"Who touched me?" (Mark 5:24-35)

Mark 5:24-35

 


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.”