A Touch Changes Everything

Have you ever had a situation where you were just desperate?

I feel like I tell this story every year but its to good of a story not to tell, (so I apologize if this is your 10th time hearing this), but about 5 years ago Arika and I were on our honey moon.

And we were blessed enough to go to Jamaica and one of the things that is surprising is they let tourist take out sail boats and while we were down their we learned how to sail.

and so we sailed everyday and on the last day we got really far out, where we we turned around the land was small and foggy.

And it was windier and the water was a little rougher and we decided it would be a good time to turn around (because from what we know there was no one watching us).

And so we go to turn around back to shore and we get about half way there and the wind catches us and sends us the opposite direction,

And so I say “well thats weird”

And we try 2 more times and the same thing happens the boat goes about half way and then the wind catches us and sends us further into the ocean.

And at this point Arika has begun crying, and we are looking to see if anyone is around and their is not one person

And we can barely even see the people on shore.

And I remember thinking I was married a week and I managed get get myself and my wife lost at sea.

But you know on a serious note have you ever been that desperate?

And not just that but where you are desperate for help and its feels like no one sees you.

Because today in the story we are diving into it centers on a woman who is in place like this, but one day something changes.

So we will be in Mark 5:25-34 and we will be continuing our series called everyday discipleship and you might think what does this passage have to do with being a disciple,

But if you have been with us we have talked about how the word for discipleship is actually litterly translated as learning and really learning to be closer to Jesus.

and really like we have already talked about there are times in our life where things are tough, and so the question becomes what does it look like to seek God in those tough places,

Those places where things are not how they should be

Where things seem hopeless.

Where we might even be hurt by the very people that are suppose to reflect Jesus.

And so before we dive into this story let me just give some context, because Jesus is busy,

And He has been working miracles and teaching and now as you can imagine there is this huge group around Him because of all these things He has been doing.

And not just that but right before where we are today, one of the leaders of the synagogue came to Jesus and mentioned how his daughter is dying.

and he basically comes to Jesus and says “please help”

And so Jesus is on His way to help this person (who is really high up in societies daughter), (which he does end up helping her), but He pauses to help this person who was once of the lowest people in society.

Can I just pause here and say there aare times in life where we can feel desperate, worn out and tired and we might even say no one cares about me,

But in this story Jesus does not just go I have to help this person that is high up, but He spends time with this women that everyone else has written off.

And look at this story in the first couple verses because here is where it happens:

But out of not where there is a little bit of an interuption in the story, because in Mark 5:24-26 and it says this:

Mark 5:24–26 NIV

24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

So we are introduced to this woman that breaks into the story and we do not know a ton about her other than she has a bleeding disorder (We do not know exactly what the exact issue was).

But what we do know is this health issue would have been devastating for this women,

Because at this time if you had a bleeding disorder it would have made you considered unclean

and this would have been devastating because it would have effected almost every area of her life.

Relationally she could only be around other people who were unclean, and if she did touch someone who was considered “clean” that person would become unclean.

So its hard to imagine how lonely this woman would have been, not just that but it would be hard to find a job, and because of that she most likely lived in poverty.

And to make it worse she would have even been unable to go into the temple (which was considered the dwelling place of God).

And so while others were comforted from their faith during hard times, she was told “you are to dirty”

And so we get this picture that she would have been hopelessly desperate, because it says she went to different doctors, and spent everything she had trying to fix the issue, but it only got worse.

Can I just say I imagine that there have been times in our lives where we have been in a place like that.

Where an event happens and we are just desperate.

Where things have turned upside down, and maybe you even try to turn to God,

And you come to church thinking maybe this could help, but the people label you unclean.

Can I just say if thats you I am sorry, because that is wrong for a person who was supposed to reflect Jesus, reflected something different.

Because the beautiful part of this passage is that while the people have labeled her unclean Jesus handles things very different.

