From: joachim omolo ouko
News Dispatch with Father Omolo Beste
JULY 7, 2014

News Dispatch with Father Omolo Beste has resumed after being offline for some days. It resumes with today’s Gospel from Mt. 9:18-26 and why Matthews portrays Jesus differently from Mark and Luke.

Matthews Gospel is very short and only begins with ‘while he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. Mark is more elaborate (5: 21-43)-he begins with-‘when Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake’.

Luke’s style is quite unique (Lk 8: 40-56) – he writes- ‘now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

Mark and Matthew bring the synagogue leaders, named Jairus much later. Matthews continues-‘when he came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.

Mark on the other hand continue-‘but come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

Matthews writes-‘Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Mark adds-‘large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Luke approaches it differently- he write- ‘as Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Matthews approach to Jesus is more of kingly who came to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about the messiah. Jesus is the King who taught with authority. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. He is shown as having authority to forgive sin.

For Luke, Jesus is the compassionate savior of the world, with love and compassion for all people, whether rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. He reaches out especially to poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, the women and the poor and outcast of society.

While Matthews emphasizes on the authority of Jesus, Luke emphasizes on his divine mercy, depicting God as the Father who forgives his prodigal children with unbounded love. On the other hand, Mark focused on the power and authority of Jesus over diseases, sin, evil spirits, nature, and death itself, and through his role as a teacher. Jesus gives his apostles the power to heal sickness and “cast out devils.

John’s approach to Jesus is quite different. John’s Gospel portrays him as truly divine and pre-existing. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John also portrays Jesus as the one who not only speaks the words of the Father as a representative but who is ‘one with the Father’ in terms of his very essence and being as divine.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail obolobeste@gmail.com

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