Power or Permission
Luke 10:1-17
Can we be trusted with power?
Photo by Cemrecan Yurtman on Unsplash
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" - Luke 10:1-17
Jesus sent out seventy disciples, far more than the inner circle of twelve who seemed to have special powers because of him.
They were sent out in pairs with nothing to tempt bandits, not even food. He didn't want them to be targets, but instead to be protected only by each other's presence.
Now, the amazing thing is he gave them power or permission to heal in his name.
Is this power something all followers of Jesus can use? Could we be trusted with such power?
When the seventy returned, they were overjoyed, because they were surprised by the extent of the power they were given.
It would be nice if our medical professionals could perform such miracles on us, wouldn't it?
I think most of us would be afraid to present ourselves as healers in Jesus' name. We would feel foolish to be standing over someone who is ill and calling out Jesus to come and heal that person.
So, we ask him for help, instead.
We accept that the miracle will not happen, and we are afraid to ask for it for fear of being denied.
But I think we should be so bold as to call upon Jesus for help. If we feel foolish, that may be because we doubt the power of Christ.
We are fine praying silently, but maybe we should try to speak up. Maybe Jesus wants others to hear us call out the demons from those who are sick, believing fully in the power of Jesus.
Yes, we will sound like those who wave their hands over their heads and cry out, but so what? Should we be afraid to commit ourselves fully to God through Jesus?
Maybe we can start by asking permission to call upon Jesus to heal the one we love. Then we can focus on the one who is sick, rather than how we look to others.
More to come...