Power and Authority

Hello everyone.

Luke 9 begins with Jesus bringing the Twelve together and giving them authority and power.  We have throughout Luke that Jesus is the one who has the authority and the power. Satan had claimed that he had the authority and the power and could give it to whomever he wanted. (Luke 4)  But, it appears that Satan was in error, as we see Jesus giving authority and power out to others. 

One of the powers that Jesus gives is to cast out demons.  Jesus is giving away the power over Satan’s minions to ordinary fishermen. Δύναμιν καὶ ἐξουσίαν (Dynameem kai Exousian)- which means "power and authority." Having authority means that you have the right to do something.  Having power means that you have the ability to do something.  Jesus is giving both of things to his apostles. These naturally go together, but having the authority to do something only really matters if you have the power to back it up.  

Luke also mentions that he gives them the power to heal diseases.  So we can see that Jesus is passing along some of the powers that have been drawing crowds wherever he went.  The one thing that isn’t mentioned here is Jesus making them dynamic teachers. This was another thing that drew large crowds to Jesus. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t preach and teach.  They were sent out to teach.  Verse 6 says that they went through the villages proclaiming the good news.  I am sure that they did great, but it is unlikely that they possessed Jersus’ unique dynamism. 

His instructions to them are interesting.  I think that this is not a universal message for those who preach and teach about Jesus, but apply to this particular mission. They are told to take nothing with them.  No walking stick. No bag. No food. No money. No change of clothes.  They are going to have to be totally dependent on God on this journey. They are also instructed to stay at the same house for the length of their stay in a town.  They will have trust in God for hospitality as well. 

In towns that did not accept them, they were to shake the dust off of their feet as a sign against that town and move on.  Again I think that this was part of the specific instructions given at that time for this mission.  I don’t think that would want to reject entire towns, or even certain people and never reach out  to them again. 

So, having been instructed by Jesus, the disciple left on their mission of going from village to village,  preaching and healing. Their ability to perform miracles backed up their message.  What was their message? Likely, their message was similar to the message Jesus started his ministry with - God’s kingdom was near, so they should repent. Mark 6:12 says that they went out and preached that people should repent. 

The shaking the dust off of the feet was symbolic that a refusal to repent would bring God’s judgment. Darrell Bock mentions that the shaking of the dust off of one’s feet was a gesture done by Jews upon leaving pagan territory, as a way of removing ‘uncleanness.” (Bock, 817)

Luke inserts here that all that Jesus has been doing catches the attention of Herod.  Herod, who has had John the Baptist beheaded, is reminded of John by hearing about what Jesus is doing.  The news that he was hearing about Jesus made Herod want to see him.  Some people are claiming that Jesus was John, returned from the dead, or Elijah or one of the prophets of old returned from the dead. Herod, like so many others, is trying to figure out who Jesus was.  There were lots of theories.  So for now, Herod’s attitude toward Jesus is one of curiosity.

Then in verse 10, the apostles return form their mission, sharing all that they had done with the authority and power that Jesus had given them. In the parallel passage in Mark 6, it says that on this mission they successfully cast out demons and healed the sick. (Mark 6:13.) Imagine the joy with which they reported their successes to Jesus.  They couldn't fail on this mission, because they had been given power and authority by the one had it all - Jesus. 

Tom 

She is Sleeping

Hello everyone.

In my previous post, I started the exegesis of Luke 8:40-56. It tells the story of two miracles performed by Jesus after returning to the Isrealite side of the lake. Upon arrival there, Jesus is met by Jairus, a local synagogue leader, whose daughter was very sick.  Jairus came to Jesus in desparation, and Jesus afrees to go with him.  Everything stops however, when a woman secretly appraoches Jesus, beleiving that simply touching Jesus' clothing would bring her healing. 

She was right. So now with the woman taken care of, Jesus can turn his attention back to Jairus. But as Jesus is finishing up, someone comes from Jairus’ house and tells him that his daughter has died and that he should not trouble the teacher any further. Jesus basically ignores the statement and tells Jairus to “just have faith.” 

Jesus' statement to Jairus is interesting.  He has just been informed that his daughter is dead.  To Jairus, like most people, thought that it was too late.  Death is something people do not come back from, but Jesus assured him that she would be healed.  Could his daughter be healed from ‘dead’? Jairus is going to find out.  Being with Jesus does not follow the conventional rules and his daughter would live. 

When he gets to the house, Jesus announces that the girl was not dead, but sleeping. Luke says that the crowd laughs, which seems like an odd reaction for a group of mourners. Jesus ignored them. Mourners were called in only when someone is dead.  So it seems that these people were not particularly close to Jairus and the family, just people brought in to mourn.  This might explain the dramatic shift from mourning to laughing. 

