In 17:11-19 we have the record of the Man-Savior’s cleansing ten lepers in Samaria. I believe that this was narrated by Luke in order to show the highest standard of morality in the Lord’s saving grace.
Luke 17:11-13 says, “And it came about as He was going to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten leprous men, who stood at a distance; and they raised their voice, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Instead of making any selection, the Lord immediately healed them all. Actually, He did not say to them, “Be healed!” He said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests. And it came about as they were going away, they were cleansed” (v. 14).
Only one of the ten—a Samaritan—remembered the One who had healed him and came back to say something to Him (vv. 15-16). The important point is that this record reveals the highest standard of morality in the Lord’s saving grace.
We know from chapter ten of the Gospel of Luke that while the Lord was on the way through Samaria, He was rejected in Samaria. The Lord must have realized that the majority of the ten lepers in 17:11-19 were Samaritans. If I had been the Lord, I might have said, “You Samaritans rejected Me and now you come to Me for cleansing. You must regret the wrong that you did to Me and apologize, and then I will heal you.” The Man-Savior, however, did not calculate matters in this way. On the contrary, He acted in the highest standard of morality to exercise His saving grace. As soon as the ten appealed to Him for mercy, He healed them all without preference. This displays His high standard of morality in His salvation.
In 17:20 we see that the Pharisees came to the Lord Jesus again. The troublesome Pharisees simply would not leave Him alone.
Luke 17:20 says, “And being questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God comes, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, Look, here! Or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” The Lord’s answer to the question raised by the Pharisees concerning the kingdom of God indicates that the kingdom of God is not material but spiritual. It is the Savior in His first coming (vv. 21-22), in His second coming (vv. 23-30), in the rapture of His overcoming believers (vv. 31-36), and in His destroying of the Antichrist (v. 37) to recover the whole earth for His reign there (Rev. 11:15).
Verses 22 through 24 prove that the kingdom of God is the Savior Himself, who was among the Pharisees when He was asked by them regarding the kingdom. Wherever the Savior is, there is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is with Him, and He brings it to His disciples (v. 22). He is the seed of the kingdom of God to be sown into God’s chosen people to develop into God’s ruling realm. Since His resurrection, He is within His believers (John 14:20; Rom. 8:10). Hence, the kingdom of God is within the church today (Rom. 14:17).
In verse 21 the Lord said to the Pharisees, “Behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” The word “you” here refers to the questioning Pharisees (v. 20). The Savior as the kingdom of God was not within them; He was only among them.
When the Pharisees questioned the Lord about the coming of the kingdom of God, He answered that the kingdom of God does not come with observation. This means that the kingdom of God is not visible or observable. Rather, the kingdom of God is invisible; it is something that cannot be seen with physical eyes.
In the Lord’s answer to the Pharisees, there is a strong indication that the kingdom of God is actually the Savior Himself. The Lord seems to be saying to them, “You cannot see the kingdom of God, but right now it is among you. Although the kingdom of God is here now, you do not have the spiritual perception to see it. You need spiritual eyes to see spiritual things, to see the kingdom of God. Actually, this kingdom is a wonderful Person. With your physical eyes you can see the material existence of this Person. But you do not have spiritual sight to perceive His spiritual reality. The spiritual reality of this Person is actually the kingdom of God. Therefore, I say that the kingdom of God is now here among you. You, however, cannot perceive this spiritual reality.”
In verse 22 the Lord went on to say to His disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” This indicates the Savior’s absence. During His absence, the world, having rejected Him, will be an evil generation, living in the indulgence of lust (vv. 23-30), and an opponent of His followers, persecuting them because of their testimony concerning Him (18:1-8). Hence, His followers need to overcome the stupefying effect of the world’s indulgent living by losing their soul life in this age (17:31-33) and deal with the world’s persecution by longsuffering and persistent prayer in faith (18:7-8), so that they may be raptured as overcomers to enter into the enjoyment of the kingdom of God at the Savior’s coming back (17:34-37).