Faith spelt differently
It is a mistake to think of Jesus as a religious version of Superman, powered up differently, maybe, but powered up nonetheless.
The miracles, healings, and deliverances all seem to be works of power as if the Son of God, was powerful in himself, operating with spiritual power, not Kryptonite.
Jesus did have a source of power, the Holy Spirit, which he promised to the disciples:
‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’ Acts 1v84
The problem is not that this is untrue, but that Jesus modelled a life of deliberate vulnerability to his disciples like a good apprentice, for them to copy.
Three chapters in Luke’s gospel: 8,9, and 10 illustrate the point.
In chapter 8, Luke describes the ministry of Jesus. In chapter nine, Jesus sends out the twelve disciples in like manner to do what they’ve seen him do, and in chapter 10, this is extended to seventy.
The verses below may be familiar, and been struck by the outcomes – often miraculous - of Jesus’s ministry and the disciples. Quite rightly. Miracles are hard to ignore. The gospel writers did not omit them!
Miracles are hard to ignore. The gospel writers did not omit them!
But we’re taking a peek behind the scenes.
In one memorable phrase, Jesus described his lifestyle after returning in the power of the Spirit from the temptations, ‘The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head’ Luke 8 v 58. After early success preaching the gospel in Galilee, he was rejected in Nazareth and relocated to Capernaum,
‘Leaving Nazareth, He came to dwell in Capernaum’ Mt4v13
Moving house is stressful at the best of times, but Jesus’s departure was forced upon him by the congregation of his home synagogue, who had become so angry that they turned on him and tried to push him off a cliff!
And, after the initial welcome and success in Capernaum (e.g. the paralytic lowered through the roof), he rounds angrily on Capernaum, ‘Woe to you…Capernaum’ Mt11v23 and has to leave once again, as at Nazareth.
Jesus had become an outcast
The disciples had witnessed the power of the miracles, of course, and the preaching, but also the stripping away of all the traditional forms of support: a roof over one’s head, family, who thought he was ‘out of his mind’ Mk3v21, and synagogue. He had become an outcast.
‘Now it came to pass, afterward, that Jesus went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God and the twelve were with him and certain women who had been healed…and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susannah and many others who provided for him from their substance’ 8v1-3
No income – he folded his carpentry business.
No home – he had to leave his house in Capernaum.
No guaranteed supply of food, clothing, or shelter.
Open only to the welcome of others, like a sparrow finding a place to call home (Ps 84v3) amongst all the competing needs of other sparrows and wildlife.
In chapters 9 and 10, Jesus extends this twin walk of power and vulnerability to the twelve and then the seventy,
‘Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases and sent them to preach the gospel and heal the sick…’Take nothing for your journey, neither staff nor bag nor bread nor money’ Luke 9 v1-6
‘After these things the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two…carry neither money bag, rucksack, nor sandals, and greet no one on the road but whatever house you enter first say ‘Peace to this house’…’ Luke 10 v 1-12
They were instructed to stay, preach the gospel, and heal the sick, if welcomed, but if not, to wipe the dust off their feet and move on
In Philippians, Paul writes that Jesus, though equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, he came in the likeness of men…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
For the apostles and the seventy - and by extension, us, - whatever status we may carry, we may also find ourselves called to walk the path of deliberate vulnerability, not using any status to build the road in front of us, however legitimate that manipulative approach may be.
Paul speaks about this as an apostle:
‘If we have sown spiritual things for you, should we not reap materially? Others do, nevertheless, we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel’ 1Cor 9 v 11f
Like Jesus and the disciples, Paul was open to and dependent on the welcome and gifts of others.
We are not the rich ones with something to give. We are voluntarily poor with only the welcome of others and the power of the Spirit as our source. We are likely to suffer rejection as much as a welcome, and be like Jesus, be a ‘man of sorrows and acquainted with grief’ one moment and ‘anointed with gladness above his fellows’ the next.
The emotional impact of a life of deliberate vulnerability is recorded in the gospels. Not only is Jesus not invincible, unlike Superman, he is not serene, as if one step removed from this world, living in a Zen state of perpetual calm. His lifestyle took its inevitable toll.
1. At the synagogue in Capernaum, when he healed the man with a withered hand, the people were offended because he performed the miracle on the Sabbath. Mark recorded ‘He looked around them with anger, being grieved at their hardness of heart’.
2. Though his emotional response to his family thinking he had gone mad ‘out of his mind’ Mark 3v21 is not recorded, it is not beyond reason to imagine the sadness He must have felt, even if tempered by his faith
3. Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, Luke 10 v21. Again, we have no details, but it’s hard not to imagine smiles, laughter, singing, and dancing.
4. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and Lazarus
5. In the garden before his arrest, ‘He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death’ Mt 26v37,38
6. After the resurrection, just as when he sent the disciples out, He appears and says, ‘Peace to you’. Just as before. Vulnerable, open to being welcomed, or not. We take it for granted that the disciples greeted Him because we know how the story ends, ‘while they still did not believe for joy’
The kingdom of God is not about food or drink, the best worship band, the most generous offerings, a large staff, or staging successful conferences. It turns out to be a willingness to be vulnerable and open to the welcome or rejection of those we meet, whilst having faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Anything else follows on.
Deliberate vulnerability and faith in the power of the Spirit? It was the Lord who called the twelve and the seventy, it will be the Lord who calls us to a particular path. There is no manual.
Some work this out through everyday existence in the world, others go on a mission, or tread the Camino, or are called to ministry.
Paul again,
‘Gladly I will boast in my infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong…that the power of Christ may rest upon me’ 2Cor12v9,10