The Life-Changing Touch

The Life-Changing Touch

Mark 5:24-34

Touch is powerful. If fact, studies have shown that touch can have positive affects in a person’s life. Would you like to make a positive impact on someone’s life today? Okay, stand up and hug at least three people. Do you feel better? Some of you not used to touch, or who don’t really like touch are thinking this is too freaky. But it doesn’t change the fact that touch is very powerful.

Touch can change things, but there is only one touch that is truly a life-changing touch, and that’s the life changing touch of Jesus. We see this life-changing touch in the fifth chapter of Mark.

This fifth chapter is all about life-change. A Demon-possessed man is delivered from the grip of Satan. A dead daughter is delivered from the grip of death. And nestled in between these two stories is a diseased, desperate, and destitute woman delivered from hopelessness with one touch, a life changing touch. One touch of Jesus today can change everything for you. Life-change begins when you recognize your hopeless condition.

1. Life-change begins when you recognize your hopeless condition.

Verse twenty-four sets the scene, “And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.” We can only speculate how many people are pressing against Jesus. If he feeds over five thousand people in the subsequent chapter, we can assume many. With the many people pressing against Jesus, it provides the perfect opportunity for the woman in our story.

It’s important to understand how Mark has structured verses twenty-five through twenty-seven. In the Greek, these verses are one long sentence. The subject of the sentence is at the beginning of verse twenty-five, and the main verb is at the end of verse twenty-seven. Here is a simple sentence structure, “The woman touched his garment.” Everything in between the subject in verse twenty-five and the main verb in verse twenty-seven shows us the hopeless condition of this woman.

In between the subject and main verb are a series of participles that Mark uses to show her condition, and why she wanted to touch his garment, a touch that would be a life-changing touch. She wanted to touch Jesus because she was diseased.

a. Diseased

Verse twenty-five, “And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years.” This discharge was probably from her uterine. It was physically debilitating. Unfortunately, it was also spiritually and socially debilitating. Because she had a constant flow of blood, she was deemed unclean. This meant that she was isolated from people and banned from worshiping at the synagogue. She lived for twelve years without being able to touch people or to be touched. Isolated and ostracized, she was all alone with no family, at least no spiritual family. This caused her to be desperate.

b. Desperate

Verse twenty-six, “and who had suffered much under many physicians.” She has gone from doctor to doctor, but none were able to help her. In fact, she suffered under their care. This made her destitute.

c. Destitute

“And had spent all that she had.” She’s broke. She spent all she had trying to get well, but to no avail. Mark says, “but rather grew worse.” Clearly, she is in a hopeless condition.

The danger of perpetual problems is discouragement. When there is no light at the end of the tunnel, it turns to depression, despair, and hopelessness.

She had suffered physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and financially. She has no hope, and is looking for any shred of hope. Fortunately for her, life change begins when you realize your hopeless condition.

All of us can relate to this hopeless condition, maybe not physically, but we sure can spiritually. Spiritually, apart from Christ, we are all in a hopeless condition. Some recognize the condition, but many don’t. It’s not until we recognize our hopeless condition that we experience life-change. Recognizing our hopeless condition will cause us to reach out in faith and touch Jesus. You experience life-change by reaching out in faith and touching Jesus.

2. You experience life-change by reaching out in faith and touching Jesus.

Verse twenty-seven, “She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.” We can’t be absolutely sure what reports she heard about Jesus. We can assume from the previous chapters that she heard of Jesus healing people, and casting out demons. Maybe she heard about the storm being calmed at sea. As I looked back to the previous chapters, there is one healing that probably caught her attention. In the last part of chapter one Jesus heals a leper, and he does so by touching him. This is significant, because the law forbid touching a person with leprosy. Jesus was willing to touch an unclean social outcast in the leper, and surely he could help her. She has found hope.

It says that she heard the reports, came to Jesus, and touched him. In the gospel of Mark, the sign of true discipleship is hearing about Jesus and acting upon what you hear. Disciples follow Jesus. This woman is becoming a disciple. She heard, which produced the report, which gave her thhe attitude of her trust.

a. The attitude of her trust.

We see that attitude in verse twenty-eight, “For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” She believes that Jesus is God, and has the ability to saver her. This attitude of trust moved the action of her touch.

b. The action of her touch.

You see faith and works go together. She believed; therefore, she touched. Trust is not trust if it does not move to action. And let me say at this point that the faith that is woman has was imperfect. It mingled with selfishness. She wanted to get and go. Yet, Jesus still accepts her imperfect, but sufficient faith. She trusted. She touched. And she was transformed, and she was aware of the transformation.

c. The awareness of her transformation.