Because lets look at the second half of the passage: Mark 5:27-34 because look what happens:

Mark 5:27–34 NIV

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

So I love how this woman responds because she has this thirst where she is just wanting to get to Jesus, in fact she goes if I could just touch His cloak I will be healed!

This woman understands how even if she can just get a little bit of Jesus her life would be completely changed.

And I imagine her pushing through this huge group surrounding Jesus to get to Him

And I just have to pause here because when you want something badly what do you do?

If you wanted this mug and I said it is free what would you do, you would come get it right?

And I think sometimes what happens is we want to grow closer in our walk with God,

And thats good news because God wnts that too,

But the issue is as Jesus walks by we just sit, and instead of responding to this call that He gives to come and follow, we say I can see you and thats good enough.

And we kind of sit here and say I want that mug so badly, but we do nothing about it.

And while Grace is a free gift, we want to grow what God is doing in our lives.

Think about a plant, (where are my gardeners) if you have a plant, you need to water it and make sure it gets sun light,

If you don’t give those things the plant will die, if you do, the plant will grow.

And I love this because this woman is coming to Jesus and she goes I don’t know exactly what to do, but I do know if I can just touch Jesus it will change my life.

And she may not even understand everything about Him but what she does know is that she needs Him.

And she tocuhes Jesus’s clothes, and I have to be clear Jesus does not have a magic outfit, but its His presence that makes the difference.

And because of this in verse 29 it says her bleeding stopped immediately, and I love the language because even more powerful than that it says she felt like she had been freed from her suffering.

Isn’t that amazing?

and Something really interesting is that Jesus asked who touched me?

And his disciples look at Him and go Jesus what do you mean your in the middle of a huge group of people, everyone is bumping into you.

And Jesus looks around and the woman knows it was her and she falls to her feet and tells Jesus everything.

And can I just say people in this group would have been mortifired.

Because there a religious leaders and others in this crowd and here is an unclean woman who says I just pushed my way through the crowd to touch Jesus and so she also might have touched you.

And so if she touched you (in this culture) you were considered unclean.

And you can picture them all going “This is terrible!”

And not just that but she touched Jesus (who is fully God and Fully man) and so everyone is thinking this is a disaster.

Because let just say I was covered in dirt, and I was giving peopl hugs or shaking hands,

That dirt rubs off doesn’t it.

And thats what people are thinking, her dirt rubbed off on me.

But whats interesting here is not a super spreader event,

but when our filth or the sin of our life touches Jesus, it does not contaminate Him, but His grace washes us clean

Its almost like why we use bleach to clean, because you can have something thats just dirty, but bleach changes it.

And in this story nothing changes, but Jesus enters the situation.

You know this morning you might feel like this woman, you feel just dirty, maybe like you have made some mistakes.

The beautiful thing about this story is you can sin, but the Grace of God is so much stronger than your sin,

And it has the ability to take your life and turn it right-side up

And maybe today you are going yeah I know this,

but sometimes I wonder what it would look like if we pursued Jesus, how this woman here pursued Jesus.

Because to often as we live life we forget and our pursuing God looks like showing up to church everyonce in awhile, but never really doing anything that cost us.

You know I remember when Arika and I were on that sail boat out of no where this Jamacan guy came on another sail boat and we were waving at this guy like crazy.

and he comes over and started telling us what to do and we turned around and did not get lost at sea.

But heres the thing, because we have to recognize our need, other wise we just keep drifting away, because its easy to say I am on a boat why do I need help.

Life is good, my family is amazing, we have a lot of money, I’m happy and we kind of just keep sailing further out, saying we do not need help,

But I think to often we do not realize how unstable that ship can be, and because of that we loose this sense of desperation, because we allow all of these things to take the place of God in our life.

This morning can I just ask when was the last time you pursued Jesus like this woman?

where you will do anything to get to Him.

Because when thats our attitude its amazing what God begins to do in our life.

In fact as we close this morning we are going to be singing a song called set a fire.

And you probably know this but the thing about fire is that is spreads right?

And really thats what we want in our life, is for the presence of God to spread in our life.

And to dwell in it.