The Meaning of Luke 17:14 Explained

Luke 17:14

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.

YLT: and having seen them, he said to them, 'Having gone on, shew yourselves to the priests;' and it came to pass, in their going, they were cleansed,

Darby: And seeing them he said to them, Go, shew yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass as they were going they were cleansed.

ASV: And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Luke 17:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Probably the lepers did not expect Jesus to respond as He did. Rather than touching them, or pronouncing them clean, He gave them a command. The command implied that by the time they reached the priest they would have experienced healing. Normally a command to show oneself to a priest followed a cure ( Luke 5:14; cf. Leviticus 13:49; Leviticus 14:2-3). The priestly examination would result in the lepers resuming normal lives. However these lepers could have refused to go and could have repeated their request to Jesus. Jesus was testing their faith and obedience. If they really regarded Him as their master, they should obey Him. They decided to obey and immediately experienced healing (cf. Luke 5:12-16). Jesus healed them from a distance (cf. 2 Kings 5:10-14).
The lepers" response would have taught the disciples and everyone else present the importance of trusting and obeying Jesus" word. This was a lesson that Jesus had been teaching the Pharisees and the disciples ( Luke 16:15-31). This miracle showed the benefit of obeying Jesus" word because of belief in Him (cf. Luke 6:10; Matthew 12:13; Mark 3:5). This lesson was not the main reason Luke recorded this incident, however.

Context Summary

Luke 17:11-21 - The Man Who Was Grateful
Their common misery drew these poor outcasts together and made them forget the fierce national antipathies of Jew and Samaritan. When bidden to go to the priest, before there were any outward signs of healing, they started, and thus gave evidence of their faith that they were healed. It was this faith that saved them, because faith like this lets in the whole tide of God's saving health. In the case of the poor alien, it was clear that he was not only healed, but saved, as his gratitude and worship indicated. Do we thank God, not only for His miracles, but for His daily providence?
The best things are stillest. The deepest work of God, in the individual and in the community, does not reveal itself to the newspaper reporter, but steals on the world like Spring through garden and woodland. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 17

1  Jesus teaches to avoid occasions of offense;
3  and to forgive one another
5  The power of faith
6  How we are bound to God
11  Jesus heals ten lepers
22  Of the kingdom of God, and the coming of the Son of Man

Greek Commentary for Luke 17:14

As they went [εν τωι υπαγειν αυτους]
Favourite Lukan idiom of εν — en with articular infinitive as in Luke 17:11 and often. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 17:14 mean?

And having seen [them] He said to them Having gone show yourselves to the priests it came to pass in the going them they were cleansed
Καὶ ἰδὼν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Πορευθέντες ἐπιδείξατε ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ὑπάγειν αὐτοὺς ἐκαθαρίσθησαν

ἰδὼν  having  seen  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
εἶπεν  He  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Πορευθέντες  Having  gone 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Passive, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.
ἐπιδείξατε  show 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἐπιδείκνυμι  
Sense: to exhibit, show.
ἑαυτοὺς  yourselves 
Parse: Reflexive Pronoun, Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἑαυτοῦ  
Sense: himself, herself, itself, themselves.
τοῖς  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἱερεῦσιν  priests 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: ἱερεύς  
Sense: a priest, one who offers sacrifices and in general in busied with sacred rites.
ἐγένετο  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
ὑπάγειν  going 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: ὑπάγω  
Sense: to lead under, bring under.
ἐκαθαρίσθησαν  they  were  cleansed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: καθαρίζω 
Sense: to make clean, cleanse.