Just reach out!
In Matthew's gospel chapter 9 you can read this very short story of a Jesus miracle:
"Just then a woman who had suffered from haemorrhages for twelve years came up from behind, and touched the edge of his cloak; for she said to herself 'If I can only touch his cloak, I shall be healed.' But Jesus turned and saw her, and said, 'Take heart, my daughter; your faith has healed you.' And from that moment she recovered."
There are not may words here but a lot is said. A lot is said about the faith possessed by this woman and a lot is said about the power and awareness of Jesus.
It was the law at that time that a woman is such a condition was not allowed in a synagogue and was ritually unclean whilst the blood flow continued. This meant that she was not even supposed to be among the crowd that day as she would render unclean any person she touched. We can therefore imagine that if such a woman was out in public she was not telling anyone of her condition. Otherwise the crowd would have turned on her. So she was taking a chance being out that day. All we know about her is that she had this illness and that she had heard about Jesus as a healer.
Let's get inside her head. She had heard about Jesus and his miraculous healing powers. People were flocking to see him and to get cures. After 12 years suffering from this debilitating illness she made up her mind to go out in the crowd and see if she could get near Jesus. It was all she could do to touch his garment, but she managed to do it as he passed her. She risked everything to get that cure. But she did it. It was a matter of faith. It was necessary to make every effort to get close to this healer, despite the crowd. She must have forced herself through the multitude to get that close to Jesus. Then she reached out and touched his cloak. That was all it took to put an end to this curse that had dogged her for so long, a curse that was getting worse as time went on.
What a woman! There are such people around us, aren't there? They just go for it! What had she to lose? When your life is that bad you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Some years aho I preached a sermon entitled, "Bartimeus had nothing to lose!" The same applied to this brave woman. For some people it is quite simply that life cannot get any worse so they just go for it. She summoned all her strength of mind and went out to get herself a cure. It worked.
As for Jesus, he knew that he had made a difference to someone. All these people were crowding round him, but still he knew there was someone claiming a cure by just touching his clothes. In all those people there was a vital need. He turned round and made eye contact with her. Isn't it fantastic to think that with hundreds of people milling around him, Jesus knew his healing power was needed. He had already accepted the call to help the daughter of another who had come to him seeking a cure. Just as he was setting off to see the child he knew he was needed right there. Despite the importance of his mission to the girl he stopped dead to find out who it was that was claiming her cure.
Not only was this about awareness but he knew that power had gone out of him. So now we have the wonder of his power. It was obviously no ordinary power that he just happened to have. He could cure anyone, anywhere, any time, but he knew his power had been switched on by another. As in so many cases he said, "Your faith has made you whole." The faith of these people who sought him out was incredible. He was always incredibly impressed by it. He was touched to feel that people just had that faith which told them to be there and all would be well.
His power was terribly important to him. Right at the beginning of his ministry he had been in the wilderness and refused to make a pact with the Devil whereby that power could be used for death defying deeds to impress people. He had refused to let that power turn stones into bread. He had refused to use his power for evil. This power that we observe in the bible story is not just incredibly strong but it is also precious and not to be misused.
But what the whole cameo story says to you and me is that the power to change us forever is available. All that you have to do is reach out for God's help. Your life is never so desparate that there is nothing you can do to help yourself. As has been said on many occasions, "Salvation is at hand." You may be a person who for one reason or another has not a single friend to hep you, but all that can stop right now if you reach out and claim your cure. You may feel suicidal with all that besets you but don't despair for God is with you at all times. You just need to reach out and the problem will be fixed.
Never feel that you are just one face in a crowd. You are far more important than that! God made you and God love's you. There is so much hope wrapped up in what I have just said. It means there is always a way out and God has the answer. Don't give up. Just have faith and get that cure
"Just then a woman who had suffered from haemorrhages for twelve years came up from behind, and touched the edge of his cloak; for she said to herself 'If I can only touch his cloak, I shall be healed.' But Jesus turned and saw her, and said, 'Take heart, my daughter; your faith has healed you.' And from that moment she recovered."
