GRACE: The Healing Touch

Today I am remembering. Two years ago my dad died four days short of his 92nd birthday. I was privileged to spend some time with him just before he died. I noticed Dad really wanted to be touched and his hand grip was as firm as ever. But he was not holding on to this life! During his last moments of mental clarity he was alert, smiling and blowing us kisses. The joy and peace on his face was radiant. He was seeing the unseen as seen. Yes it was very hard to say those last words. But they were words of "see you later, Dad". We did not say : Good Bye.
I read in Mark's Gospel an interesting account about 'touching'. Mark 5:22-34 records what at a first reading seems to be two stories sandwiched together. Let's take a look.
One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live." And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and 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— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For 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. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?" And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction." NASB

The first thing I noticed as I read this passage was the different method that Jairus and the woman approached Jesus. Jairus, a ruler of a synagogue, was an important religious man. Kneeling in front of Jesus, Jairus implored Jesus to come help with his desperately sick daughter. Those of you who are parents can only imagine his urgency. Everyone saw Jairus do this. I don't know what Jesus had planned for this day, but He also realized He needed to right away go with Jairus. There is a large crowd pressing in all directions around Jesus. Maybe many others had needs they wished to bring to Jesus.
Now however a very strange thing happens..a woman who had sometime heard Jesus speak and knew about Him purposed to go and touch His garment. Sounds a little odd, yes? Would you like someone in the shopping mall to sneak up behind you and try and secretly touch your jacket? In fact this woman was also in a desperate condition. Sick for 12 years with the same illness that the doctors were unable to heal.. and no money left to even try again. Maybe some of you can relate to this? So why did she want to touch the cloak of Jesus? To understand this, we need to know what the Jews believed about the promised Messiah. He would be able to heal diseases. The words translated 'be made well' actually mean 'save'. But more of this later! Rabbis wore an outer scarf like garment which had tassels on the ends. It was believed that if a person touched the tassels of the Messiah's scarf, they would be miraculously healed. Amazingly she touched Jesus clothes and felt instantly that she was healed! You would have thought she would have exclaimed in a loud voice: Praise God! But she just fades back into the crowd, apparently unnoticed. Only Someone did notice her. Intent as He was in going with Jairus to help him, Jesus pulled up short and said a really strange thing: Who touched Me? His followers thought He was crazy. Have you ever been to an outdoor market, or large sporting event or a county fair and people are bumping into one another? All kinds of people were jostling against Jesus. But Jesus knew this was no ordinary touch. This touch pulled out from Him His divine power to heal! It was a touch of faith. Trust that He was the Messiah, sent from God to usher in a new kingdom. He had been teaching about the Kingdom of God. She had heard that one must come into this Kingdom by a means called the 'new birth'. There was a rumor that an important Pharisee named Nicodemus had visited the Rabbi at night to ask more about this new Kingdom.
Let us not miss an important detail here in the story. Jairus came and knelt in front of Jesus. Kneeling showed that Jairus also believed Jesus had power to heal. But the woman? Why did she not come and stand in front of Jesus and tell Him her desperate need? To fully understand this, take some time to read in the Old Testament book of Leviticus about the form of uncleanness caused by the condition this woman had which is called 'an issue of blood'. Leviticus is a book that gives details of how the people were to live under the Law of God. God is holy and cannot be approached unless a person is perfect morally. The only exception is to use a substitute sacrifice. Different types of sin problems required different types of sacrifice. Even unintentional sins required a sacrifice! [see Leviticus 4] So is Jesus saying this poor woman who is sick through no fault of her own requires a sacrifice for sin? Well according to Leviticus her condition automatically limited her involvement in her society. Once the bleeding stopped, she could then go to the priest and offer a sacrifice for her sins...Under the Law this woman had no hope. Unclean persons were also capable of transferring their uncleanness to another. This gets pretty messy, yes? So the struggle in her mind to even attempt to touch Jesus must have been a great struggle. Certainly she should not just go to Him and kneel in front of Him.. and let everyone know that she, an unclean person, had just touched Jesus!
Jesus was not going to allow this to pass unnoticed. He began looking for the woman. Did she have guilt written on her face? Joy? She had been delivered from her affliction. Not a word was said. She had not brought anything with her to offer as a sacrifice if she were healed. In fear and trembling, she came to the front of Jesus this time and began pouring out her life story. Wow. Jesus never asked for this, did He? I think when their eyes met, He was pure compassion and grace. No Law here. No anger or disgust or condemnation for her sin. In fact had not Jesus said "I came to save sinners, not the righteous"? Mark 2:17 NASB says: And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
I think it must have been very healing for this woman to pour out her troubles to Someone Who really listened.. Who really understood her pain..
Then Jesus speaks those words of pure grace, doing for her what the Law could not do.. making her clean and healing not only her body but her soul hurts and forgiving her sins. 'Saved' when used in the Bible means saved from both the penalty and power of sin.
Let's review: How was she healed? By the good works she did? No, she came in faith. Faith and trust that the One prophesied years ago in Genesis 3:15 would come and redeem her life and give her a new life and life everlasting. She touched Him. He responded in Grace and Truth. Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law. Not to do away with the Law. The Old Testament Law as in Leviticus has always pointed forward to that time when there would come the Perfect Lamb of God, slain before the foundations of the world. The perfect God-Man mediator of a blood covenant that forever removed the wrath of God from all who repent and trust in Jesus' death as sufficient to deal with their sins.
How about you? Have you experienced the Touch of Grace?
Touched today by His grace,
Auntie Ann