Verse twenty-nine, “And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” The verbs “dried up” and “felt” are aorist tense, which speaks of a completed action. However, the verb “healed” is perfect tense, which means that her healing will have lasting effects.

She experienced immediate healing. Furthermore, she felt it in her body. She didn’t have to wonder if she was healed, God gave her an inward testimony of the immediate healing. She knew that she knew that she knew. She was diseased, desperate, and destitute for twelve years. She lived a life of shame and frustration. But then she experienced the life-changing touch.

In the spiritual realm, life-change is experienced when you realize your hopeless condition and reach out in faith to touch Jesus. When you touch Jesus by faith, immediately you area saved from your sins, forgiven of them all, and God will not leave you wondering. He gives you the immediate and direct assurance of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. You can know that you know that you know that God has made you whole in Jesus.

You can reach out in faith to Jesus and experience the life-changing touch. You can be delivered from a life of shame and frustration as well because Jesus will always responds to your believing touch.

3. Jesus will always respond to your believing touch.

Verse thirty, “And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” I love the response of the disciples to his question, probably because I like sarcasm sometimes. I can imagine Peter looking at Jesus and saying, “Really? You’ve got to be kidding.” There were many people pressing against Jesus so how could he ask such a dumb question. Many people pressed in on Jesus, but only one touched him with a believing touch.

The question, “Who touched my garments?” was not for Jesus, but first for the woman. This dear woman thought she could gather around Jesus receive a blessing a go. Jesus was not going to let that happen, not with a believing touch. Jesus didn’t come so that we can all gather around him and receive a blessing and then go. Jesus came so that we could have a relationship with God. Being a follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ, is not just about getting our needs met. It’s about having an intimate relationship with the one true God, an intimate relationship that brings us into his presence and gives us intimate knowledge of God. Jesus asked the question because he wanted her to have a relationship with him. It was also for her to publically confess that Jesus had done with her life. A believing touch is a touch that confesses Jesus publically.

a. A touch that confesses Jesus.

Verse thirty-two, “And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.” This public confession was important for her. It was also important to the crowd.

When she confessed Jesus publically she communicated to the crowd that Jesus can do the same for them. She was already healed before she confessed publically. Jesus wants her to tell people about her experience through public confession.

Her confession pointed people to Jesus. It was Jesus who healed her, and it’s Jesus who can make a difference in the lives of others. She confessed publically because she knew that she was healed. A believing touch confesses Jesus. Jesus rewards a believing touch.

b. A touch that is rewarded by Jesus.

Verse thirty-five, “And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” It was her faith in Jesus that healed her, not her touch. The touch was the action of her faith. She was more than just healed that day. Mark doesn’t use the usual Greek word for “healed” in verse thirty-four. Instead he uses “sodzo.” We often translate it salvation, and is used mostly in the context of salvation from sins. She was healed physically and spiritually when she placed her imperfect, but sufficient faith in Jesus. Many people were pressing in on Jesus that day, but only one reached out with a believing touch, a life-changing touch.

Week after week we gather around Jesus. This morning is no different. Unfortunately, many are pressing in on Jesus this morning, but not touching. You press in with your religious activity, but you don’t touch. You press in each week by gathering for worship and listening to the sermon, reading your Bible, pray, and give, but you don’t touch Jesus. You are so close to his power, but very far from his life-changing power. You press in, but you don’t touch, because you don’t reach out with a believing touch.

It’s hard to touch Jesus when your hands are full. It’s hard to touch Jesus when your arms are crossed. I pray that God will unfold your arms, or empty your hands so that you can reach out touch Jesus, cling to Jesus so that you can experience the life-changing power of Jesus.

It all begins when you realize your hopeless condition apart from Christ, and then reach out in faith and touch Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Jesus will always respond to your believing touch.

Bow your heads and close your eyes. Some of you have been pressing in on Jesus, but you haven’t touched him. Some of you have prayed a prayer, gave the pastor or evangelist a look that you touched Jesus. Some of you have raised your hand to say you gave your life to Jesus. But that is where it stopped for you.

You have never publically confessed Jesus, nor followed him in baptism. You want to touch his garment, and then leave. Jesus calls out to you today, “Who touched my garments?” The reason the lady came back was the life-change she experienced she had something to confess publically. Could it be that you have never confessed Jesus publically because your life has not changed? If your life changed then you would make it public. Could it be that you just think you have touched Jesus, when you only pressed against him?

Some of you are desperate and destitute, with no hope. Jesus is your only hope. Reach out in faith today and touch him. Turn from your sin and turn to the saving work of Jesus, and place your faith in him. Are you ready to touch Jesus today? Then raise your hand. Are you ready to be saved? Then raise your hand. Good. If you are reaching out in faith to touch Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, you need to confess him publically. Get up right now and make your way down.