June 28, 2018; Profound Healing

PROFOUND HEALING

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.’ (Mark 5:33-34 NIV)

She reaches out and touches Jesus’ cloak. Suddenly the thing that she has been seeking for the last 12 years happens. She stops bleeding. The doctors she saw for the last 12 years didn’t help. Neither did all the jokes and condemnation she received because she was regarded as “unclean” by the local synagogue. She said to herself, “If only I could reach out to Jesus and ask for his healing. However, I am so afraid to say a word in public. Perhaps I can mix with the crowd behind Jesus and touch his clothes. If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”.

Jesus has just come down from the boat. They are walking into the town. She blends in with the crowd. She pushes herself into the crowd behind Jesus. She stretches her hand. She touches Jesus’ cloak.

She thinks she can remove herself quietly from the crowd. Then Jesus says, “Who touched my clothes?”  She still moves away trying not to draw attention to herself. Then Jesus says, “Who touched me? I felt the power go out of me.”

She knows that Jesus is talking to her. She realises that she can no longer escape. Jesus draws her out.

She forces herself through the crowd. She falls at her feet. She speaks in front of the crowd, possibly for the first time in 12 years. “Rabbi, I touched your cloak. I was too afraid to speak. So, I told myself that if I touched your clothes, I would be healed. Thank you, Rabbi. The bleeding has stopped”.

Touching Jesus’ cloak stopped the bleeding. However, the woman would have still stayed out of the crowds due to her past. I believe Jesus wanted to heal her in the most profound way. Jesus wanted her to express herself in public so that she could return back to a social setting. Jesus drew her out with his question. “Who touched me?”

Sometimes Jesus also draws us out with his questions. He wants to heal us in the most profound way.

Pastor Pye