THEME: Power was Coming from Him
TEXT: Luke 6:17-26
DATE: 02/15/04
Pastor Bruce Skelton
As we read this Gospel text for today we cannot help but be impressed with the awesome power Jesus displayed that day. Try to imagine that you are one of the suffering people there. Imagine having spent years suffering from an incurable disease or an evil spirit and then someone says to you, "There is a man coming, a great prophet who can heal any disease or cast out any demon." And as you are laid along the path and Jesus passes by you reach out believing, knowing, that if you could just reach up and touch the hem of his robe you would be healed. And it happens, you are and not only you, but every one else. Everyone who touches Jesus or is touched by him is healed immediately, hundreds, possibly thousands of people all set free from demons and disease by a mere touch. What indescribable joy there must have been that day, what a celebration because as the text says: Power was coming from Him and healing them all.
The word for “power” in the Greek, is "dunamis" from which we get our English words, "dynamo" or "dynamite." So the power we are talking about here it was not just a little surge or a minor jolt, but a blast like a lightening bolt. It is the very power of God that was pouring out from Jesus that day because he was and still is the Son of God, God incarnate, the second person of the holy Trinity, who is omnipotent, all-powerful.
But the most important thing that Jesus did that day, was not the miraculous healings, no they merely got people’s attention. No the best display of his divine power, was in what came next. Jesus began to preach and just as he did in his Sermon on the Mount, in this sermon, which is called the “Sermon on the Plain” Jesus teaches them and us about what they had just experienced. He tells them and us about power, power as the world sees it and uses it, and power as God sees it and uses it.
Now when the world thinks of power, which is sadly the way we often think of it, it is seen in the things listed in the last portion of our text, you could call it the woe section. When we say someone is a powerful person, more often than not we mean that they are rich and living quite comfortably. We think of someone who is well fed and has all their personal needs met. They have membership in exclusive clubs, a personal trainer, the best doctors and hairstylists.
When someone is powerful, they don't have the same worries as the rest of us. They can laugh at other people, because they never have to wait in line or suffer any of the inconveniences that the rest of us must suffer. They are always treated quite well. The one incident that comes to my mind when I though about this was when Debbie and I were waiting in a line to be seated in a nice restaurant which wouldn't take reservations. And after having waited in line for nearly an hour and we still had a long line of people behind us it was our turn to be seated. Just then, a well-known politician and some of his guests came in the door. It was interesting to watch, as the matre-de and the waiters were suddenly transformed into super-servants. The powerful man and his guests were immediately rushed to the head of the line and a table was prepared in an instant.
The chef came out personally and took their orders every little gesture was made in order to ingratiate themselves to the celebrity and those who were with him. In a way it was comical to watch them as they bowed and scraped to please the man with power. Meanwhile, the rest of us were just forgotten about. And when they did remember us, we were treated like cattle, and just herded in and out. Why? Well, we were nobodies in their eyes. We had no power. Perhaps you have experienced something similar. It was indeed a very frustrating thing to have happened to us, but it also is a lesson learned about power in this world.
And what does Jesus say to those who have such worldly power? Three words, "Woe to you."
Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
You see, Jesus had and still has little use for most of the rich and the powerful people of this world. Why? Well, it is because most of them have it made, and they don't think they need Him at all. They think they have all the wealth and power they will ever need and they are quite proudly certain that they are the source of all of it. Rather than seeing it as a gift from a good and gracious God, they see it as something that they deserve because of who they are. And this is why Jesus says to his disciples on another occasion, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Now I want to pause here for a moment and state that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with money or fame or any other expression of worldly power, but absorption in it, or love of it is idolatry and the Scriptures are quite clear how God feels about that. Our God is a jealous God, and if you would love or rely on anything or anyone, more than him you will never enter into heaven. There are no idolaters, not a single one.
So, what kind of people are in heaven? For the most part they will be people who had very little, if any, power here on earth at all. The mansions of heaven will be crowded with poor people. People whom most of us will not recognize because they were not famous in this world. There will be people who have suffered and who have lost everything and everyone they ever loved. People whose lives were filled with tears. And in the highest places, those shining brighter than the rest, will be those who suffered for their faith in Jesus, those who endured the hatred and persecution of the powerful for his sake.
Why? Because they are better than us? No, it will be because they like those who gathered around the Lord that day on the plain, knew they had no where else to turn. It was only through Jesus Christ and his power that they could be saved not just from earthly or worldly affliction, but from sin that afflicts the soul of every one of us. There is no other way to plug into the power of God but by faith in Jesus Christ. And the outlet is in the shape of a cross, for it is there that all our sins were taken away. It is on the cross that the power of the devil, this world and our own sinful flesh, was blown apart by the infinite power surge of God.
It was like what happened to one of my parishioners back in Nebraska when lightening struck a utility line near their house. It blew out everything that worked by electricity. Nothing that was plugged in at their house ever worked again. And so it was with the power of the evil. On Calvary Jesus fried all its circuits. And in so doing set us free to be people of God.
And now, just like those possessed and sick people lying along the path who were healed, we too can rejoice. We to can give thanks because we are rich, beyond our wildest dreams, rich in the mercy and the love of God, which surpasses all understanding, rich in the Holy Spirit, given us in the waters of our baptism where we were made God’s beloved children, rich in his forgiveness as we come to dine at His Table this day. Rich in the knowledge that by Christ’s atoning death and resurrection, we are now right with God and that when we die we will enter heaven
Yes we too can rejoice, because out almighty God and King, Jesus Christ has promised to return and wipe all our tears away, for not only are we promised heaven for our souls after we depart this life, but also the ultimate display of his power when he returns to raise up all the dead, and give to all the faithful eternal life.
That is why we can rejoice in this life, even when the rich and the powerful hate us and revile us for our faith, because we know that in the end Jesus will win and when he wins, we win.
A text that most beautifully conveys this is Psalm 37:
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.... But the wicked will perish: The Lords enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish-vanish like smoke.
What a comfort it is to know that evil will not triumph in the end, because it simply does not have enough power. But God’s power like his love is infinite and will always be there for us. Jesus has shown us and told us that he will always be with us no matter how tough our road becomes. He is with us in illness and sorrow, tragedy and heartache and He will be with us when we die, and his angels bring into paradise. So let us rejoice and live our lives to Him., our almighty, all-powerful Savior, who with God the Father and Holy Spirit, are one God with dominion over us forever. Amen.
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05/06/2004