Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 17:16

"and he fell upon his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan." — Luke 17:16 (ASV)

And he was a Samaritan.—As in the parable of the Good Samaritan, St. Luke’s purpose in selecting this incident aligns with what can be called the catholicity of his Gospel: the breaking down of every middle wall of partition that divided the Jew from the other nations of the world. Since the narrative is unique to his record, we may reasonably believe that it was one of the facts he learned about during his personal inquiries in Galilee and Samaria.

It is significant, in this case, that the barrier had already been broken down for a time by the common pressure of calamity, but no enduring sense of fellowship had yet taken its place. The nine, it seems, separated themselves from the Samaritan as soon as they were cleansed. Men need more than the “misery” that our common proverb associates with “strange” companions before they learn the lesson of brotherhood in its fullness.