Touch
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21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”
40 But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.
41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”)
42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.
43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
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Knowing Jesus
On Monday 17 May 2021 the British Prime Minister announced that we were allowed to hug loved ones again. The context was a relaxing of the Covid guidelines.
So, how was it for you? Did you get many hugs on that day? Were they memorable? I want to talk about touch today. Touch is so important and having it legislated against felt like a violation of our rights. Even NHS Chaplains were not allowed to practice even holding hands let alone the ‘laying on of hands’ for healing prayer - it was outlawed!
We are talking about touch today, touch that takes place in this day in the life of Jesus as recorded in Mark 5:21-43.
Not just ‘The touch of Jesus’ but also the crowd, the man and the woman’s touch.
We can picture the scene; a crowd has gathered by the lakeside (Galilee), sun is shining, there’s a gentle breeze, crowd are pushing, straining to see Jesus, hoping to catch a glimpse. Some people calling out his name, some needy, some with questions, some ‘just looking.’
Mark focuses on two desperate people, a man (Jairus) and a woman (unnamed). Jairus’ daughter was ill and the woman had incurable haemorrhaging. We will look at the touch of these two as they reached out to Jesus and I’ll finish off by looking at the ‘Touch of Jesus.’ But first the touch of the crowd….
The Crowd’s Touch
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ — Mark 5
I have been part of a crowd singing ‘God save the Queen,’ at an FA Cup final and I found it very moving but most of the crowd were not moved, they were there to support, perhaps worship, their team. In our Mark 5 story, the crowd are untouched by Jesus. ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you.’— Mark5:31. They were touching Jesus hoping to experience a wonder, a performance but not prepared to be touched by Jesus. Not prepared to deny self by inviting him to be their Lord.
Crowds today are the same, maybe crowds today are not touched because we do not give testimony of how Jesus has touched us. That is indeed a challenge to us as we become more neighbourly post lockdown.
Perhaps the church is so determined to be like the crowd, no longer distinctive, swayed by the latest cultural trends.
I listened to Radio 4 Woman’s Hour broadcast on 30 June 2021. The discussion was about ‘Purity Culture.’ The whole tone of the chat was negative about Faith groups that teach purity in sex before marriage. It is supposed to be a violation of Human Rights and harmful. There are polarised debates on one side or the other. The debate about Gender Dysphoria and same-sex attraction and the ban on conversion therapy and against the hetero normative lifestyle. Hostility led to legislation and a ban.
It’s a new cultural way of thinking. There is antagonism against presenting the message that we are all sinners in need of God’s grace. Biblical Christianity is seen as driving injustice, opposing expressive individualism and ‘my lived experience’ is all-important and if it is restricted then ‘I am being treated unfairly.’ The new cultural way of thinking is it is all about ‘me.’ But the gospel message is that it is not about you it is about God at the centre of things. I am not a victim, I am a sinner in need of grace and mercy. Be warned, this is an anathema to the new cultural way of thinking.
The church appears to have lost our missionary zeal to call the crowd to repent and believe in the one who can meet their needs and transform their lives. Proclaiming to the crowd that it is not about you and your lived experience and expressing your individualism but that it’s all about Jesus the one who offers a new life In Him and He in you bringing lasting joy and peace and eternal life.
The Man’s Touch
Into the crowd runs Jairus and we get to see ‘a Man’s Touch’ The typical man of the crowd may be ‘macho; Silvester Stallone, Love Island’ type - But the man in the story (Jairus) comes to Jesus and throws himself down at his feet in an attitude of worship and humility (even weakness) and begs Jesus come to his dying daughter.
Remember, this man is the main man in the synagogue, well-respected in the community. Not only that, Jesus was a danger to the synagogue (what he said and did etc.) but Jairus kneels at Jesus’ feet, his pride and dignity forgotten. This wasn’t the man’s touch that we would expect. Jairus did the unexpected: his ‘man’s touch’ was a desperate plea for help and a demonstration of faith and dependency on Jesus. ‘My strength is made perfect in your weakness’ — 2 Corinthians 12:9. Result? A miracle.
In applying this let us ask; how do we touch Jesus today? Is it humble, (like Jairus) lowly in our prayers and with awe and wonder as we read our daily bible or are we lackadaisical?
Sister Elizabeth O’Brien was a spiritual director to me in the early period of my ordained ministry. She helped me greatly, but it was her awe and great respect for the Bible that remains with me today. The way she held the book, tended it, revered it. She couldn’t cope with me keeping a Bible in my back pocket. ‘That’s no place for the Bible’ she would say.
I ask myself, do I revere God’s word, reading and feeding daily from it or am I taking it for granted as I get older?
Being ‘listless’ in our daily walk with Jesus stops us from receiving his healing touch and his forgiveness and deliverance from sins we persist with. Let us rediscover some of Jairus’ awe and wonder as we reach out and touch the Lord.
The Woman’s Touch
When we hear the phrase ‘woman’s touch’ we think feminine, delicate; but this woman’s touch is unexpected. She was an outcast, unlike Jairus, she couldn’t come openly she was unclean (12 years an outcast, health, wealth, dignity gone - fear of making others unclean). Jesus didn’t just heal her condition, restore her dignity, spoke to her in front of the crowd. By her touch, Jesus became unclean to cleanse and restore her. He called her daughter — child of God.
The effect of this woman reaching out and touching Jesus was unbelievable.
Do you remember the chorus “reach out and touch the Lord as he goes by, you'll find he's not too busy to hear your heart's cry.” That’s all we have to do; in our need, reach out and touch the Lord and healing will flow from Jesus to us. He longs to restore us (forgiving, cleansing, physical healing, healing a relationship) - reach out.
The Touch of Jesus
Jesus touched the dead body of Jairus’ daughter, he became unclean so that she could receive resurrection life. Jesus touched the woman, He became unclean so that she could be set free, he alone could cleanse, heal and give resurrection life. Jesus is unique not just to comfort or patch up – he heals, he transforms, he resurrects.
These two encounters surely point to the cross where Jesus who knew no sin allowed himself to become sin, unclean. Jesus touched you and I, He became unclean so that we be made clean.
I started off by referring to the PM relaxing the Covid rules on touch. It is so important that we remember that today we are the Lord’s healing hands that reach out and touch, laying on of hands is permitted again. Proceed with caution but don’t be afraid.
When Jesus went to Jairus’ house he took with him three of his disciples, what is that about?
In 1984 I went to the Sequoia National Park California. The giant Redwoods trees are so spectacular. Towering as much as 300 feet above the ground. But these giant trees have unusually shallow root systems that spider out just under the surface of the ground to catch as much of the surface moisture they can. And this is their vulnerability. Storms could bring them crashing to the ground but it seldom happens because of their intertwining roots provide support for one another against the storms.
It’s a picture of us rooted in Jesus and in touch as fellowship and reaching out to others.
As we exit lockdown we can provide this sequoia support. Like the three disciples entwined in prayer with Jesus and like those giant Sequoia trees, we can support and be supported in difficult times by the touch of one another and in touch with the Lord.
If we will only believe that we are not alone; that there is someone who is willing to touch us, hold us, keeps us safe. It is an immense support.
As Jesus said to Jairus:
