Another travel note in 17:11 indicates a break in the narrative. The setting is Jesus traveling “along the border between Samaria and Galilee.” The major thrust of the cleansing of the ten lepers (17:11–19) is that only one returns and praises God. Moreover, this one person is a foreigner—a Samaritan. By focusing on a Samaritan, Luke is stressing the universality of the gospel message. Verse 19 implies that the Samaritan has received more than just physical healing.

The connection of the paragraph on the coming of the kingdom (17:20–37) with the previous paragraph is not obvious. Some have suggested that both the nine lepers and the Pharisees fail to see the presence of the kingdom in Jesus. The Pharisees want to know when the kingdom will arrive (17:20). Jesus replies that the coming of…