To Touch Jesus

Illustration from the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter of Jesus healing the bleeding woman.

Public Reading: Luke 8:40-56

The Story

•    This is a story about two women who needed a touch from the Living God

o    While their stories and ours may be separated by time and distance
o    I believe their experiences with Jesus can influence and change our lives

•    The first women

o    She don’t know how old she was, but we do know that she had been bleeding (internal hemorrhage) for twelve years

*   During that time she had spent all her money on doctors
*    Yet no one was able to find a cure

o    Because she was bleeding, she was concerned ‘unclean’ by Jewish ritual rules (Lev 15:19-30)

*    Everything and everyone she touched became ceremonially unclean
*    Meaning that she was most likely on the outside of the social structure.

•    Someone living on the edge of society
•    In all likelihood, seeing how Capernaum wasn’t that big, folks know about her without ‘knowing’ her

o    Being ‘unclean’ would normally prevent her from contact with anyone else

*    Especially those who were religious (non-religious people where more likely not to care about ceremonial cleanliness
*    Yet on this day, she pushes into a crowd of religious people trying to see Jesus

o    Why?

*    Because she had heard about Jesus and the miracles he had done

•    Most likely the ones he did before crossing and re-crossing the Sea of Galilee

*    Both Mark and Matthew record her saying that “If I only touch His cloak I’ll be healed”

o    Social Taboo

*    In wanting to touch Jesus – to be close to Jesus – she became willing to break  social taboos and be open to ridicule
*    She was scared, but did not let that stop her

•    She tried to remain hidden
•    And when she did come up, it was with fear and trembling

o    Lessons for us

*    How many of us want to touch Jesus?

•    To somehow saddle up beside Him and reach out our hands and touch Him?

*    Yet too often we stop short of this goal….

•    Not because we don’t want to
•    or because we think he is not around physically.

*    But because of fear, guilt, or blind eyes (we don’t recognize him),

•    Fear

o    It is scary to break out of one’s social norms
o    To go places where Jesus is calling us to go

*    Especially if we spend a life time ignoring or avoiding those places

o    The unknown is sometimes worse than the known
o    Failure

*   What if touching Jesus doesn’t help?
*   After all, we have spent years and all of our money looking for a cure with no success
*   It could be that folks are telling you that your ‘sickness’ is all in your head

•    Guilt

o    We are not worth enough to be seen by Jesus
o    There is no way He would see us or care about us…we are nothing
o    Unclean

*    Being unclean, we don’t want to burden Jesus with our sins or problems
*    He has bigger stuff to worry about then “little old me”

o    Jesus came to bring life not death (John 10:10)

*    He came to bring healing not condemnation

o    Luke 8:48

*    “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
*    Terms of endearment => love from Jesus

•    Blindness

o    Sometimes we just don’t recognize Jesus when he comes to town
o    We get too busy looking for things to happen in a certain way instead of listening to the Spirit
o    Think about it

*    There were many people pressing up against Jesus that day
*     Yet we only hear about one lady getting healed
*    Why?

•    I think it was because why they ‘saw’ Jesus, they didn’t really ‘see’ him
•    They saw on the surface level

o    that a prophet of God had come to town

•    But they failed to see deeper

o    That Jesus came to heal and release folks from the prison of sickness, death and sin
o    We do the same

*    We look for signs and wonders the way that we were taught growing up

•    We want to see the same things happening as those were road markers for us telling us when Jesus was here

*    Yet things don’t always look the same

•    We have to ‘know’ Jesus
•    We have to watch the dancing hand of the Spirit and see what He is doing at this time and in this place

•    The Second women

o    A young girl

*    The daughter of Jairus, the leader of the local synagogue

o    She was dead

*    No life was to be found in her
*    She couldn’t watch for Jesus or go out to meet him

o    Advocates

*    She needed someone to fight on her behalf

•    Someone to bring Jesus to her

*    In this story, her father was the man who did this

•    He went and ‘begged’ Jesus to come
•    On his hands and knees

o    No shame
o    No hiding from the face of the public
o    Just a burning need to bring Jesus to the one he loved

o    Jesus came

*    Even when it looked like all hope was gone

•    It is never too late for Jesus!!

o    Jesus set the professional mourners and naysayers away

*    With just a few folks

•    Peter, James and John
•    The girl’s parents

*    Jesus restored life into the little girl

o    Lessons for us

*    It is never too late

•    Hang on to hope
•    Trust Jesus even when everything looks impossible

*    Let us be advocates

•    Let us be the ones to bring Jesus to others
•    Let us not be afraid to fall to our knees and beg Jesus to come with us as we love people

•    Closing

o    Where are you?
o    We talked about two women who were touched by Jesus

*    Two different stories that can influence our lives

o    No matter where you are on the journey, know that Jesus is King
o    Prayer

*    Pray for boldness or for advocates for those who are stuck in fear, guilt, or blindness
*    Pray that we become advocates

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