Jesus takes only the parents, Peter, James and John with him.  Only they are allowed to witness the miracle. Going into the room where the little girl lay dead, Jesus takes her hand and tells her to get up. Luke records that her spirit returned to her and she got up.  Jesus then commands them to feed her, and then commands them not to tell anyone what had happened. The crowd of laughing mourners, however, knew that the girl was dead, and were bound to notice that she was now alive. 

Jesus, the one who came into the situation with all authority, had effectively silenced the scoffers. 

Tom 

A Stolen Miracle

Hello everyone.

Today I will continue my exegesis of Luke 8 by looking at the verses 40-48.  This section of Scripture tells two stories.  It begins the story of Jairus' daughter and tells the story of a woman who suffered from bleeding for twelve years.  In this post, we focus mostly on the woman, and save much of the story of Jairus and his daughter for next time. 

If you remember, Jesus had crossed the lake, healed a man possessed of many demons and then returned to the other side. Crowds were waiting for Jesus there.  I’m not sure how long his journey to the opposite side of the lake was, but his absence was noted on the Jewish side of the lake and they were anticipating his return. 

When he returned, a man named Jairus was waiting for him.  Jairus was the leader of the local synagogue. Jairus seems like an unlikely person to be waiting in the crowd for Jesus, since most of the religious leaders were at odds with Jesus. Jairus had a difficult situation that brought him to Jesus.  His twelve-year-old daughter was dying, and he came in desperation. He came and begged Jesus to go with him and heal his daughter. Jairus had a combination of faith and humility that seemed to be absent in most of the religious leaders that Jesus dealt with.  Most of the Pharisees and teachers of the law would not turn to Jesus, even in desperation. Jesus agrees to go with Jairus, but the crowds were heavy and pressed around Jesus.  

A woman was there who had been dealing with a bleeding issue for twelve years, and no one had been able to help her, even though she had poured all of her money into this situation. Ironically, Jesus was on his way to heal a twelve year old girl, when he encounters a woman with a twelve year old problem. Lev. 15:25 says that if a woman has blood flow beyond her period, she is unclean for the duration. Also, any bed she sleeps in, or chair she sits in or anyone who touches her. So, this woman had been “unclean” for twelve years. She had sought a remedy for her situation and had spent all of her money seeing doctors, but the situation had not gotten any better. Her uncleanness puts her outside of the normal fellowship.  No one would touch her because it would make them unclean as well. 

She is taking a big chance touching Jesus' clothes, because she is making his clothing “unclean,” and by extension she is making Jesus unclean. The good news for her is that Jesus supersedes all of the clean/unclean rules.  Rather than Jesus, who was 'clean', being made "unclean", Jesus makes the unclean, clean. He is the rules, in reverse. 

Luke doesn’t tell us what the woman is thinking, but Mark gives us some insight into her thoughts. “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:28)  The woman is basically trying to steal a miracle, getting a healing without Jesus even realizing it.  Why did she think this plan would work?  I don’t know.  I have to admit that if she had revealed this plan to me before she tried, I would be very skeptical that it would work.  But it did work. 

One might ask, “why so secretive?”  Why not just approach Jesus and ask him for healing?” I suspect that the woman very embarrassed by her situation, and may have been concerned that Jesus would refuse because of her unclean status. Whatever the thinking behind it, her plan worked and her bleeding stopped immediately. It also apparently stopped Jesus in his tracks.  He was on his way to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter when this happened. Jesus, feeling the power go out, stopped everything to find out who touched him. 

I suspect that Jesus knew all along who it was. Being the prophet that he was, it seems likely that he did. With crowds all around him, Jesus asked anyway.  Peter points out that lots of people were touching him, as he was being swarmed by the crowd. Eventually the woman, realizing that she would not be able to hide, came forward. I am not sure what she was expecting or what she was so afraid of, but Jesus blesses her for her faith. Calling her "daughter,” and telling her that her faith had saived her. (verse 48.) Jesus treats her as a family member because of her faith.  Remember who Jesus said, earlier in this chapter, were his family? "Those who hear the word and obey it." (Luke 8:21.) 

Now that her faith had saved her, Jesus tells her then to ‘Go in peace.” Darrell Bock says (Bock, 799.) that peace is not an internal subjective feeling. It is a state that exists between the woman and God because of her faith. This had to be a great comfort to a woman who had been ceremonially unclean for twelve years. We, too can "go in peace" as close relatives of Jesus when we act in faith. 

Tom

     Darrell Bock, Luke, Volume 1 - 1:1-9;50, Grand Rapids, Mich. Baker Academic. 1994.