Touching the Hem of His Garment
Sunday, March 13, 2016
By Rev. James May
I’m sure that most of you can guess where this message is going to come from in the Bible. Turn with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8.
Luke 8:40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
Luke 8:41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:
Luke 8:42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
Luke 8:43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
Luke 8:44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
Luke 8:45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
Luke 8:46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
Luke 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
Luke 8:48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
I’ve heard this story all of my life. Having grown up in church and studying the Bible for a long time, there are still a lot of things that I just took for granted that I understood. I’ve come to know, as I’ve grown wiser, that what I thought I fully understand, I really don’t understand much at all. There is always so much more to learn, no matter how much I think I know. This story of the woman being healed of an issue of blood is one of those stories that I only thought I understood.
So today, I want to take you a little deeper into the events and the circumstances surrounding this great healing miracle, and I hope that before this morning is done, what I have to give to you will help you to better understand what really happened and why every detail of the story is so very important in the strengthening of your faith and your understanding of the Word of God.
The fact of the miracle is easy to understand. This little woman has been sick for 12 long years. She has done everything she knows how to do. The scriptures tell us of all that she did, all to no avail. She was growing weaker every day and unless she had a miracle, she knew that she was going to die in a short time. She needed a physical miracle because the medical skills of the doctors in her day just weren’t advanced enough to help her. She had reached the end of her rope and had lost all hope of receiving help from anyone around her.
Added to her physical issues, there were the social and spiritual issues of her condition. Because she had an issue of blood, she was considered ceremonially unclean and could not mix with other people. She could not attend worship at the synagogue. She was shunned by everyone around her because if they even touched her, they too would be considered as unclean.
She stayed to herself most of the time. Certainly she could only have had a few friends, but even they kept their distance. Chances are that she lived in secret places, hiding in the shadows, moving only in times when there wasn’t much activity going on. It was like she was a stranger in her own town.
When I read about her condition, I am reminded that all of us are born with an issue of blood. No, it’s not the same thing that she had, but the effect that it has upon us is just as bad, and perhaps even worse.
We are all born in sin, with the sin-tainted blood of Adam, through which we inherit a fallen nature. We can try every effort we want to in order to try and purify ourselves, but no matter what we try, we are considered as “unclean”; lost in the eyes of God and dead in sin. We are living flesh, with a dead spirit, that is growing weaker every day and drawing closer to the grave with every breath we take. No man can help us, for all men are in the same condition.
There’s an old adage that says, “Physician heal thyself”. But no doctor, no matter how many letters of educational skills are behind their name, has the power to heal or to deliver us from our issue of blood. They have not the power of life and death. Only God controls that power. The doctors can treat us with medicines and perform all sorts of medical procedures and use wonderful modern equipment, and their work is both needful and helpful. But they are limited and there will come that time when all of their skills will be of no avail.
Like this little woman, we can spend all that we have, go to every doctor in the country, but when it’s all done, we can still have the same physical ailments that are only growing worse; and in the spiritual sense, all of their efforts are for nothing.
Some of you have been there yourself, or you’ve seen others go through it, when they go everywhere, spend everything, and still end up hopeless. We cannot expect man to do what only God can do, and if you don’t believe in miracles, where does that leave you? It leaves you hopeless, and that’s where this little woman was.
The fact is, that no man has the power of life and death, and even more importantly, no man has the power to cleanse us from sin and make us ceremonially clean. Only the blood of Jesus, and the power of God through the Holy Spirit making us to be Born Again, can do that! We have to get to Jesus!
But then she heard that Jesus was coming through Capernaum, and suddenly a spark of hope arose in her heart! This was the Great One, the Rabbi that has the power to heal, the one who performs miracles of healing and deliverance wherever he goes! Maybe, just maybe, if I can only get to him! If only…
She plans her mission to the best of her ability. She waits in the shadows, unseen, until Jesus walks by. Oh the crowds; people everywhere; thronging him and surrounding him! How shall she ever break through to touch him? She is weak, sick and unclean! Will they stone her for trying! Will he even touch me publicly and cause himself to be unclean? So many questions, but only one hope; one answer – She has to try at all costs!
Let me tell you that you don’t know how much you need Jesus until Jesus is all the hope you have! Everything else fades into the background of your priorities when you reach that point in your life where no one else but Jesus has the power you need just to make it another hour!
She began to push and shove and to break through the crowd. I’m sure she felt like you would if you were to be in the middle of the crowd when the ball game is over and everyone is going for the exits at the same time. She could hardly move for the crush of people. And then to hear them cry out, “unclean”, as she went by and shoved them out of the way! Yet the crowd was so great and the noise level so high that no one stopped her. She just kept coming; never giving up! Her very life depended upon this one single act of faith and it had to happen!
