Luke 6:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

NIV: and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

NASB: And all the people were trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.

CSB: The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing them all.

NLT: Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

KJV: And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

NKJV: And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

Luke is giving a synopsis of Jesus' ministry to a great crowd. Here, he describes how Jesus heals and expels demons.

People are probably trying to touch Jesus because it works. The woman with an issue of blood does so, and immediately feels herself healed (Mark 5:28–29). She probably touched the fringe on the edge of Jesus' cloak (Matthew 14:35–36). We see similar power in the early church. People line up along the street to try to catch Peter's shadow (Acts 5:15). In Ephesus, the people learn that even a piece of cloth that Paul has touched can heal and expel demons (Acts 19:11–12). That does not validate the modern practice of selling prayer cloths, however. There is a difference between leaders in the early church—whose words the Holy Spirit validated through miracles—and modern false teachers trying to make money.

Theologians debate as to how Jesus has the power to heal: is it His own power as God or does the Holy Spirit work through Him? The discussion widens to ask if Jesus knowing what others are thinking is because of His deity or the Holy Spirit's insight (Luke 6:8). Those who say the incarnate Christ maintains His omniscience and omnipotence say that the passage on Jesus "emptying Himself" refers to His right to demand honor, not His power (Philippians 2:5–7). Those who believe Jesus empties Himself of even His abilities point to passages that say Jesus grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52) or that seem to indicate Jesus doesn't know certain things (Mark 5:30). Christians can hold either position so long as they believe that Jesus is God and that any self-emptying was temporary and voluntary.

Luke 6:17–19 transitions away from the separation of Jesus' followers from His detractors into a series of teachings on the promised blessings for and responsibilities of His followers. This passage is called the ''Sermon on the Plain'' or ''Sermon on the Level Place.'' Matthew's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5—7) could be the same event; ''plain'' can mean a high plateau. But Luke, writing to a Gentile audience, removes all references to the Jewish law and, as is his habit, summarizes the teachings even more than Matthew. The corresponding passage for this section would be Matthew 4:23—5:1.

Luke 6 contains two main sections of teaching and calls to discipleship. Luke 6:1–16 continues the pattern of Luke 5. The two ways in which Jesus sets aside tradition—this time by taking authority over the Sabbath—are paired with His call for the Twelve disciples. Luke 6:17–49 records Jesus' teaching on the ''level place,'' or His ''Sermon on the Plain,'' and a call to a crowd for general discipleship. Much of this material has parallels in Matthew 5 through 7, but it's not clear if the two accounts are of the same event. As a travelling teacher, Christ likely gave the same general message multiple times.

Luke 6 completes Jesus' call for disciples and followers that started in Luke 5. Luke 5:1—6:16 consists of three calls for disciples, each paired with two revolutionary teachings about Jesus' authority that increasingly infuriate the religious leaders. Luke 6:17–49 continues the theme with a general call for followers and a description of their responsibilities. In Luke 7:1—8:3, Jesus interacts with the other: Gentiles, women, and even the dead. This is followed by another general call (Luke 8:4–21), a series of miracles (Luke 8:22—9:17), and a final call for the Twelve to follow Him even more deeply (Luke 9:18–50).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.