outcasts’. Jesus, though a Jew himself, exposed the hypocrisy and arrogance of his brethren...