And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.
- BSB When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.
- NKJV So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
- NASB When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.
- NLT He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus sends the lepers to the priests, and they are cleansed as they obey, before seeing any change. Faith acts on Christ's word ahead of evidence.
Overview
The Law required a priest to verify a healing of leprosy (Leviticus 14), so going to the priests presumes the cure. The men are cleansed in the act of obeying, illustrating that genuine faith trusts and obeys Jesus' word even before the promise is visibly fulfilled. Their cleansing points to the deeper cleansing from sin that Christ alone provides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Luke 5:14And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
- Lev 13:1–46And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying,
- 2 Kgs 5:14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
- Matt 3:15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
- Lev 14:1–32And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
- Matt 8:3–4And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
- John 11:10But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
- John 9:7And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
- John 4:50–53Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
- John 2:5His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
- Isa 65:24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 17:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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