THE SON CAN DO NOTHING OF HIMSELF

“And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.”(Luke 5:17, NKJV): This is an odd phraseology, as if there were times when the Lord’s healing power was not present. Let’s deconstruct this passage: “Power” is the Greek dumanis, God’s anywhere, anytime, anyhow... to be able power, and is in the anarthrous construction denoting a particular quality of power... contextually healing power. “Lord” is the Greek kurios, translated Lord 712 times in the N.T. and used of both God and Christ. “Present” is a word added by the translators for clarity, not found in the Greek manuscripts. “Heal” is the Greek iaomai, to heal, cure, restore to bodily health, an articular infinitive used in the accusative sense denoting purpose. “Them” is the Greek autos, a feminine neutered pronoun incorrectly translated as if referring to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who were not there for healing but to entrap Jesus, or the “multitudes” of verse 15, a totally different event. Autos is used here as a third person objective case pronoun for Jesus, a Greek construction which is very common in Luke’s gospel, and should be translated “Him.”  Literal translation: “And the healing power of God was with Him (Jesus) to heal.” 

Jesus did not exercise God’s power independently: “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do ... I can of Myself do nothing ... but the will of the Father who sent me.” (Jn. 5:19, 20, 30) Jesus in His “self-empting” life was one with the Father and only did what the Father showed Him to do, saying and doing what he heard and seen from the Father -- identity of action based on identity of nature -- in perfect union with the Father’s will.  God healed the woman with the issue of blood through Jesus... for power went out of Him, but independent of Jesus’ foreknowledge or will... for He asked “Who touched Me.” (Lk. 8:43-46) God healed through Jesus one of a “great multitude” of sick, blind, lame and paralyzed people at the Pool of Bethesda... just one... who did not even know who Jesus was... whose faith was misplaced in the “stirring of the waters.” (Jn. 5:1-15) Scriptures like these should challenge our tidy precepts of when, how and why God heals... More remains in the mystery of supernatural healing then in the revelation...