Friday, April 10, 2015
This story is found in three gospels so naturally it occurred around two thousand years ago: It is a story of a woman who had a serious medical condition which had baffled every doctor she had seen over a course of twelve years. Medical science has made some amazing strides since then and yet I have heard of several people who have suffered with this same condition today and in their case too, doctors have not been able to identify nor find the proper treatment for it. It concerns the gradual and continual loss of blood. One can only imagine what this poor lady had to endure for so many years. Nevertheless, this is the part of the story that I would like to focus on: When she heard that Jesus was in town, she was certain that if she could just reach Him and touch the hem of His garment she would be healed. We must assume that reaching Him was a daunting task considering the multitude of people that were following Him. The crowd was even greater because, on that day and time, Jesus was on His way to raise a dead little girl back to life, and they knew it. By God’s grace and mercy this poor lady was able to carry out her plan and she did, in fact, touch the hem of Jesus’ robe. When she did, her bleeding stopped immediately.
Mark 5:30 reads: At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” Comparing the three gospel accounts of this story, we must conclude that Jesus was going to keep on asking the question until the responsible person confessed, and that is exactly what happened. When the woman fell at His feet with fear and trembling and confessed that it was her, Jesus told her:“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Vs. 34) Now, if you are a genuine Christian, you know that Jesus is God and that means that He knew exactly who touched Him. The question, then, that arises, is “Why would He ask who touched Him?” You have the right to disagree with me, but I choose to believe that He did it because (1) in any healing or miracle of any kind, God deserves and expects to get all the honor, glory, and praise. Secondly, anyone who has ever tapped into the power of God, just as this woman did, needs to step up and let the whole world know about it.
With the exception of those who may not be very mentally or spiritually bright, every true follower of Christ realizes that he or she has tapped into God’s power; and because we have, we need to tell others about it. It is of an even greater magnitude, for example, than someone knowing the cure for cancer and keeping the secret to himself. You may think I’m stretching it a bit , but consider this: The cure for cancer is for this life only; the cure for sin and it’s consequences is forever. The gospels don’t tell us what this woman did after her healing but I bet she shared her story with everyone she met until the day she died. In case you are wondering just what we have “tapped” into, allow me to mention just these few things: forgiveness, transformation, restoration, eternal life, peace, assurance, and comfort. Of course there is so much more but I trust you get the picture. This question, then, is for all of us: Since we have “tapped” into the power of God, what are we going to do with it, and does it include telling everybody around us? I hope so!
Memory verse for the week: (John 15:13) “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
