The Healing Touch

THE HEALING TOUCH

I glad you made it here this morning to meet with Jesus. I know that most of you are very busy with your lives, and sometimes some of us have to make an effort to get to God’s House.

May I suggest to you that there has never been anyone more busy than Jesus is. He is not only dealing with issues and needs in your life, but He is doing the same in my life, and the person next to you. How does Jesus ever do it? I am going to try and answer that question for you in chapter 5 of the Book of Mark.

The story we are looking at is truly one of the most amazing stories of faith recorded in the life of Jesus.

It is a doubleheader story of faith.

That is, there is two stories of miraculous healing that takes place basically at the same time.

We come face to face with two stories of God’s healing power.

We find a woman who had been sick with an incurable condition for 12 years, and a little girl who had been well for 12 years, but both are in desperate need of the help.

I can only imagine that there were many times when Jesus was faced with many different needs being brought to Him at the same time.

Jesus had to have been a very busy person. More than likely, Jesus was much busier than you and I.

There are many times that we find ourselves doing a juggling act trying to take care of everything that people need from us.

Whether you are a busy mother, father, someone who works very hard, or a student that has a lot of homework that is piling up on you.

Jesus experienced a very busy life. But the Book of Philippians has told us al to “…be anxious for nothing…”

Isn’t wonderful to know that when things start piling up on top of each other, when you have twice as many problems as think you can deal with, Jesus is always there?

There may be times in your life when you don’t seem to sense the presence of the Lord.

But when you are in desperate need of help, Jesus is always there!

Text: Mark 5:21 thru 28

As we review this story, I want you to keep in mind what verse 24 says.

…a great multitude followed Him (Jesus) and thronged Him.

I want you to try and picture this dramatic scene in your mind. A lot of needy and demanding people, perhaps hundreds, were pushing and shoving their way to at the very least see this great Man from Nazareth they had been hearing about.

Let me try and put things in perspective for us. Here’s what we have. Out of all the people that were there that day, there were –

TWO DESPARATE PEOPLE COMING TO JESUS FOR HELP

1. JAIRUS =

· His only daughter is dieing.

· For this man, there is a risk of faith. Jairus is a synagogue leader in Capernaum (with a very prominent position).

· He had to overcome a lot of pressure and prejudice to come and seek help from Jesus.

· He was desperate.

· It must have been very difficult for this man to leave the bedside of his daughter knowing that she might die before he could return.

· He had no choice but to come to Jesus and make a Fervent, Public Appeal.

· He pleaded earnestly with Jesus to come to his sickly daughter.

2. A WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN HEMMORHAGING FOR 12 YEARS.

This situation is much more than a severe physical problem.

· It was also a severe cultural and religious problem.

· Everyone considered this woman to be "unclean".

· For 12 years, she was a social and religious outcast.

· She had been to see countless doctors who only took her money and offered no hope.

· And like Jairus, there was this risk of faith for this woman, also.

· Her problem was not status. She was living with being rejected from society.

· She had been humiliated so many times because her sickness was equivalent to leprosy.

· With this illness, this woman was put out of her home.

· She was not allowed to touch her love ones.

· Her family and friends could not show her any affection, at all.

· This woman was desperate for someone to help her.

· She could not approach Jesus as Jairus had. She was “Unclean” and Jesus was the only clean man to ever walked the face of the earth.

The woman would have to come up from behind; in the crowd, and hope that no one would notice her touching Jesus.