The Power Was Present

In Luke 5:17, the evangelist records a curious detail: "and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing". At first glance, this seems to imply that there were times when Jesus did not have the power to heal. Such a reading appears to contradict the truth of His divine nature, which surely meant unlimited authority and ability at all times.

The key to resolving this tension lies in understanding both the grammar and the theological emphasis of Luke's account. The phrase in Greek, dynamis Kyriou ēn eis to iasthai auton, literally means "the power of the Lord was [there] for Him to heal." It does not indicate that Jesus' divine power was lacking at other times. Rather, Luke is highlighting that at this particular moment God's healing power was being manifested through Him.

This fits Luke's larger theme: Jesus carried out His earthly ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. Earlier, Luke notes that "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14) and that He applied Isaiah's prophecy to Himself, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Luke 4:18). In His incarnation, Jesus voluntarily accepted the limitations of human dependence on the Father and the Spirit (Philippians 2:6-8). He did not cease to be divine, but He chose to act in harmony with the Father's will and timing.

When Luke says the "power of the Lord was present," he is not suggesting deficiency but pointing to the divine initiative at that moment. The expression echoes Old Testament language where "the Spirit of the Lord came upon" Samson, Gideon, or David–not to indicate that God had abandoned them before, but to mark the decisive manifestation of His power in a given circumstance.

Therefore, Luke's phrase is not a comment on Jesus' lack of ability but a narrative cue for the reader: the stage was set, God's power was about to be displayed, and a miracle was imminent. The statement reinforces that Jesus' ministry was not a private exercise of power but the visible working of God's Spirit through the promised Messiah.