Touched by Jesus

Mark 5:21-43 (NLT) The Gospel of Mark Touched By Jesus Introduction: Mark has put these Jesus stories together, piling one after another, for us to come face to face with Jesus’ power and authority. (He’s pushing the question -Who is this?) We saw Jesus' power over nature in chapter 4 As he calms the wind and seas with a word. We saw Jesus' power over the supernatural as he delivers a man from thousands of Demons, again with a word. And now we see Jesus' power over disease and death in these two stories. These are stories of Jesus’ uncontested power and authority over every realm of creation. (Has anything changed? - Where is our faith??) Our story this morning is a story about touch, disease, death and faith in the only one who can rescue… How fascinating the relevance of these topics for this time that we are all living through. 1. The Touch a. This story emphasizes touch - Mark uses the word or references it six times in these two short stories. There is both a positive and negative to this touching: b. First the positive - Jesus is being sought out for his healing touch - Jairus requests that Jesus come lay his hands on his dying daughter so that she may be made well. c. The woman with the chronic hemorrhage seeks out Jesus to touch even the edge of his garment in order to be made well. i. The negative - Because of this woman’s infirmity, according to Jewish law, she was unable to touch or be touched without rendering someone unclean. She was barred from social gatherings, worship in the temple or synagogue, most likely she had no children or prospect of future children and would have been unmarried - a shameful state in the culture of the day… she has spent all her money on Doctors and remedies only for her condition to worsen.. 1. This poor woman is among other things feeling the emotional, social, and psychological effects of living without touch as are many of us and many around us at this moment.. d. Both the woman with her chronic hemorrhaging and the dead girl are ceremonially and socially unclean and all who “touch” them are unclean. But not so when it comes to Jesus. Rather than them making Jesus unclean through touch - the opposite happens - they themselves are made whole, made alive saved! e. The Rescue i. It seems purposeful and intentional that the greek word that Mark has used for this woman and the little girl's healing is the greek word - sozo - meaning Rescue or Salvation. What a strange word to use. There are other greek words that Mark could have used to describe healing, health and wellness. ii. That’s interesting to note because what we often seek in times of sickness and disease is healing, and not rescue or salvation. Healing is temporary, salvation is final, it’s eternal. But why don’t we seek for this Sozo? Because it doesn’t exist; it’s too good to be true? Can you imagine a world without disease, without sickness, without uncleanness; a world without death because someone was able to save and rescue you from all that? No Dr. on earth can give us that. But it is what we truly need and what our hearts truly long for - a world cleansed of all of these things. A world safe from all harm. But this is the world that the Bible says Jesus is bringing into being - A New Creation - And we see the signs of it everywhere he goes in the gospels - he makes pure those who are unclean, everywhere he goes he pushes out the curse and disease of sin, he makes the blind see and the lame to walk, he removes caste systems and social barriers, he raises the dead, he casts out the demons, he provides abundant sustenance in the wilderness, he calms the storms.. 2. The Exchange a. In this story that we’re looking at we can see what is envisioned in the OT. In the early laws of Israel we see that strict holiness guidelines were required in approaching God, especially in worship at the temple. Sin brought defilement, but also, sickness, hygienic uncleanness were pictures of and types of death and decay and could not be brought into God's holy space - it would destroy people. Not because God’s holiness is bad but because it’s so good and so pure. People needed to cleanse and purify themselves before they came to God. b. But later in the prophets, specifically Isaiah and Ezekiel, they envision a moment when all of this is reversed - isaiah is brought into God’s holy presence and the moment he thinks he’s going to be destroyed a coal is taken from the altar in the temple and when it touches Isaiah’s lips it makes him pure. Isaiah is not destroyed by God’s holiness but instead he is transformed by it. The temple is now transferring it’s holiness and purity to others rather than the reverse.. it’s absorbing the uncleanness and transforming the person. We see the same picture towards the end of Ezekiel where healing waters flow from the foundation of the temple and bring healing to every c. d. e. f. g. place