Who Touched Me?

Mark 5:30 “And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

When Jesus walked this earth as God incarnate, He had throngs of people following Him, sometimes in the thousands.

Feeding the hungry, healing the sick, casting out demons from those possessed, teaching, rebuking, leading in the way…these are a few of the acts Jesus was doing each day.

I can’t imagine how chaotic a scene that must have been, people pressing, needing help, and and inquiring within. It must have been all so fatiguing, not only for Jesus but for the disciples who followed Him.

“Jesus, I’m still hungry, do you have anymore food?”; “Jesus, my brother is sick, can you come with me to pray for him?” The requests and questions being posed must have seemed endless, and yet in the midst of all this, He noticed a something different.

Mark sets the stage for the event that is worth looking at closer:

Mark 5:25-28 “Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

Today, a medical condition like the one this woman suffered from would have been treated by specialists, using equipment and resources that have been developed through years of research. In Jesus’ day, I can only imagine the practice by which physicians used to treat a bleeding condition, it’s no wonder they only made things worse.

Twelve years of bleeding would leave any woman broken, weak, and without hope.

Among the crowd…

As Jesus was walking He noticed power had gone from Him. The Creator of the Universe who had allowed Himself to be limited by flesh was not diminished in power.. The question “who touched me?” revealed a limitation of knowledge, a position we as people know all too well. The world searches for knowledge in universities and books, yet this woman knew quite well where to turn when all seemed hopeless.

What was it about this woman that made her different than all the others pressing in?

When she touched the robe of the healer, the hopelessness turned into joy, the broken was made whole, the helpless gained strength, and all of the rumors were found to be true….

The Messiah had truly come.

True Faith

Psalm 26:1 “A Psalm of David. Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip.”

Where do you go in the midst of trouble?

It is so easy to trust in everything but the One who holds the world in His hands.

We are constrained by our lack of knowledge. The world thinks that through knowledge the answers to life have been answered. When the answers seem empty or the promises don’t hold true, anxiety creeps in and takes hold. The repercussion for turning our eyes inward, toward our own reasoning, causes a rift in our relationship with the Lord and we are lead astray by our own pride.

It amazes me how the woman’s faith drew power from God, seemingly unexpectedly.

Scoffers will ask how simple faith can lead to such incredible results? The answer can only be found by an encounter with the King of kings.

God’s power is supplied to those who have faith in Him.

Today the Messiah is risen and is on His throne in Heaven. He is no longer subject to human frailty and His mission to establish the Kingdom of God has been completed. The Lord knows all, sees all, and will accomplish all that He desires.

This woman stood out because her faith stood out. So many who follow Jesus do not follow in faith, they follow in want.

They want blessing * They want good health * They want happiness * They want comfort * They want to be supplied.

There is a fine line between desiring more and desiring God who gives the supply. Trusting in God’s supply is to know that we often don’t need what we desire or what we think we need.

After twelve years of suffering, the woman had come to the end of herself. Her attempts at living a normal, healthy life had vanished and now she looked to the only hope she had left.

The question has been posed by many well religious leaders…was Jesus the Messiah? Was Jesus all that He claimed to be…was He God in the flesh? Some will say Jesus just a rabbi, a teacher, a prophet, demon possessed, or even a fool. If the teachers were left with questions, certainly the people wondered as well.

The Hem of the Savior

She thought to herself, “If only I can touch the hem of His garment I will be made well.” That wasn’t common knowledge, that was faith exhibited in tremendous form. There was no anointing of oil, no ritual cleansing, no special ceremony, only dust, noise, and a crowd that she had to press through.

How much do you want Jesus? How much do you want to be transformed by His power?

Sometimes it takes God bringing us to the end of ourselves to finally look up, to consider a hope that seems unreasonable but to press on nonetheless. To reach out and just touch the hem of His robe, knowing that at the moment she would be changed showed pure and undefiled faith.

Mark 5:34 “And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Jesus makes people well.

The woman’s body was healed but more importantly, her soul was healed.

Peace is the mark of the Master. Anxiety and fear are of the world but as Lord relieves fear and replaces it with faith it demonstrates His love.

Jesus often took a situation that seemed simple and turned it into a divine revelation. Jesus knows what we need and He also knows our limitations.

God’s love Revealed

That woman eventually grew older and died of another ailment that was not healed by God. This future will be the same for us. It wasn’t her body that God was overly concerned about, but He knew that by healing her body her soul would be healed.

We are not all the same. Thank God we are different in how we interact in this world, the way we see it and experience it shows the beauty of God demonstrated through people. Some people need a special touch by Jesus to confirm that He is real, that He is Truth, and all the stories are actually real.

Some are content with a simple knowledge of His Holiness and fellowship of His Spirit but lack the faith to grow.

God knows what we need, maybe He’s waiting for us to reach out to Him and ask for help.

If you’re tired of reaching elsewhere, go to Jesus with nothing less than complete faith in Him.

How will you be marked? As one of the crowd only there to watch and yet missing all He wants to do in you or as one who does all that is possible to just touch His robe and be changed forever?

The response is up to you.