5] And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. [6] And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. [7] But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? [8] And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? [9] Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. [10] So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. [11] And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: [13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. [14] 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. [15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, [16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. [17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? [18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. [19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

5] And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. [6] And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

The subject of these Bible verses is faith and how to obtain an increase in faith. First of all the Lord makes it plain that even a little faith can accomplish miraculous things. Secondly he associates obedience with faith.

[7] But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? [8] And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? [9] Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. [10] So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

In the above verses, the Lord illustrates faith with “faithfulness” of a servant who obeys the commands of his master. The servant who “obeys” is not to expect thanks, because he is only doing his duty.

[11] And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: [13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. [14] 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. [15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, [16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. [17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? [18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. [19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Finally to further illustrate “faith” and “faithfulness” Jesus provides his apostles and us with an “acted parable” of the healing of ten lepers. All ten lepers called out to Jesus and asked Him for mercy. Jesus commanded them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they obeyed, they were all healed or “cleansed.” Only one returned to Jesus to thank Him for healing him. Jesus’ response to him is that his faith has made him “whole.” The other nine lepers were “cleansed” but the one leper was “cleansed” and “made whole.” Whole # 4982 – safe to save, delivered, protected, healed. This one leper had been made “safe to save.” The other nine lepers had only been “cleansed” from their leprous condition. He was the truly “thankful” one.
Even Jesus, as a “servant” of God the Father did not receive “thanks” from God, because He was doing His duty. The leper who returned to thank Jesus, shows us that we are to thank God, but not to expect thanks from God for doing our duty. God does many things for us and we fail to thank Him, just as the nine lepers failed to thank Jesus. By healing the lepers from their leprosy, Jesus gave each of them a new life. While having “leprosy” they were forbidden to associate with healthy people. They were only allowed to associate with other lepers. Now, they could begin a new life and begin to tell others what God had done for them.
Leprosy represents SIN. Lev. 13:44 He is a leprous man, he is unclean. Isaiah 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil. The ten lepers represent ten people who were sinners. Jesus can “cure them” from their “sinful condition” and give them each “new life.” Only one leper was thankful for the “new life” he had been given and began to “glorify God” with his new life. The apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus showed them that true faith involved faithful obedience, and belief, and it also involved a “new life” of thanking God and glorifying Him with that new life.