NT 260: Part TwoSample

Through stories, a number of things are revealed about Jesus. First, He is powerful. He demonstrates His power over fish and disease. Second, He is compassionate. Leprosy was a terrible skin disease that caused its sufferers to be avoided for fear of catching the disease from them. When Jesus touched the man, it was probably the first time he had been touched by a non-leper in years. Jesus also showed compassion by asking a tax collector to follow Him. Tax collectors were hated and considered to be the worst of sinners. Third, He demonstrated that He was God. He did this by forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man and by claiming to be the groom. The view was that eternity with God was going to be a huge wedding reception. The groom was now present, so it was inappropriate to be fasting.

In the midst of all of these great demonstrations of Jesus’ power, Luke tells us in verse 16 that Jesus would go off alone to pray. If Jesus had all this power, but still needed to pray, how much more so for us? You may not be able to heal people every day or even demonstrate amazing levels of compassion, but you could go off alone and pray.