"Christ the Power of God" - "Powerful in . . . Word"

Evidently, Jesus performed no miracles when he was a boy growing up in Nazareth.  But that changed when he was baptized in 29 C.E., at about 30 years of age.  (Luke 3:21-23)  The Bible tells us:  "God anointed him with holy spirit and power, and went through the land doing good and healing all those oppressed by the Devil."  (Acts 10:38) "Doing good" -does that not indicate that Jesus used his power aright?  After his anointing, he "became a prophet powerful in work and word." -Luke 24:19. 

How was Jesus powerful  in word?  He often taught in the open air-on lakeshores and hillsides as well as on the streets and marketplaces.  (Mark 6:53-56; Luke 5:1-3; 13:26)  His listeners could simply walk away if his words did not hold their interest. In the era before printed books, appreciative listeners had to carry his words in their mind and heart.  So Jesus' teaching needed to be thoroughly arresting, plainly understood, and easily remembered. But this challenged posed no problem for Jesus.  Consider, for example, his Sermon on the Mount.

One morning early in 31 C.E., a crowd gathered on a hillside near the Sea of Galilee.  Some had come from Judea and Jerusalem, 60 or 70 miles away. Others had come  from the seacoast area of Tyre and Sidon, to the north.   Many sick people drew close to Jesus to touch him, and he healed them all.  When there was not even  one seriously ill person left among them, he began to teach.  (Luke 6:17-19)  When he finished speaking some time later, they were amazed by what they had heard.  Why?

Years later, one who had heard that sermon wrote: "The crowds were astounded at his way of teaching; for he was teaching them as a person having authority."  (Matthew 7:28, 29) Jesus spoke with a power they could feel.  He spoke for God and backed up his teaching with the authority of God's Word.  (John 7:16) Jesus' statements were clear, his exhortations persuasive, and his arguments irrefutable.  His words got to the heart of issues as well as to the hearts of his listeners.  He taught them how to find happiness, how to pray, how to seek God's Kingdom, and how to build for a secure future. (Matthew  5:3-7:27) His words awakened the hearts of those hungering for truth and righteousness.  Such ones were willing to "disown" themselves and abandon everything in order to follow him. (Matthew 16:24; Luke 5:10, 11)  What a testimony to the power of Jesus' words!

Next time: "Christ the Power of God" -"Powerful in Work"

From the book: Draw Close to Jehovah