Touching Jesus...

"For she was saying to herself, 'If I only touch His garment, I will get well." -- Matthew 9:21.  Here we find another familiar account which has a more detailed parallel account in Mark 5:25-34.  This is the account of the woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years.  She knew that if she simply touched Jesus' garment, she would be healed.  With all the crowds pressing in around Jesus, she probably was not sure if she would reach Him.  In order to get well, she only needed to touch Jesus.

Touching Jesus. This is a very interesting account simply because of the nature of it.  Imagine for a moment you are walking through a crowd, people bumping in to you left and right but then apart from the crowds, you feel something else touch you that gave you a whole different sensation.  This is what happened with Jesus.  There is a certain beauty about this account because we can see one of the qualities of Jesus and thereby God simply because one person reached out to touch Jesus.

Touching Jesus.  We know from Mark 5:30 that Jesus felt the power drain from Him.  It is then that He looks on the woman and says 'Daughter take courage, your faith has made you well.'  The woman was so determined that she was going to get to Jesus because she knew He and only He could heal her of her sickness simply by touching Jesus.

Touching Jesus.  My question to you this morning is how determined are you to touch Jesus?  When we read this account and appreciate what is happening here, we can see that the woman was desperate.  She wanted to get well and she knew the only way to do that was by coming into contact with Christ, even if it was just the clothes He was wearing.  Jesus may not have initially seen her until she touched Him but one thing is for sure we know God the Father saw her amidst all the crowds and this is the beauty of how Christ, how God sees us today.  We don't get lost in the crowd, He knows each one of us individually by name.  Scripture tells us He knows the number of hairs on our head, which I know I have less than others :).  Even so though, God knows us more intimately than we know ourselves and wants to save each and every one of us from our ailment, the ailment of sin.  In order for that to happen, we must touch Jesus.

Touching Jesus.  How determined are we to touch Jesus?  The crowds were getting in the way of this woman trying to touch Jesus but she was not going to let that stop her.  What crowds are getting in the way of you touching Jesus?  Is there something trying to crowd Jesus out of your life?  Is it money?  Is it your job?  Is it some hobby or form of entertainment that takes precedence over your relationship with the Lord? Is it a person that is dragging you down as opposed to lifting you up in your faith?  Is it sports? The list goes on and on.  The question we need to ask ourselves is how determined are we to touch Jesus?  Are we willing to sacrifice time, energy and dare I say it, money if necessary just in order to touch Jesus and get a taste of what He can do for us?  Touching Jesus requires determination.  We cannot let anything come between us and our Lord.

But how do we do it?  How do we touch Jesus today?  Of course, we can't find Him out there on the streets today, or can we?  We will answer that question in a brief moment but first touching Jesus involves first coming into contact with His blood through baptism per Romans 6:1-7 and making Him our Lord per Romans 6:8-14 so that the ailment called sin might be healed.  This is only the beginning of touching Jesus.  Touching Jesus involves service to Him and service to others before self.  No, we can't physically find Jesus Himself on the street like the Jews of His day could.  However, we can find Jesus in the face of an innocent child in need of love.  We can find Jesus in the eyes of a hungry man or woman on the street or even in the face of a struggling member of our congregations, believe me they are there.  We can find Jesus in the face of a person who has lost a loved one such as a child or a parent.  The point is what will you do when you come into contact with Christ?  Will you obey His will and make Him your Lord by obeying the gospel?  Will you make it a point to touch Him by touching others who are in need of healing, be it emotional or physical?  Seek out those who are hurting especially at this time of year.  One thing you can do is possibly get a gift for a child you do not even know or do not know well.  This can make all the difference in a child's life.  Take time to encourage the hurting.  If you know someone who is in need of food, feed that person by providing them with an extra meal or buying them some groceries.  There is countless ways we can touch Jesus today with the ultimate purpose of saving souls.  How determined are you to touch Jesus?

In closing I leave you this time with the words of the woman "If only I touch His garment, I will get well."  Touch Jesus today.  

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!