Readings for today: Numbers 33:40-35:34, Luke 5:12-28, Psalms 65, Proverbs 11:23
Who is Jesus? Who do you understand Him to be? A Superman? Some kind of Marvel character? A human being endowed with extraordinary powers? Do you see Him as divine? God clothing Himself in human flesh much like you or I put on a suit or a dress in the morning? Is He an enlightened human being? A great moral teacher? A magician who performed magic tricks of healing?
There’s a great line in verse 17 of our reading today. “The power of the Lord was with Him to heal.” Wait a minute. Are you suggesting there might be a time when the power of the Lord was NOT with Him to heal? Are you suggesting that there might be times when Jesus didn’t have all the power and authority in heaven and on earth to command legions of angels? Are you suggesting that Jesus - the very Son of God, the 2nd member of the Trinity - somehow had given up His divine prerogatives and powers when He became a human being?
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Furthermore, it’s not me who suggests it but Scripture itself. In Philippians 2:7, the Apostle Paul writes, “Jesus emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” What did Jesus empty Himself of? All His divine rights. All His divine power. All His divine glory. He put all that aside. Gave it all up in order to become a human being. To be born in the likeness of men and women.
Jesus was made like us in every way according to Hebrews 2:17. He lived a life like ours. He died a death like ours. He united Himself to us so that He might raise us to new life with Him. So what does this mean? It means Jesus - like you and me - had to learn obedience. “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.” He had to learn how to depend on His Father for all things. This was the source of His temptation in the wilderness. To break His dependence on His Father and provide for Himself. Protect Himself. Promote Himself. The perfection of Jesus isn’t so much that He followed the Law perfectly - although He absolutely did - it was that He lived in complete and utter dependence on the Father. He truly walked by faith and not by sight. So when Jesus stretched out His hand to heal, He was depending on His Father to provide the power. When Jesus confronted and cast out demons, He was depending on His Father to give Him the authority. When Jesus suffered on the cross, He cried out because for the first time His connection to His Father was broken. Through it all Jesus remained truly God and yet became truly human. This is the mystery of the Incarnation.
What does all this mean? Jesus Himself told His disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) Greater works? Than Jesus? Are you kidding me? Surely Jesus isn’t serious? Friends, the gospel is the power of God for all who believe. Trusting in the power of the gospel means learning to live as Jesus lived...in complete and utter dependence on the Father. To let your life become a conduit of grace and mercy and forgiveness and reconciliation. To let your life become the channel through which the love of God flows. This was the secret to Jesus’ life here on earth. It is why He was able to heal. Why He was able to cast out demons. Why He was able to confront powers and principalities. Why He was able to completely free from the cares and worries of this world.
Jesus trusted His Father. Jesus believed His Father would provide all He needed in this life and the next. Jesus had faith His Father was with Him every moment of every day. Those who follow Jesus. Those who believe in Him. Those who place their trust in Him. Those who actively seek to align their lives with His life will experience many of the same things Jesus experienced. They will share in both His glory and His suffering. Why? Because this is God’s plan to save the world. To use us as His instruments to bring peace and healing and hope to a world that lives in darkness and despair.
Readings for tomorrow: Numbers 36, Deuteronomy 1, Luke 5:29-6:11, Psalms 66, Proverbs 11:24-26