I was asked about Jesus’s power recently. You may recall in the Gospels that Jesus is often said to be teaching “with power” or doing “deeds of power.” As I tried to explain Jesus’ power, I realized that the more I talked, the farther I got from my point. I realized my problem was with the word “power” itself.
How we talk about “power” today is unfortunately tainted by our sin. To us “power” is mostly used to show control or dominion by force of one person over another. A body-builder is powerful because they lift so much weight, a car is powerful because of the engine’s horsepower, a politician is powerful because they wield so much influence. Power is defined and measured by a quantity of strength over another. Even electricity is “power” over our lights and appliances. In America, it is a value to have more power, in every way, and a liability to have less.
But what about Jesus? We are told was like a lamb to be slaughtered, had no house, no wife or kids, no paying job, was threatened regularly, treated poorly by many, unjustly convicted, publicly humiliated and even killed as a criminal. None of these would make Jesus a “powerful” person today. In fact, by modern vocabulary, one could say Jesus was “weak” or he was a “loser” by the end of his life.
Jesus had no sin and was perfect in every way; so how was he “powerful”? He could cast out demons, heal the blind, feed 5000 families, turn water into wine, brings people back from the dead, rebuke the wind and waves. But these make us uncomfortable because they are weird powers that many people will never have. Plus, in these examples, Jesus never puts himself in a position of domineering, or control over others. To the contrary, Jesus helps and serves others out of grace. His exercise of “power” works to undo the sinful “power” that was actually holding others down.
The 1999 book titled “The Powers That Be” by Walter Wink talks specifically about the sin of “power” in the Bible and in our world today. He takes a hard look at how our human desire for power confines our world to sin. We incorrectly believe that gaining more power over others will help alleviate our problems. Jesus knew this and refused to participate with that kind of power.
Jesus confronted the sin of his era not with human power, but with God’s power: non-violent, scripture based, actions to restore, renew, and reconcile. Jesus didn’t use power to have dominion over people, he used his power to “free” them from the powers that controlled them.
To use the phrase “Jesus’ power” is perhaps the wrong understanding. Jesus doesn’t want to control others, but to be “generous,” “merciful,” and “liberating.” Here is where Jesus’ authority and energy come from. Instead of talking about Jesus’ power let us talk about Jesus’ love.
Pastor Karl
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