She finally reached out and the Bible says that she “touched the hem of his garment”, and she was healed instantly!
Now, as you read this story, it seems that it really just an easily understood miracle of healing. But I wonder if you’ve ever considered the question of why did this woman want to touch the “hem” of Jesus’ garment? Why not just grab the sleeve of his tunic, or catch the turban or veil on his head, if he had one; or grab hold of his sandal? Why did she go for that “hem”? There has to be a reason, and that’s what I want to explore with you for a little while.
Let’s begin our exploration by going back all the way into the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, and look into the Book of Numbers, chapter 15.
God gave Moses many instructions concerning the customs and manners of worship and everyday life for the Children of Israel after God had brought them out of bondage and into the wilderness to the foot of Mt. Sinai. Among those instructions are some that I want us to see and try to understand what was so important about that “hem” of Jesus’ garment!
Numbers 15:37 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 15:38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
Numbers 15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
Numbers 15:40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
Numbers 15:41 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.
Two other verses that I think we should read to help us are found in:
Deuteronomy 22:11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woolen and linen together.
Deuteronomy 22:12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
In ancient Israel, men wore four-cornered outer tunics with these tassels, or what the Hebrew calls, “tzitziyot”, tied to the four corners. This outer garment became known as a “tallit”, and eventually this “tallit” evolved into the more formal prayer shawl that you see a lot of Jews wearing today as they pray at the wailing wall, and in many pictures of worship within the Jewish synagogues.
But, why tassels, what are they put there for?
These tassels were to remind each Jewish man of his responsibility to fulfill God's commandments. In fact, these tassels are tied into 613 knots to constantly remind them of the 613 laws of Moses, of which there are 365 prohibitions (The "thou shalt not" laws), and 248 affirmations (the "thou shall" laws). The knots also correspond with the name of God, the unspoken YHWH, or in our language, Yahweh.
Because they were hanging on the four corners of your garment, in full view of everyone including yourself, they would be a constant reminder to walk according to God's Laws.
The Hebrew word we translate as Law, is “halacha”, and it literally means "walk." You see, following God's law is a daily walk, and to stay on His path of righteousness, we all need constant reminding.
Wearing these tassels, to a Jew, is about like you and I, as Christians, walking around wearing a huge Bible hanging on a rope around our necks. How would we behave in public, how would we speak to others, where would we go, if we had that Bible hanging there all the time? Would it matter? Would some things in your life; and some of the attitudes you show to people; and some of the things we say to others, change at all? I dare say that for most Christians, the Bible would be more of an embarrassment, showing to the world that we sometimes get pretty hypocritical. To be sure, our imperfections would be glaring for all to see.
God intended these tassels to be a constant reminder of His Word when he told the Israelites to wear them.
Today, because Jewish people wear western clothes, they keep this law by wearing a four-cornered garment as an undershirt. Even so, Orthodox Jews, and especially the Rabbi, bring the tassels out over their belt so that they can be seen by everyone.
We also find the “tzitziyot”, or tassels, on the corners of the various prayer shawls worn by the Jews as an outer garment, or covering when they pray.
We have one of those prayer shawls here, and I’d like to get Bro. Bruce to come up for a few minutes and help you to see how it’s worn and the purposes it fulfills.
(Now I’m not promoting the use of prayer shawls in the church, or even in your private prayer time. If you want to use one in private, that’s up to you. But we do not live under the Old Testament Law. We live under Grace, so our manner of prayer and customs are quite different. But the things we can learn from it, and how it’s used will be a blessing if we will hear what it teaches.)
When they pray, Jewish men will put these prayer shawls over their heads to shut out the world and be in the presence of God. All that I have seen are white, to represent the purity of heaven; the dwelling place of the Lord. They also have the color blue on them to represent the Holy Spirit. Gold is there to represent the diety of God.
Therefore, praying under the “tallit”, or prayer shawl, is covering yourself with the presence of God. All through the Bible, it can be seen that praying with this prayer shawl surrounding your head was like having your own personal prayer closet.
Some scholars say that this is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 6:6, when He told us to get into our closet, apart from the people around, and pray in secret to the Lord.
Why did God tell the Jews to use blue thread throughout the making of the tassels and the prayer shawl? Blue had a very special meaning to the Jews in ancient times, because it was hard to come by, very expensive and represented the fact that there is only one God who dwell upon his throne in Heaven, and there is no other God but him.
In ancient time, the color blue (purple shades) could only be obtained from certain types of snails.
