A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, 26and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— 27after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. 28For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” 31And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” Mark 5:25-31 NASB
There was a large crowd following Jesus when He stepped foot on the other side of the sea of Galilee. In that crowd was people who had seen Jesus' miracles while others had just heard the stories. But everyone in that crowd had a sense of awe and expectation while they were following Jesus. They would ask one another: "Who is this Man and how is He able to do these things; What is He going to do next?" But in the midst of the crowd was one individual who was not content to remain a spectator. There was a woman that had a hemorrhage for twelve years that had endured much at the hands of doctors and spent every bit of money she had to find healing from her affliction. Scripture tells us that she thought to herself "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." Where did this thought come from? How did she have that type of faith to believe that simply touching the cloak of Jesus would bring about complete healing? Anything that encourages us to press in and touch Christ originates from the Holy Spirit. This thought came to her as a whisper to her spirit from the Spirit of God. The healing result came about because of her obedience to that word. Jesus knowing what had happened asked "Who touched My garments?" The disciples are confused because there are possibly hundreds of people pressing in on Jesus and Jesus wants to know who touched Him. Here is one of the keys to this passage: "There are many who draw close to Christ and many who press in on Him but very few have the faith to reach out and touch Him". We live in a time today like what we see in this passage. A time where following Jesus is popular and the cool thing to do but could easily be replaced by something more exciting. We are living in the midst of an epidemic of nominal Christianity where "pressing in" on Jesus once a week may make us feel good but doesn't bring about lasting or noticeable transformation. A time when being lukewarm is labeled as "hot" and being truly hot causes you to be labeled as "fanatical". "By the time the average Christian get his temperature up to normal, everybody thinks he has a fever!"- Watchman Nee What did this woman have to overcome internally and externally to reach out and touch Jesus? She had to overcome the fear of man and doubts on the inside and the potential judgments from others on the outside. She had to overcome the fear of having the reputation of being the only one to touch this "celebrity" figure. She had to overcome her doubts that said "He may not be able to heal you". She had to lay down her pride and dignity to experience Christ the way that she did. Do you desire to experience Christ at a greater level? Are you in need of a touch from Christ? The one thing that must be crucified within all of us is the desire to look dignified. No man or woman of God has ever done anything great for the kingdom while carrying the desire to look good for men. Those are polar opposites and one must, and will be crucified for the other. This woman laid everything down and was the only one from the crowd that we see receiving a healing touch. Press in and draw close to Jesus every chance you get; but don't stop there. Take a risk like this woman did and go beyond everyone else to reach out and touch Christ. Faith is always risky but the reward is even greater. Questions to Consider: 1. What are the things holding you back from experiencing more of Christ? 2. How would you honestly and truthfully describe your relationship with Christ at this moment? How can we as a church come alongside of you to help you grow?
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