Mark 5:21-43: Please take time to read the passage; my paraphrasing won't do it justice. There are two events that occur in this passage. Mark tells us about a man named Jairus, whose daughter is dying. As Jesus is walking with Jairus, a huge crowd begins to follow. A woman, who had suffered bleeding for many years, comes and touches Jesus' cloak and is healed. Jesus takes time to find the person who touched Him. In the meantime, Jairus' daughter dies. Jesus still goes to Jairus' house and tells the mourners that she isn't dead, just asleep. Then He heals/raises up Jairus's daughter.
I'm going to concentrate mainly on the woman because that is what spoke to me in reading this passage. As Jesus is on His way to Jairus' house, I can imagine the crowd start to build around Him. If you've ever been crazy enough like me to do a Black Friday sale, that's the type of crowd I picture in my mind; people pushing and shoving trying to get close to Jesus. This woman had been suffering from bleeding for 12 years and no one could find a way to heal her. When she heard Jesus was in the area, she knew He could heal her, so she pushed her way through the crowds knowing that if she could just touch Him, she would be healed. (v28) This woman was desperate for Christ's healing. The minute she touched Christ's cloak (Matthew and Luke state that she touched the edge of His cloak), she was healed. Then Jesus turned around and asked who touched His clothes. Now, stopping here for just a minute...The disciples are amazed with Jesus' response because of the crowd pushing around Jesus, those near Him couldn't help but touch Him; however, Jesus chose to single out this woman who touched His cloak. Do you really think Jesus didn't know who touched Him? He knew; however, He wanted her healing and faith to be made public so those around Him could see. I imagine she was frightened and anxious when Christ questioned who touched Him. Here she was trying to do this quietly/privately, and Jesus didn't allow this to remain private. Mark states that she came and fell at Jesus' feet trembling with fear. Then Jesus tells her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." (v34) He calls her "daughter" when he speaks to her. I love that. She is His child now; she belongs to Him. Not only was she healed physically, but she was healed spiritually as well.
There are many ways in which Christ heals me. His healing can come in the form of physical and spiritual healing, but I'm going to focus on the spiritual healing. It's easy to share with others when God performs physical healing. It can become more difficult when it's a spiritual healing that occurs. My first public act after I accepted Christ was to tell others and experience believer's baptism. However, it didn't stop there. God is not finished when He saves me. Like I learned in one of last week's verses, God is working and will continue to work in I until I am complete. My completeness won't happen this side of heaven. I have a lot of rough spots He has to chisel away at...those hidden sins I don't want anyone to notice. I need to share with others what Christ is doing in my life. It's hard for me to share publicly because I don't like to call attention to myself. I like to stay hidden behind the scenes, but this is not about me. It's about what God's done and is doing, and if I look at it from that perspective, it makes it easier. It's all about bringing glory and honor to God...shining the spotlight on Him.
I'm going to concentrate mainly on the woman because that is what spoke to me in reading this passage. As Jesus is on His way to Jairus' house, I can imagine the crowd start to build around Him. If you've ever been crazy enough like me to do a Black Friday sale, that's the type of crowd I picture in my mind; people pushing and shoving trying to get close to Jesus. This woman had been suffering from bleeding for 12 years and no one could find a way to heal her. When she heard Jesus was in the area, she knew He could heal her, so she pushed her way through the crowds knowing that if she could just touch Him, she would be healed. (v28) This woman was desperate for Christ's healing. The minute she touched Christ's cloak (Matthew and Luke state that she touched the edge of His cloak), she was healed. Then Jesus turned around and asked who touched His clothes. Now, stopping here for just a minute...The disciples are amazed with Jesus' response because of the crowd pushing around Jesus, those near Him couldn't help but touch Him; however, Jesus chose to single out this woman who touched His cloak. Do you really think Jesus didn't know who touched Him? He knew; however, He wanted her healing and faith to be made public so those around Him could see. I imagine she was frightened and anxious when Christ questioned who touched Him. Here she was trying to do this quietly/privately, and Jesus didn't allow this to remain private. Mark states that she came and fell at Jesus' feet trembling with fear. Then Jesus tells her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." (v34) He calls her "daughter" when he speaks to her. I love that. She is His child now; she belongs to Him. Not only was she healed physically, but she was healed spiritually as well.
There are many ways in which Christ heals me. His healing can come in the form of physical and spiritual healing, but I'm going to focus on the spiritual healing. It's easy to share with others when God performs physical healing. It can become more difficult when it's a spiritual healing that occurs. My first public act after I accepted Christ was to tell others and experience believer's baptism. However, it didn't stop there. God is not finished when He saves me. Like I learned in one of last week's verses, God is working and will continue to work in I until I am complete. My completeness won't happen this side of heaven. I have a lot of rough spots He has to chisel away at...those hidden sins I don't want anyone to notice. I need to share with others what Christ is doing in my life. It's hard for me to share publicly because I don't like to call attention to myself. I like to stay hidden behind the scenes, but this is not about me. It's about what God's done and is doing, and if I look at it from that perspective, it makes it easier. It's all about bringing glory and honor to God...shining the spotlight on Him.
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