Blue, used to created the purple color as well, was the most expensive color to produce. It was reserved mostly for royalty and only a very few of the wealthy who could afford it.
Before synthetic dyes were discovered, the only source was a small gland in the murex snail. It took 12,000 snails to fill up a thimble of blue dye. In 200 BC, one pound of cloth, dyed blue, cost the equivalent of $36,000. By AD 300, this same pound of blue cloth cost $96,000. This indicates that Lydia, the seller of purple and an early convert of Christianity, was one of the wealthiest women in the Empire (Acts 16:14). This information about Lydia, which means very little to us today, said a lot to the early church. It said, in effect, "One of the wealthiest and most influential people in the Roman Empire has gotten saved!" Imagine the impact this would make on the message of the Gospel.
Imagine if Donald Trump got saved, received the Holy Ghost, and started really promoting the gospel and helping the church to prosper. What a difference it would make for all of us!
Since Blue also represented God, wearing it marked the fact that they were a people set people apart from the rest of the common world and reminded them that they were God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood and a holy nation.
This treasured thread would probably have been passed on from a father to his son as one of his valuable legacies. The blue stripe on the prayer shawl of Jewish men has the same meaning, and is still represented in the blue stripes on the flag of Israel today.
The flag of Israel, much maligned in the world, is really a representation of the Lord in all its elements. The white background and blue stripes come from the prayer shawl. The Star of David in the middle has been given a number of explanations.
One Jewish scholar interprets it this way. The Star of David is made up of two triangles. One is the representation of God as He is manifested as Creator, Redeemer and Teacher. The other triangle represents God, man and others in a three-way relationship that requires all three elements to manifest the working out of God's Word in our lives.
The flag of the nation of Israel still evokes responses in the world today. It either brings gladness and respect because it sets forth the testimony of God and his faithfulness to keep his covenants, or it brings forth hatred in the hearts of those who refuse to acknowledge God exists.
The tassels around the fringe and corners of the prayer shawl signify much to those who understand why they are there.
First, they represent Authority
I Samuel 24:4-6 we read about King Saul and we find that David humiliated him by sneaking up to him in a cave at the Spring of En Gendi and cutting off Saul's tassels, a symbol of his authority.
After cutting them off, David's men said, "This is the day the Lord spoke of when He said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish'. David’s conscience bothered him for what he had done. He said to his men, 'The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord'"
Why was David upset with himself? Even though David did this to prove to Saul that he was not trying to kill him, the symbol of taking the corner fringe would be humiliation to Saul. David immediately went out of the cave and prostrated himself in humility before Saul to prove to Saul that he was not trying to kill him.
Everyone, including Saul, knew that David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king, which is why Saul feared David. David had literally taken Saul's authority and at that point, he probably could have taken the throne from Saul. But, he didn't; rather, he let God choose the time for him to receive the throne.
Another example of the authority represented in the tassel is found in a passage in the book of Ruth. In Chapter three, Ruth went to Boaz to receive his blessing that would help her out of her difficult situation. She went to the threshing floor and slept at his feet.
Ruth 3:8-9, "And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman."
He immediately understood and started to make every arrangement to help her, and eventually, he married her. What Ruth did in asking Boaz to spread the corner of his garment over her was a symbolic way of saying she was placing herself under Boaz's authority.
Another thing the tassels reminded them of is that they must have Humility
By the end of the Second Temple period (70 BC - AD 135), tassels had become a symbol of social status. The wealthier you were, the fancier and larger your tassels might appear.
This is human nature, since we might also be tempted to "show-off" with a public display, like the kind of car we drive, the house we live in, or the jewelry we wear.
It is known that during the time of Jesus, the tassels of some Pharisees were so long and elaborate, that they dragged on the ground. It was this obvious display of pride that Jesus was rebuking when He said in Matthew 23:5, "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,"
Another lesson of the tassels was they were to remember to stay “Under his wings”, for God was their protector and provider!
Going back to the woman who came to Jesus for healing, she pressed through the crowd and went for the “hem of his garment”. She went after the tassel on the edge of Jesus’ “tallit”; his prayer shawl.
These tassels were a point of contact she needed to help her release her faith to receive a miracle in her life. To her, they represented the Word of God, which is always the place where we can find healing for all the needs in our life. They represented the authority of Jesus, and his power to heal. She had heard that He taught with authority, and when He spoke, people were healed.
There’s even more to these fringes. The prophet Malachi spoke of the Messiah of Israel and said of Him in Malachi 4:2, "But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in His wings".
