Real...power
- Gary Fritsch
- Sep 8
- 2 min read
It is so easy for us to ho-hum our way through the Gospels because the stories become so familiar to us. In today's Gospel, in case you glossed over it, there are two very powerful elements: there was the naming of the Apostles and then the part where Jesus "healed them all." Did you read through these like a week-old news story about a kindergarten graduation at a local school? Let's review again to discover the Real Power in this story.
Whether you are a fan or not, the popular 'Chosen' series does one important thing for us: it puts flesh and bones on the names we read in the Gospels including the name Jesus. What we should know about today's passage from Luke is this: when the Gospels were first shared and spread in written form - the people and events mentioned in them would have still been known by people hearing the story. So no opportunity for 'fake news' here. This is why St. Luke, after 'investigating everything anew' lists the specific names of the Apostles. People would have known them. The world at large seems quick to dismiss the Gospels as some sort of 'legend' and this is virtually impossible.
In the Jewish oral tradition of the time, stories were the media of the day. The accurate retelling of them was essential. Those originally witnessing a story safeguarded the details in the retelling of the story. In his book "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses" Richard Baukham explains that the community rigorously protected the retelling of stories and would vociferously challenge even the most minute departure from the truth. This truth would have first been guarded by the men named in this passage, whom others would have known.
Here is the perhaps the more startling part: there were thousands of people who not only witnessed Jesus healing 'everyone' but were themselves healed. "Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all." This was a "great crowd of His disciples and a large number of people all Judea and Jerusalem." Believers and non-believers, skeptics, and casual onlookers. One of the important phenomena of the time was this: Jesus' miracles were rarely disputed. Even the Pharisees who challenged Him only challenged the power by which He performed them. There were thousands upon thousands of eye-witnesses and more importantly people who were themselves healed of their infirmities.
In all of human history, there is nothing that even approaches this level of witness to the power of one man. This is no fake news, this is no legend, and this continues today. He continues to heal and cast out demons every single day. He changes lives every single day. Don't let these things pass by you like yesterday's news - He is still wielding real power.
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