Touched by Jesus
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the gospel of mark: further up further in • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 23:27
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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.