Take hold of Jesus’ garment

December 17, 2017 Discerning Reader 1 Comments

Passage: Mark 5

Mark 5:25-26 tells us about a woman who had had a blood disease for 12 years. Scripture doesn’t tell us her name or her age, but we know that she spent everything that she had trying to find healing for her disease. They couldn’t heal her. She was just surviving day by day.

One day is too long to feel pain. If you are sick for one week, you feel so hopeless. She was hemorrhaging for 12 years. According to the Law of Moses, she considered unclean and was an outcast. She wasn’t allowed to come to the temple or the religious ceremonies. She was totally isolated. If anyone touched her or anything that she had touched, they were considered unclean. If she had a husband or family, they would have been totally separated from her because of this sickness. (Leviticus 15:25-31)

She wasn’t allowed to fellowship with other people or attend the religious ceremonies as long as she was hemorrhaging. She wasn’t able to touch people or things; everything she touched became unclean.

This woman’s life was miserable. She was in pain. She didn’t smell good because of the blood. She was impoverished. She was weak and tired, drained of life. She lost everything. She tried everything in her power to be healed.

Why does God emphasize the “12 years” in this scripture? This woman had a blood disease for 12 years. Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old when she died. This has meaning. This woman with the blood disease was about ready to die.

The number twelve can be powerful or deadly. It can be significant of life and hope or disaster, pain, and suffering. Jesus had 12 disciples but one of them was a betrayer. There were 12 tribes of Israel; one of the tribes brought Jesus to this earth but there was a lot of sin and trouble caused by these 12 tribes as well.

This woman with the blood disease was about ready to die. She just lived, surviving, day by day. Then she heard a rumor about Jesus.

Mark 1:40-42
40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

This woman heard this rumor about Jesus. She believed that if she could get near Jesus and touch Him that she would be healed.

It’s very important what you do with the rumors that you hear. We hear a lot of things in our lifetimes, a lot of rumors. The rumors that we hold on to impact our lives. This woman found hope in the rumor about Jesus.

A lot of people have hope and desire and vision, but they are waiting for Jesus to come to them to make it happen. That’s not how it works. You are the one who needs to make it happen. Jesus works through your action. If you just wait, nothing will happen. If you have hope in something, you must be willing to lay your life down for it.

She came through the back of the crowd. She got closer and closer to Jesus. She knew that when she got to Jesus that something good would happen.

If she was caught in the crowd, they could have stoned her. She didn’t care. She was willing to die for her hope. She took action to run to Jesus, to risk her life. This woman laid down her life for her hope in Jesus. Even touching Jesus was risky, since she would have made him unclean according to the Law. Joining the crowd of people was risky. But she was willing to take the risk in order to see and touch Jesus. She was willing to lay down her life for the hope she had.

Jesus laid down His life for us.

If you want something, you must lay down your life for it. You must put your passion and energy and life into it. You must give your time and your energy. You must sacrifice frivolous things. If you don’t put any time into your dream and hope, you will not go very far.

Today God wants us to run to Jesus with our hope. He wants us to put action to our hope.

Mark 5:27-28
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

She put all of her energy and strength into touching Jesus’ garment. She didn’t just touch it lightly but strongly. Jesus’ felt the touch.

We need to hold onto Jesus’ garment. Whatever you are holding onto will determine the path of your life. Take your eyes and hands off of every thing of this world. Hold onto Jesus tightly. Let go of anger. Let go of perversion. Let go of pride. Hold onto Jesus.

God bless you,
Pastor Sun East

More in this series: There is only one person that matters – seek His attention

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