Christ The Power of God

"POWER WAS WITH HIM TO DO HEALING"

Jesus was well into his public ministry, and his most recent area of activity was Galilee. In one of the cities there, Jesus encountered a pitiful sight.  (Mark 1:39, 40) Right in front of him was a man with a frightful disease, leprosy. Testifying tot he advanced stage of the man's illness, physician Luke describes him as being "full of leprosy." (Luke 5:12)  "When he caught sight of Jesus, [the leper] fell face down and begged him: 'Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.' "  The man had no doubt that Jesus possessed the power to heal him, but what he needed to know was, did Jesus have the desire to do so?  How would Jesus respond to this heartfelt request? What was Jesus thinking as he beheld this  man who was probably  disfigured?  Would Jesus  be like the Pharisees, who had developed a heartless view of people suffering from this disease?  What would you have done? 

Apparently, this leprous man had neglected to call out "Unclean, unclean!" as the Mosaic Law stipulated.  Jesus did not bring that up. Rather, he concentrated on the man himself and his needs.  (Leviticus 13:43-46) We do not know exactly what thoughts were going through Jesus' mind, but we do know what was in his heart.  Move with compassion, Jesus did the incredible.  He stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and with a voice reflecting both strength and tenderness, Jesus said:  "I want to! Be made clean."  Then "the leprosy vanished from him." (Luke 5:13) Indeed, Jehovah's power was there-not only for Christ to perform such a miracle but also for Jesus to demonstrate how much he loved people. - Luke 5:17.

God's power enabled Jesus Christ to perform a wide variety of astounding miracles. He cured not only leprosy but also every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity among the people.  The inspired record tells us: "The crowd felt amazement as they saw the speechless  speaking and the maimed being made sound and the lame walking and the blind seeing." (Matthew 15:31)  to perform such acts of compassion, Jesus needed no organ donors for transplants.  He healed the very organs or body parts  that were afflicted!  And he healed people instantly, sometimes even from a distance.  (John 4:46-54) What do these amazing examples show?  That Jesus, now enthroned as heavenly King, has not only the power but also the desire to  bring about permanent healing. Learning about the way Jesus treated people gives us confidence that in the new world, the Bible prophecy will be fulfilled:  "He will have pity on the lowly and the poor." (Psalm 72:13) Yes, Jesus will then act on his heart's desire to help all afflicted ones. 

Next time: Christ The Power of God - "GET UP! PICK UP YOUR MAT AND WALK" 

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015