20 And, behold, a woman,
which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and
touched the hem of his garment: 21 For she said within herself, If I may
but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him about,
and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of
good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made
whole from that hour. (St. Matthew 9:20-22)
One of the greatest barriers to
faith in Christ is in knowing WHO Christ is. Many today consider Him in the
same sense as a genie who grants our every wish, or as a good teacher of
ethics and morals; but how many in the modern churches truly know Jesus to be
Lord and Savior in more than a mere vocally expressed sense? He is our Lord and
King. He is our Savior and Redeemer…and He is God! This last part seems to be
the hanging point for many pseudo-religionists. Jesus is literally God the son
and acts with the same power and authority of the Father – for both are One
with the Holy Ghost!
Jesus has just been conversing
with the followers of John the Baptist and reveals to them that He is the
promised Bridegroom of the Church whom they seek, but unknowingly: “Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as
the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall
be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” (Matt 9:15) It is
unlikely that these disciples understood the meaning Jesus spoke to them until
much later. He had, on this same occasion, forgiven the man stricken with the
palsy of his sins, and sealed the miracle of forgiveness with His second
miracle of physical healing. We now take up the text:
20 “And,
behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came
behind him, and touched the hem of his garment.” We
are told more detail of this woman in the Gospel of St. Mark: “And a
certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered
many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing
bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the
press behind, and touched his garment.” (Mark 5:25-27) Clearly, this
woman, too, had only one hope of healing and that hope was Christ! She wasted
away all of her savings on physicians, but grew only worse. Now she will come
to the Great Physician who is able to heal body AND soul! How often do we,
friends, struggle helplessly with our problems until they grow to immense
proportion. Then we run to Christ for our solution! The woman had great
difficulty approaching Jesus for the press of the crowd so close to Him on all
sides. There were many who rubbed shoulders with Jesus that day, but only ONE
who touched Him with faith. Just claiming the name of Christian does not avail
to make us Christian unless we have the faith to match our convictions. 21 “For
she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.”
It is the touch of faith that heals and not the material garment itself.
22 “But
Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter,
be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” Here
again, St Mark adds touching details that Matthew omits: “And straightway
the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was
healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue
had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:29-30
(KJV) Jesus felt healing power being transferred to another. His question, “Who touched me?” is profound, for Christ
KNEW who touched Him. So many in the crowd had touched Jesus in the bustle of
the street, but none with the faith of this poor woman. We may call on Christ
in vain if our faith is dead, but if our faith is real – even if small – the
touch will bear fruit. Jesus gave comfort, not only to the body, but to the
soul of the woman by telling her that her faith had made her whole – whole in
every sense of the word. Not just whole in body, but whole in soul as well for
Christ does not work half-way miracles. “And the woman was made whole
from that hour.”
What are the most prominent points that we must take from this miracle of
healing?
1.
IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING: The woman had,
at least, HEARD of Jesus. Unless we hear first, we cannot come by faith to
Christ. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
(Romans 10:17) The woman had heard the report and, though she may not have
known Christ deeply, she hung onto that faint hope which just the hearing made
available to her.
2.
RECOGNIZE OUR DIRE NEED: The
woman had a serious health problem but, greater still, is that deadly disease
that afflicts every child born of woman – SIN! She recognized her need, and she
recognized that the need could be satisfied in Christ! The Woman had spent all
of her savings on doctors who had not helped her in the least. The world cannot
satisfy our want, but Jesus can. She had only ONE hope left – the Lord Jesus
Christ. So do we if we only will admit it.
3.
DRAW NEAR TO THE SOURCE OF OUR HEALING
AND SALVATION: The woman, though frail and suffering, dragged her
diseased body to Christ. She did not come proudly or arrogantly, but fell in
behind the crowd seeking to draw near enough as to only touch the hem of His
garment. Those nearest to Jesus almost prevented her from approaching, but she
allowed no impediment to her coming to Christ. We, too, must have that persistence
once we know our need, and the source of its satisfaction in Christ. We cannot
worship Jesus from a distance – we must TOUCH His heart with our own hearts. We
must communicate our need in prayer whether by act or word.
4.
HAVE THE FAITH TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
CHRIST CAN SUPPLY OUR NEED: “For she said within herself,
If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.” We do not
come to Christ with reservations. There are no if’s involved in faith except
the IF expressed by the woman – “If” I can draw so near Him as to
touch only His hem, I shall be healed.
5.
NO ONE APPROACHES JESUS IN FAITH
WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE: “But Jesus turned him about, and
when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good
comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. The one in
greatest need and want among the crowd was the one whose TOUCH Jesus felt. She
came in faith out of her need. Should we all not recognize our own depravity
and need in coming to Christ rather than simply walking in His Presence for the
benefit of our pride?
6.
IT IS THE WILL OF JESUS TO HEAL US OF
OUR DISEASE OF SIN AND ALL OTHERS: There is no delay in granting
forgiveness to those who call upon Him with earnest heart. It is the influence
of sin that brings sickness and disease upon the world – even among those who
are otherwise innocent such as babes and little children. But if we have
no faith in Jesus, He will not heal us. He is our healing medicine. If we do
not take Him inot our hearts, how can the medicine have its desired effect? “And
the woman was made whole from that hour.”
May I
suggest to you, dear Reader, that there are many souls gathered about Jesus in
the churches of America who remain sick of the disease of sin and physical
infirmity; but they have misunderstood that where one stands near Christ is not
as important as whether Christ lives (abides) in the heart. We must get so
close in faith that we can TOUCH Him and gain His audience. All of the little
ro0les served in our churches, and all of our tithes and offerings are simply
the works of the crowd. If those gifts have meaning, that meaning must be based
upon our LOVE for Christ and not the attention of the crowd about Him. There is
only ONE solution to our despair –the Lord Jesus Christ. He will not remove
every challenge in life, but He will empower you to overcome every one of them.
