on May 9, 2013
Luke 8:40-48 – Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Because we live in a fallen world, we all have many things in our lives that need healing. The most common among them are our minds, our bodies, our spirits and our relationships. We live in a culture where there is a pill for every pain and problem. But the pills don’t bring healing, only relief from the symptoms… for a little while. For a brief season of time, the Great Creator left the splendor of heaven and became one of us, “a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering” – Isaiah 53:3. He revealed His nature and identity as He walked among us, healing the sick, the lame and raising the dead. We revealed our need in the likes of Jairus, who came and fell at Jesus’ feet and pleaded with Him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying! Humanity further revealed our great need as “the crowds almost crushed him.” Sorrows and suffering abound in our human condition. The pain of sickness, the sorrows of death and dying, and the evidence of the fallen world is abundant!
Jesus brought hope, He brought help, He brought SALVATION to this lost and dying race of Adam! Everywhere He went, He had compassion on the poor, the sick and the helpless! He spoke healing and life back into their beings! He touched them and made them whole again! And, THEY touched HIM, and found deliverance from maladies and afflictions! Such was the case with this woman who had a bleeding issue that no one could heal. She had been sick for 12 years (the same length of time as the age of Jairus’s daughter) but she was absolutely persuaded that Jesus could and would heal her – if she could only get close enough to touch Him! She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His garment and experienced immediate healing! Jesus knew that someone had reached out and touched Him by faith. He always knows when that happens! Yet, He asked WHO had done it. No one fessed up and Peter pointed out that it could have been anyone in that tight crowd of people. But Jesus was looking for a public confession so He could teach something very important to all those who have ears to hear. She came to Him, trembling and fell at His feet, and everyone heard her testimony of WHY she did what she did and HOW she had been instantly healed.
“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” Why DID she touch Him? She BELIEVED! She wasn’t a doubter! She wasn’t a skeptic! She wasn’t just hoping! She actually BELIEVED! She believed in His power and ability! She believed that connecting with Him would accomplish the healing that no one else had ever been able to provide! And so, SHE TOUCHED HIM! Somehow, some way, she had become persuaded! James 1 gives us another clear word on faith that produces results with God. James teaches that God, who gives generously to all without favoritism, but when we ask, we must believe and not doubt, because doubting reveals a double-minded unstable man. This woman went away in peace. Jesus said it was because her faith had healed her – and He claimed her as a “daughter.”