The power to impart power.
"He gave them power." It does not strike us as remarkable that, being what Jesus was, he should have power over sickness, disease, disability, and even death. But it certainly is unusual, remarkable, and most suggestive, that our Lord was able to give his power to others, and enable others to do the healing work that he did. There have been men with a genius for magic. They had it, but they were never able to impart it. There have been men with a strange and mysterious gift for healing disease. They had it, but they have never been able to impart it. No master ever yet gave his power to his disciples. He can teach them, guide them, and even inspire them. He cannot give himself to them. But this is precisely what Jesus could do and did.
I. THE LIGHT THIS THROWS ON CHRIST'S DIVINE NATURE. It may be fully argued and illustrated that "power belongeth unto God," and can only come to man directly from him. Man's gifts are Divine gifts; man's endowments are Divine endowments; man's genius is Divine inspiration. It is an accepted truth that God only can "forgive sins;" it should be an equally accepted truth that God only can "impart power." But here we have Jesus doing as simply as possible what we feel is alone in the power of God to do. We say he has the trust of miraculous gifts; but that is only half the truth. He has the gifts in such a way that he is able to give the gifts, in trust, to others. No argument for the essential Deity of Christ ("God manifest in the flesh") could be so effective as this impression produced on us by the fact that he had "the power to impart power."
II. THE LIGHT THIS THROWS ON CHRIST'S CONTINUING WORK. We may be helped in our endeavour to understand that work by seeing that he still has the "power to impart power," and that he is actually imparting power to his people. Christ gives soul-healing from the diseases of sin; Christ quickens life from the death of trespasses and sins. He is come that we might "have life, and have it more abundantly." We can partly apprehend his work in souls by watching his work in bodies when he was here. But see how much more vivid and forcible the illustration becomes when we see that he can repeat his power, tie can give life to men in such a way as will make those men what he himself is—life-givers. Quickening men so as to make them healers and saviours is Christ's continuing work.—R.T.