Pastor Tom Johnson, June 28, 2015
Jesus is on an
emergency mission. Jairus begs on his knees for Jesus to come and lay hands on
his daughter who is about to die. The time is short. The sense of urgency is
felt by the crowd as they begin a stampede toward the young, dying girl. “When
one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it” (1 Cor 12:26). That’s when the
woman with a hemorrhage makes her move. She doesn’t want to stop Jesus. She
does not want to disturb or delay him. But here
he is within arms’ reach. Now is
her chance to experience the healing she has so longed for. Her suffering has
gone on for twelve long, agonizing years. For people familiar with religious
law, they would understand just how lonely and desperate she has become. It is
all written in the last half of Leviticus chapter 15.
It is the ceremonial
law of the land. It is the law designed to keep the tabernacle and temple free
from contamination and defilement. It’s written to protect the rest of God’s
people from uncleanliness. As long as a woman
experiences a hemorrhage, she cannot even touch someone. If she does, she makes
that person unclean. They must take a bath. They must wash their clothes. They
must quarantine themselves until the end of the day. If you even touch
the woman’s stuff, her clothing, her
bed, her chair—anything she has come into contact with—it will prevent you from
entering the temple. She cannot enter God’s house of worship.
It is also
noteworthy that Mark mentions that she had endured much suffering under many physicians,
spent all the money she had—went bankrupt for her healthcare costs and was not
any better. In Luke’s Gospel—who is a physician by trade—he leaves out that
little detail. Apparently, it is bad for business. What I like about
the way this story—and how Mark writes it—is that we are given many reasons why
the woman with the hemorrhage should be the last
person to gain the attention of Jesus.
Jesus is busy. He is answering a 911 call to prevent the death of a
young person. A crowd is pressing and driving him forward. Somehow this woman
gets the idea that she can be healed her condition. It has been hard enough
carrying her burden alone. And so, she boldly
moves through the crowd toward Jesus—coming into contact with dozens of other
people. She reaches out her hand, stretches her harm as far as it will go, and
touches Jesus’ clothing. The woman
immediately experiences a wave of healing. She can feel her body made whole and
well again. The hemorrhage stops. The nerve cells hidden deep within her body
sent a message to her brain that she is healed. That is when Jesus
turns around in the crowd. His sudden stop likely causes people to bump into
each other even more. And he asks, “Who touched my clothes?”
There are two
wonderful reasons why Jesus asks such a ridiculous question. The first is to
laugh our way into a fuller understanding and trust in Jesus. His question is a
humorous way of highlighting the life-transforming power of the Son of God. The disciples get
it. “How can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ There are people pressing on you from all
sides. Dozens and dozens have touched you. Who on earth can sense one unique touch out of hundreds? Do you have nerve
endings on your clothing, Jesus? No one can feel their clothing being touched.
Do you remember David cutting off the hem of Saul’s robe while he was sleeping?
He didn’t feel a thing. He didn’t even wake up.”
The second reason
for his ridiculous question is that it gives the woman an opportunity to tell
her own story. “She tells him the whole
truth,” our text says. Maybe one of the great miracles of this story is that we end up listening; we empathize with
this poor woman; we to celebrate her healing. Even better, we
get to celebrate Jesus, the healer. He knows the secret burdens we carry. He sees the
bleeding hidden deep within our hearts. He cares about our profound loneliness,
isolation, and despair we experience. He gives us
courage to tell our stories. And when we hear how he heals and restores, we
grow in faith and trust in God’s power through his Son Jesus Christ. Like the
woman who feels healing in her body, Jesus senses brokenness in the greater
body of his people and sends out healing power. “When one part of
the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it.” So, he asks, “Who touched me?”
“Who has reached out to me in such a unique way?” he asks. “Who has prayed that desperate prayer?” “Who has reached the end of their rope in despair and loneliness?” “Who has cried, ‘Hear my prayer.’” “Step forward,” Jesus says, “tell your story. I sense your touch. I know your condition. I forgive the vilest act. I deliver from the most captive sin. In my public bleeding on the cross, I heal the secret bleeding of all humanity. My Body is not limited to the flesh and blood you see. Like clothing is an extension of myself, so you are an extension of my Body. I will ask, ‘Who touched me?’ so that you will ask, ‘Who touched me? It is I, Jesus, healer, forgiver, restorer, and guaranteer of eternal life.’ Your reaching out to me is really my drawing you in.”
“Who has reached out to me in such a unique way?” he asks. “Who has prayed that desperate prayer?” “Who has reached the end of their rope in despair and loneliness?” “Who has cried, ‘Hear my prayer.’” “Step forward,” Jesus says, “tell your story. I sense your touch. I know your condition. I forgive the vilest act. I deliver from the most captive sin. In my public bleeding on the cross, I heal the secret bleeding of all humanity. My Body is not limited to the flesh and blood you see. Like clothing is an extension of myself, so you are an extension of my Body. I will ask, ‘Who touched me?’ so that you will ask, ‘Who touched me? It is I, Jesus, healer, forgiver, restorer, and guaranteer of eternal life.’ Your reaching out to me is really my drawing you in.”