it flows…again it cleanses and absorbs all the disease and death in its path. You see this was a foreshadow of what God would himself do the temple housed the holy presence of God and now in Jesus God’s holy presence had come among humans and is in that same way absorbing all the sin, disease, uncleanness and death around him. People aren’t being destroyed but transformed. How? Starting in vs. 28 it says, “The woman said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” What is going on here? i. The woman reaches out for Rescue/Salvation ii. Immediately she is transformed and healed from her disease, iii. and Jesus has perceived that healing power has transferred from him to her. The incredible thing to note here is that the word disease is the same greek word (Mastix) that was used for the Roman scourge or whip - the very instrument of torture used on Jesus before his crucifixion. How has healing power transferred from Jesus to this woman? How does the walking, incarnate temple of God purge people’s sin, disease and guilt. Because at the cross Jesus will take upon himself the scourging of her disease, but not just her’s, of our diseases and death too. In that same way - this is how Jesus can reach down into the grave as it were and pull this little girl back into life as though she was only taking a nap. It’s because Jesus will be put in the grave. He took our place so that his holy presence might transform us, and not destroy us. It’s as Paul says in 2 Corinthians - “He became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” h. Or As Peter says in 1 Peter 2:24 - “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” i. This story teaches and reminds us of the truth that for those who have been touched by Jesus, those who have been transformed by his life, death and resurrection - that we will ultimately be rescued from disease, from sin, from death and be brought safely into the new Creation - for those who believe, who have given their allegiance to Jesus - even when we die, we shall live in the kingdom of God forever more j. In Jesus, death is nothing more than a nap from which the righteous will awaken to an endless day!! (1Corinthians 15:20) k. One day you will lay your head down for the last time, and fall asleep - but you have this incredible hope if you are in Jesus that you will hear the words of the resurrected son of God say to you - my little child, arise, it’s time to get up. And you will see the risen Lord, awakened to an endless day, a glorious day. 3. The Faith a. How do we get that Rescue and salvation that Jesus brings? b. The woman with the hemorrhage and Jairus and his daughter come from opposite ends of the economic, social and religious spectrum. i. Jairus is a male and is a leader of the synagogue. He is named. He has societal honor so that he can openly approach Jesus with a direct request. ii. By contrast the woman is nameless and her ailment renders her ritually unclean. She is walking pollution..Her condition has made childbearing hopeless and marriage next to impossible. She has no societal honor and therefore assumes she must sneak up behind Jesus and touch him in order to be healed - thinking that’s the only way since someone like Jesus would never grant her request directly.. iii. These two stories together show that neither being male, ritually pure, or religiously in good standing, provide any advantage in approaching Jesus and that being female, ritually impure, dishonored, and destitute present no obstacle in approaching Jesus.. (This idea would be considered radical in most cultures even today) c. All that matters is Faith. Faith in both these instances is not in terms of what George Michael sings about. Don’t misunderstand or modernize what Jesus is saying - as though positive thinking, “belief” or “Blind hope”, does anything in the face of disease and death. When Jesus says - "your faith has made you well," or "Do not fear, only believe" - both are the Greek word “Pistis” meaning fidelity, allegiance or faithfulness, rather than mental ascent. This fidelity or allegiance must have an object and in this context it is Jesus himself. Jesus, as our only hope of rescue and deliverance. That is what Jesus calls both these individuals to. Jesus is recognizing in this woman a determination and fixation on him - if I touch the hem of his garment I shall be saved! She went all in! She staked everything on Jesus. As we say in marriage vows - “Forsaking all others and keeping only unto him/her, as long as you both shall live.” That is what Jesus is calling Jairus to do, and what he calls everyone after him to do as well! Give him your full allegiance, your full attention, your life, your heart, your fears, your expectations put all your hope in him - go all in with Jesus! He will never let you go - even through death, he will hold you and bring you safely into the Kingdom of God.