Jesus' Healing Touch

Jann Martin July 2, 2006

click for printable version

Mark 5:21-43

Gospel Lesson

²¹ When Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. ²² A leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him, ²³ pleading with him to heal his little daughter. "She is about to die," he said in desperation. "Please come and place your hands on her; heal her so she can live."

²⁴ Jesus went with him, and the crowd thronged behind. ²⁵ And there was a woman in the crowd who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal from many doctors through the years and had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she was worse. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched the fringe of his robe. ²⁸ For she thought to herself, "If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed." ²⁹ Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel that she had been healed!

³⁰ Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

³¹ His disciples said to him, "All this crowd is pressing around you. How can you ask, 'Who touched me?' "

³² But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. ³³ Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done. ³⁴ And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed."

³⁵ While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus's home with the message, "Your daughter is dead. There's no use troubling the Teacher now."

³⁶ But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just trust me." ³⁷ Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn't let anyone go with him except Peter and James and John. ³⁸ When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the weeping and wailing. ³⁹ He went inside and spoke to the people. "Why all this weeping and commotion?" he asked. "The child isn't dead; she is only asleep."

⁴⁰ The crowd laughed at him, but he told them all to go outside. Then he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. ⁴¹ Holding her hand, he said to her, "Get up, little girl!" ⁴² And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! Her parents were absolutely overwhelmed. ⁴³ Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened, and he told them to give her something to eat. (1)

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

In this reading from Mark, we find two stories of healing. It starts with a church leader coming to Jesus asking Him to heal his daughter. Then, sandwiched in the middle of this story, we find the story of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touching Jesus robe and being healed. Throughout this reading is a sense of urgency and a crowd gathering around Jesus, at the shore of the lake and a crowd at the home of Jairus, the church leader. There is a sense of everyone wanting to receive healing from Jesus; they sense God's presence in Jesus in a very powerful way. In all of this turmoil, Jesus is able to give a sense of peace and heals those whose faith has brought them to believe that He is the Son of God.

In the first story, Jairus is an influential and wealthy leader of the synagogue, whose daughter is very ill. In the second story we find a woman who has been ill for 12 years and the doctors haven't been able to heal her. Both of these people believe in the healing power of Jesus and have come to Him believing in their hearts that He will heal them. They however come from very different stations in life, showing that in God's eyes we are all equal.

The woman's faith is so strong that she believes she doesn't have to bother Jesus by asking Him to heal her; she just needs to touch a thread of His robe to be healed. Jairus believes that just a touch from Jesus will heal his dying daughter. In both stories just a touch is all that is needed, the woman touching His robe and Jesus touching the child's hand. We find the finite of the people, or mortal faith and hope and the infinite in Jesus, as a touch of divine power and love meeting together. It is through faith that the healings have taken place, not through some magical power.

After the woman touched Jesus' robe He turned and asked who had touched Him. It doesn't say in the Bible what Jesus' tone of voice was as He searched the crowd asking who had touched Him. Even though many people touched Him because the crowd was all around Him, He knew someone's faith was reaching out to Him for help. Not everyone who touched Him was healed, only those who really believed that He was the Son of God and had come to bring God's love and peace to all who believed. Through her faith, the woman was healed physically, but more importantly, she received peace from God.

In both stories, Jesus crossed the boundaries of what was acceptable in the people's beliefs at that time. A bleeding woman was considered unclean and was to stay isolated during that time. And in the case of the girl, Jesus crossed the boundary of death. A corpse was also considered ritually unclean. Jesus did not want people to believe in Him because of the acts they saw Him perform. He knows that in the time to come, not all will see Him perform miracles of healing first hand, and that many will need to believe by faith in the things unseen, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many if not all of us have faced illness or a scary diagnosis for ourselves or a loved one. We can be assured that God's love will be with us along with His power and presence. His answer may not always be the healing we are seeking, but He knows what is best. I remember praying for God to heal my mother of her cancer so she could see and hold her first grandchild. His answer of healing was to bring her home to Him. I am comforted in knowing she is with Him in paradise and no longer suffering, and can see all of us and watch over us.

There is a definite link between faith and healing. In faith we approach Jesus hoping for His healing touch, we are confident that what He feels is best for us will be done. That strong faith also helps those who suffer to be able to handle what comes their way. We can learn and grow from those difficult times. We can feel the strength of God helping us to handle the stress, pain and tension of our problems or illness. As we grow in faith we can help others when they are having difficulties, by sharing how God has helped us when we suffered.

Our Stephen Ministers are trained to listen and comfort those who are facing a difficult time with caring, love and confidentiality. Each of their life experiences and faith in God has given them the gifts needed to reach out and help others. We each grow out of our experiences, and can grow better and stronger. Sometimes we wonder just how much we can take, but we take comfort in the knowledge that God is always there by our side and will help us if we turn to Him.

Many churches have healing services where a healing touch is still being felt. When our oldest daughter, April, was about nine, the school nurse told us she had scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine. She told us as time went on she could have pain and not be able to stand up straight. There was a healing service scheduled at the church that following Sunday. April sat in a chair up by the altar while the pastors and I laid our hands on her and we prayed for God's healing touch to straighten her back. A little while later I took her home and she said her back was hot. I lifted her shirt and at the point where the spine started to curve was a large red, warm mark. Her spine was completely straight and she has never had a bit of trouble since that time.

At another healing service a few months later, my sister sat in the chair, and her husband, the pastors and I laid our hands on her and prayed for a healthy full term baby, over the last several years she had lost five babies. We could feel the heat radiating from her as we prayed. Their son was born, full term plus one day and completely healthy. He just graduated from high school a month ago.

Today we can still have the healing touch of Jesus; it just comes through the hands of others. Each of us can be the physical vehicle, the one to reach out and touch in love those who are hurting, physically, spiritually, or emotionally. If we share the stories of Jesus love and healing, others will come to know the love and healing that they can receive through faith in Jesus and the power of God.

We can also reach out to others with our prayers. There have been studies that prove the healing touch of our prayers is real. People all around the world can pray for family, friends, and acquaintances, even strangers for many different needs. God hears those prayers and the person who is being prayed for can feel those prayers and His answers. Others prayers can give you a sense of peace and the comfort in knowing others along with God are there with you with support and love.

Amen.

©Jann Martin 2006