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.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.
- KJV 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.
- BSB When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, 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 5:14He commanded him to tell no one, “But go your way, and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing according to what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”
- Lev 13:1–46Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
- 2 Kgs 5:14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
- Matt 3:15But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
- Lev 14:1–32Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
- Matt 8:3–4Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
- John 11:10But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.”
- John 9:7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
- John 4:50–53Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
- John 2:5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”
- Isa 65:24It will happen 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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