While there may be a variety of different qualities that followers look for in leaders, one thing that leaders have in common is that they hold some measure of power. The exercise of power can be demonstrated in different ways. It can refer to the heavy influence or sway a leader has over his followers, like a cult leader, for example. That is a different kind of power than that which comes from one’s access to and command over military might and weapons. Nations can rise or fall on the basis of this kind of power. Power is also associated with the authority that allows its bearer to implement decisions or determine direction for groups. The CEO of a company has more power than the new hire sharing a cubicle with other employees in one of many departments within that company. In some capacity, leaders have power.
What that power is used for depends on the leader. The cult leader, for example, does not have a favorable track record for using his power in a positive way. A leader with military power could go either way, coming to the aid of nations being wrongly attacked or defending his own nation with that power, or he could abuse that power and be the one wrongly attacking others. The CEO in that position of power can turn around a failing company or be the reason a thriving company falls apart. How a leader’s power is managed, for good or bad, depends on the leader.
Followers of Jesus during his life here on earth saw his power. And they saw Jesus use his power for good. If you were there with Jesus to witness the event described in the verses from Mark 7, there is no room for debate over whether Jesus used his power for the man’s good. When a man who couldn’t speak or hear can suddenly do both, that’s a good thing. “At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly” (v.35). Even those present recognized Jesus used his power for a good purpose. “People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak’” (v.37).
This lines up with most of the miracles of Jesus recorded for us in the Bible. He used his power for good. The small contingent who might have disagreed would have been the Pharisees, especially when Jesus had the audacity to heal on the Sabbath. But as we saw in the previous post, the issue they had was not really with Jesus, but with their own hearts.
As we look at this miracle and the miracles of Jesus in general, we want to make sure we also understand the purpose of this power. What role did miracles play? Why was Jesus able to perform them? Why did he choose to? Understanding the right answers to questions like these determines whether or not we’re following Jesus for the right reasons.
We also have to factor in something else: our own attraction to power. After all, followers are drawn to leaders with power for different reasons. As much as we like to imagine our reasons being altruistic and noble, that isn’t always the case. There is value in being connected to those with power: they can do things for us. We want to be in good standing with the powerful because it could help our cause or work out in our favor one way or another.
Why does all of this make a difference in our role as followers of Jesus? It has everything to do with our expectations of him and whether or not those will be met. It is what determines Jesus’ role in my life as well as my relationship with him. If you are drawn to Jesus today because of his power to heal or bless or turn a person’s life around, your followership may very well be short-lived. Why? Because what Jesus chose to do in someone else’s life he may not choose to repeat in yours.
The sickness that he is able to heal? He may not heal it. The relationship that he is able to mend? He may not mend it. The job that he is able to provide? He may not provide it. The wrong against us that he could right? He may not right it.
And if we’re not ready for that, our world might be rocked to when Jesus doesn’t direct his power to fix our lives in the way we expect him to. And it’s never because he’s incapable of doing it; but he may choose not to for reasons we could never know.
Do you wonder if, at the scene of any of Jesus’ miracles recorded for us in Scripture, there were other individuals with the same physical limitation, the same sickness, the same chronic pain… who weren’t healed? Jesus didn’t heal, cure, or alleviate the aches and pains of all people, in every situation. Therefore, it’s not just possible, but probable that when Jesus did perform miracles, there were others present who didn’t get to experience his power working the same miracle in their lives.
Ouch! That realization stings a bit. It’s one thing to stand in awe of the amazing miracles he did perform, but when we consider all of the additional miracles that could have happened but didn’t, it might shift our view of Jesus slightly. That’s why it matters that we rightly understand the purpose behind his power.
What’s more, if I am following Jesus with a misunderstanding of the purpose of his power, I am also likely to lead others to him for the wrong reasons. This doesn’t just happen on an individual basis, but can happen in churches and ministries, too. When the main emphasis is on wealth and wellness or healing or even manifestations of the Spirit’s work, others are being drawn to the wrong purpose behind Jesus’ power.
Yes, he can do all those things, and may choose to, but I have no authority on my own, nor any promise from Scripture, that permits me to guarantee to others how God will choose to act on their behalf. When we assure others of wealth or wellness, healing or some special manifestation of the Holy Spirit, we have crossed the line and, regardless of our intentions, have become false teachers. We are making assurances that we have no business making. We are speaking with an authority we do not have.
So what is the right reason to follow Jesus and the power he has? His miraculous power to heal was just the tip of the iceberg. We rightly grasp the purpose of Jesus’ power by holding on to the cross. As much as Jesus’ miracles highlighted his power and revealed his compassion and care for the sick and suffering, he had his sights set on something far superior: your salvation.
Jesus came to play the long game. While he could certainly wield his mighty power in ways that would increase our quality of life for several decades on earth, what good would that really be if that was all the time he could spend with us, and after those decades, the sentence for our sin would set in, and we would be cut off from him for the rest of eternity in hell because of it? No, Jesus wanted more than just a few good years or decades with us on earth while making everything hunky dory for us; he wanted to never to have to turn away from the crown of his creation.
For that reason, he wanted the power of his miracles to draw our attention to him so that we could see something far more powerful. His perfect life lived in the place of sinners. His innocent crucifixion died in the place of sinners. His resurrection, raised for the eternal life of sinners. Those powerful realities stand out on their own above everything else simply because of their monumental nature! But, what makes them even more powerful is that their impact reaches out to and counts for every sinner who has ever lived.
Everyone. Regardless of the size of the sin. Regardless of the frequency of the sin. Regardless of the powerful damage any sin may have caused. Regardless of your sin and my sin. Hands down, the absolute greatest exercise of Jesus’ power is that he definitively delivered us from hell and declares us to be forgiven and perfectly pure in his sight.
So as impressive as any of his powerful miracles were, they served only as attention grabbers so that no one would miss out on the real show of power on the cross, where our Savior willingly gave himself for sinners, forgiving our sins and claiming us as his own forever. For that reason, nothing must ever distract from or conceal the cross. Ever.
That may help us understand why Jesus said what he did after he performed this miracle. “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone” (v.36). When power comes into the picture, as was pointed out earlier, we are selfishly drawn to it for the wrong reasons initially. We are too easily concerned with what it can do for us here and now. Jesus knew that the more people heard about his jaw-dropping miracles, the more people would come to him in search of jaw-dropping miracles. And that desire for the jaw-dropping miracles that were all temporary and worldly would for many cloud the greater miracles that are eternal and heavenly: the miracles of forgiveness, of salvation, of eternal life. These realities could come only by the power of the cross. May we never forget or forsake its powerful purpose.