The Hebrew word for "wings" used in this passage is “kanaf”, which is a word that specifically means “the fringe-like feathers or edges of a bird's wing”, not the whole wing. All of us have seen an eagle or hawk circling in the summer sky and have seen these fringe-like feathers. This word, therefore, had two meanings and could be translated wings, or fringes.
The woman had heard that Jesus could be the Messiah. Maybe she remembered this messianic promise from Malachi and thought, “If I am to be healed, then will it be found in His wings... His tassels on his shawl”.
Maybe she had heard of the miracles spoken of in Mark 6:56, where it says, “And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.”
Whatever she had heard - By faith, she reached out and touched the fringes, and was healed.
But the power to heal wasn’t in the fringes, or the tassels, or the prayer shawl. The power to be healed was in releasing her faith in the power of Jesus to heal. The tassels only served as point of contact for the releasing of her faith in Jesus!
What about you and me? Do we have the simple faith to reach out and touch the hem of the garment of Jesus? If you do, He is waiting to meet our needs, even today.
We cannot look upon a prayer shawl and its tassels for our healing. We must put our faith in Christ alone. Mankind has a great tendency to make objects sacred, as though they have some mystical power. Statues of patron saints, prayer shawls; or sorts of things; even the cross itself, are often considered by some to have some special power.
But objects that we may look upon as having great spiritual significance, are still only objects. They only serve to remind us of the true source of power to heal and to save. Don’t revere the object! Revere the God represented in and by the object!
Sometimes though, objects are still used as a point of contact for the releasing of our faith. We use the oil to anoint those who we pray for. The Apostle Paul sent out cloths from his own body that brought people to the point of being healed.
Oral Roberts, the Oklahoma healing evangelist, from the 1940’s through the 1960’s, would cause people to be healed in Jesus' name through the laying on of hands, sent anointed prayer cloths to his followers, and encouraged listeners to place their hands on the radio as a "point of contact" for people's faith. God blessed and healed many people through his ministry.
We sometimes need a physical "point of contact" that helps us exercise our faith in God. That is what the hem of Jesus' cloak was to the hemorrhaging woman. However, we must guard carefully against attributing to objects and persons the glory and power which is God's alone.
Because of her faith to believe and receive, the power, or virtue, flowed from Jesus and into her body, instantly performing the miracle that the needed.
The burden of being unclean was gone. She was called, “daughter”, restoring her relationship with God and with her people.
Also, Jesus made sure to let everyone know that her healing wasn’t because of some magic, or superstition about the “hem of his garment”. Her faith had healed her; her faith in his power, as the Son of God, to heal.
That’s what God wants to do for every one of us! He wants to remove the burden of sin and shame, and bring us back into a right relationship with God, and he wants us to know that it’s purely a work of faith; faith in the power of his shed blood to cleanse us; and in the power of God to save us; but it’s all by faith, and not by any other works that we may do.
One more thing for us to realize is that this woman had a strong, “Pushing through” kind of faith. Other people have what we might call, “propped up” faith.
She had a pushy faith; a faith that made her elbow her way in, and refuse to take “no” for an answer, and didn’t care what anybody else thought. She wouldn’t quit believing, or quit trying, until she got her answer.
She had the kind of faith that takes a licking and keeps on ticking; that won’t stop knocking on heaven’s door until the answer comes; that will even give time for God to answer, even if it takes 21 days of spiritual warfare and angels fighting angels, like it did for Daniel, to get her answer.
Propped up faith can be seen in Jarius later on when he learns that his daughter has died before Jesus could heal her. Jesus had to say, “do not fear; just believe”. He propped up Jarius’ faith until the miracle could come.
Propped up faith can also be seen in the disciple Thomas who would not believe until it was proven by Jesus himself.
Either way, faith is the answer; faith in the power of God to answer prayer and perform miracles. Faith is the key, and like Jesus told Peter, “He had prayed that Peter’s faith will not fail.” Jesus won’t allow your faith to fail. Only you can do that! You have the faith; but it has to be exercised, given feet by actions; and then just trusting God to do what he will do.
Jesus loves you and is fully aware of the weaknesses of your faith. But he is encouraging you to take courage, put your fears aside, and "go for it." If you falter, he is by your side and he will help you. He is teaching you to trust in him. And he says to you, as he said to the sick woman who pushed through her fears, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go forward in peace."
Do you need to touch Him today? Has He spoken to your heart through this message?
Altar call:
1) If you are lost and would like to come under the shelter of His wings, so you can enjoy His salvation, you come. Touch the hem of His garment today by faith!
2) If you are not walking in humble obedience, whether it is externally or internally, you need to come. Touch the hem of His garment today by faith!
3) If there are problems and burdens in your life and you know you need help, you come. Touch the hem of His garment today by faith!
