"As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. They stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus! Master! Take pity on us!”

Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.” On the way they were made clean.

When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan.

Jesus said, “There were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine?

Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?” And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.”"

(Luke 17.11-19 GNB)

In those days, someone with dreaded skin disease lived in quarantine and went to the priest only after they healed fully. Not before. The priest' role was to confirm whether he / she was indeed healed and therefore could rejoin society.

The ten men knew they still had the disease when Jesus told them to go to the priest. They had heard of Jesus' healing power and so they obeyed Jesus. All ten had faith that one way or another, between there and the priest, healing would come. All ten.

Jesus had the power and authority to let the ten men rejoin society. When they were healed, the ten could keep going to the priest or go back to Jesus.

But there was a slight complication. In those days, Jews disliked Samaritans. Would a Jewish priest in Galilee accept and bless a Samaritan? Probably unlikely.

The nine chose to stick with the priest' authority. The healed Samaritan had nowhere to go but Jesus.

Having nowhere to go but Jesus built his faith in Jesus and Jesus alone. And Jesus was pleased with him.