daily java

Daily Java:

A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding,[e] and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.”  When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:43-48)

It would have been funny if it were not for the fact that Jesus was serious.

There were probably several thousand people around Jesus reaching out, touching him, grabbing hold of his clothing, just wanting to be near him.

But where everyone else was just touching him, along came a woman who really touched him.

She had a menstrual flow for twelve years with no relief. Since the Old Testament said that a woman who was having her period was unclean, that meant that she had been unclean for twelve years. All this time she had to sit apart, and could have no real dealings with people. Her husband had probably left her and she was alone.

Not only that, but with the constant bleeding, she was probably anemic and always weak.

She thought, if I can just touch him, just touch the hem of his garment, the fringe, I will be fine. She didn’t want to touch him with him knowing, because then he might be mad because an unclean woman had touched him.

Her faith, however, was so strong, that when she touched him she was instantly healed. She could feel the bleeding dry up and she felt healthy again.

Jesus felt her touch because it was the real thing. But we have to remember that Jesus was not all powerful. He didn’t know who had received power from him. He wanted to know. But also, he had come to heal not just for the sake of healing, but for the confirmation of his Messiahship. He wanted others to see the power of God and he wanted her to acknowledge it.

So he said, Who touched me? The apostles were baffled. Well, at last count, 6 thousand touched you. Jesus said that someone deliberately touched him.

You can almost see the apostles go into secret service mode. Okay, who deliberately touched Jesus. They walked around looking official and bureaucratic, demanding to know who had deliberately touched Jesus.

They probably felt like fools, too.

But the woman, afraid as she was, stood and said, I did. She fell to her knees in front of Jesus. What would he do to her? Holler at her in front of everybody? Condemn her for touching him, because now he had to go and become clean again?

She told of the healing. Jesus didn’t care that someone had touched him. Popular people are always getting touched. But he cared about her. He wanted to see who it was that was able to tap into that healing power by her simple faith.

And he blessed her.

Sometimes, people get more from a simple touch of Jesus than from long periods in his presence. He has so much to give, and wants to give it.

All we need to do is touch in faith.