There are not may words here but a lot is said. A lot is said about the faith possessed by this woman and a lot is said about the power and awareness of Jesus.
It was the law at that time that a woman is such a condition was not allowed in a synagogue and was ritually unclean whilst the blood flow continued. This meant that she was not even supposed to be among the crowd that day as she would render unclean any person she touched. We can therefore imagine that if such a woman was out in public she was not telling anyone of her condition. Otherwise the crowd would have turned on her. So she was taking a chance being out that day. All we know about her is that she had this illness and that she had heard about Jesus as a healer.
Let's get inside her head. She had heard about Jesus and his miraculous healing powers. People were flocking to see him and to get cures. After 12 years suffering from this debilitating illness she made up her mind to go out in the crowd and see if she could get near Jesus. It was all she could do to touch his garment, but she managed to do it as he passed her. She risked everything to get that cure. But she did it. It was a matter of faith. It was necessary to make every effort to get close to this healer, despite the crowd. She must have forced herself through the multitude to get that close to Jesus. Then she reached out and touched his cloak. That was all it took to put an end to this curse that had dogged her for so long, a curse that was getting worse as time went on.
What a woman! There are such people around us, aren't there? They just go for it! What had she to lose? When your life is that bad you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Some years aho I preached a sermon entitled, "Bartimeus had nothing to lose!" The same applied to this brave woman. For some people it is quite simply that life cannot get any worse so they just go for it. She summoned all her strength of mind and went out to get herself a cure. It worked.
As for Jesus, he knew that he had made a difference to someone. All these people were crowding round him, but still he knew there was someone claiming a cure by just touching his clothes. In all those people there was a vital need. He turned round and made eye contact with her. Isn't it fantastic to think that with hundreds of people milling around him, Jesus knew his healing power was needed. He had already accepted the call to help the daughter of another who had come to him seeking a cure. Just as he was setting off to see the child he knew he was needed right there. Despite the importance of his mission to the girl he stopped dead to find out who it was that was claiming her cure.
Not only was this about awareness but he knew that power had gone out of him. So now we have the wonder of his power. It was obviously no ordinary power that he just happened to have. He could cure anyone, anywhere, any time, but he knew his power had been switched on by another. As in so many cases he said, "Your faith has made you whole." The faith of these people who sought him out was incredible. He was always incredibly impressed by it. He was touched to feel that people just had that faith which told them to be there and all would be well.
His power was terribly important to him. Right at the beginning of his ministry he had been in the wilderness and refused to make a pact with the Devil whereby that power could be used for death defying deeds to impress people. He had refused to let that power turn stones into bread. He had refused to use his power for evil. This power that we observe in the bible story is not just incredibly strong but it is also precious and not to be misused.
But what the whole cameo story says to you and me is that the power to change us forever is available. All that you have to do is reach out for God's help. Your life is never so desparate that there is nothing you can do to help yourself. As has been said on many occasions, "Salvation is at hand." You may be a person who for one reason or another has not a single friend to hep you, but all that can stop right now if you reach out and claim your cure. You may feel suicidal with all that besets you but don't despair for God is with you at all times. You just need to reach out and the problem will be fixed.
Never feel that you are just one face in a crowd. You are far more important than that! God made you and God love's you. There is so much hope wrapped up in what I have just said. It means there is always a way out and God has the answer. Don't give up. Just have faith and get that cure
posted by Keith Alexander at Monday, January 30, 2006
2 Comments:
I believe that God heals and helps one no matter the circumstances of their situation. I believe that God's timing is the right timing and a critical part of what He does. There is very definitely encouragement in the words of Jesus. And there is power. Thank you for an encouraging post.
The secular world sees a hierarchy in life. The rich man is the top man and theguy with nothing is at the bottom. Jesus taught us to show respect but it weas not based on "know your position". It was based on mutual respect.
Christianity is a practical approach to life and for me the practical way is to see everyone on the same level. They may possess more worldly things but that does not place them above another.
Thank God that this is true!
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