Gedulat Hashem

"And they were all amazed at the greatness of God."
Luke 9:43

After the resolution to the problem that faced Him, after Jesus returned the boy to his father healed and whole again, He had proved, once more, that He was who He said He was and the people responded with amazement. The Orthodox Jewish Bible puts it this way, "And all were amazed at the gedulat Hashem", with Hashem another word for Yahweh, carrying a great deal of reverence and meaning, and gedulat meaning greatness (which makes sense...). The most famous uses of gedulat in the Bible is in the Old Testament when referring to the greatness of Mordecai and also of Moses. It is interesting to note that as the Orthodox Jews have translated the New Testament that gedulat gets used to describe the work of Jesus as highlighting the greatness of God. Gedulat Hashem; all who were there were amazed at it. No longer was their focus on the terrible situation of the boy and his father, nor was it on the disciples who were unable to help them, or the challenge that the father laid for Jesus to prove himself, but it was on the gedulat Hashem. I think when we are able to focus on that, then other problems and obstacles that once appeared to be significant and had potential to cause disunity, become less than insignificant. Recognising the gedulat Hashem can help us keep our priorities straight.

But, as usual, Jesus did not sit around and bask in this moment as the people marvelled at the things He was doing. Instead He went on to tell them some troubling truths...