Worthy Brief - October 6, 2026

 Worthy Brief - October 6, 2026 

The one who came back!

Luke 17:14-19 "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. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?' And He said to him, 'Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.'"

In our last devotion, "Come with Empty Hands," the tax collector went home justified because he knew he needed mercy. Today we meet a Samaritan leper who came back to worship because he knew he had received mercy. Humility receives grace, and gratitude returns to the Giver.

Ten lepers stood at a distance and called out together, "Yeshua (Jesus), Master, have mercy on us!" Their disease had pushed them to the edges of life, outside the towns and far from the Temple. This was no casual request. They were asking for their lives back.

Yeshua answered with a command straight from the Torah: "Go, show yourselves to the priests." Leviticus 14 describes how a priest confirmed that someone had been cleansed. But when Yeshua spoke, nothing had changed yet. They had to start walking while their skin still looked the same.

"And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed." That is faith in motion. They didn't wait for the miracle to obey. They took the King at His word, and somewhere along the road, everything changed.

Then one of the ten looked down and saw that his skin was clean. His body was whole, and his future was suddenly full of hope. So he turned around. Luke says he came back "with a loud voice glorifying God." The same voice that once cried out from a distance was now shouting praise. He fell on his face at Yeshua's feet and thanked Him.

The Hebrew word for thanks is todah (תּוֹדָה), and it carries a rich history. It comes from the root yadah (יָדָה), which pictures outstretched hands reaching out to acknowledge what someone has done. Todah was also the name of an offering. The korban todah, the thanksgiving offering, was brought to the Temple by anyone rescued from danger, healed from sickness, or delivered from trouble (Leviticus 7:12).

The psalmist says, "Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God" (Psalms 50:23). The word for praise there is todah. Thanksgiving opens the way to see God's salvation, and that is exactly what happened to this man.

Now notice who came back. A Samaritan. Yeshua called him "this foreigner," the very word carved into the warning stones of the Temple. Those stones stood at the barrier around the inner courts and declared that no foreigner could pass beyond them. This man could never have entered those courts. But on a road outside a village, he found the true Temple. He fell at the feet of the One in whom God's presence dwells, and he worshiped right there.

There's another beautiful irony. The name Judah, Yehudah (יְהוּדָה), comes from the same root as todah. When Leah named him, she said, "Now I will praise the Lord" (Genesis 29:35). Judah means praise. Yet on this day, the one who stood in the place of praise was a man from Samaria.

"Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" Then Yeshua lifted the man up with a word: "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well." Ten were cleansed, but only the one who returned was made whole. The nine received the gift. He received the Giver.

That's what gratitude does. It remembers, it recognizes, and it worships. It keeps the gift connected to the Giver, and it keeps our hearts from ever taking grace for granted.

You are surrounded by mercy—prayers answered, strength renewed, provision supplied, sins forgiven, doors opened, and protection you may only fully understand in eternity. And above every gift stands the greatest treasure of all: the King Himself. So be the one who comes back. Turn toward Him today with todah (תּוֹדָה)—thanksgiving that remembers the Giver. Lift your voice, open your heart, and give Him praise. Every time you return with gratitude, your heart becomes more aware of His goodness, His presence, and the mercy that has been carrying you all along.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George & Baht Rivka 

Editor's Note: Latest YouTube Video - The 8th Day Revealed: God’s Feasts, the Wedding, and the Bride of Messiah - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCSL_DEPtr4&feature=youtu.be

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