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“Who touched me?” (Luke 8:45)
It seems like an absurd question.
With so many people pressing in upon Jesus, how could anyone know who touched him? With many people wanting to be near him, it could have been any man or any woman in the crowd. But the Master knew that someone had touched the edge of his garment and at that moment a mighty miracle had occurred. A woman with a serious blood disorder had been instantly cured.
This woman had taken a real chance by touching Jesus. According to the law, her touch could make Jesus unclean. Because he was the Son of God, his power of healing overcame her uncleanness. But she did not know that when she touched him.
What a crucial point this is. Our Lord Jesus was not ashamed to be touched by the untouchable, and he was not embarrassed to be publicly identified with the outcasts of this world. He was at home with sinners, he ate supper with gluttons and drunkards, he welcomed the prostitutes, he touched the lepers, and he is not ashamed to be touched by an unclean person.
Not ashamed? No, not at all. Delighted, I think, and glad to identify himself with her. Delighted that she had the courage to reach out and glad that he could heal her. And he didn’t care who knew about it. No, that’s not strong enough. He wanted the whole crowd to know what he had done.
Why is this so important? Because with our Lord there are no “untouchable” people. In Jesus’ eyes, everyone is touchable. Thank God, there are no hopeless cases with him.
What a crucial point this is. Our Lord Jesus was not ashamed to be touched by the untouchable, and he was not embarrassed to be publicly identified with the outcasts of this world. He was at home with sinners, he ate supper with gluttons and drunkards, he welcomed the prostitutes, he touched the lepers, and he is not ashamed to be touched by an unclean person.
Not ashamed? No, not at all. Delighted, I think, and glad to identify himself with her. Delighted that she had the courage to reach out and glad that he could heal her. And he didn’t care who knew about it. No, that’s not strong enough. He wanted the whole crowd to know what he had done.
Why is this so important? Because with our Lord there are no “untouchable” people. In Jesus’ eyes, everyone is touchable. Thank God, there are no hopeless cases with him.
As he walked down a crowded street, hundreds of hands reached out to him. Yet he felt the thin, sickly hand of faith. He felt it! He felt her touch . . . He stopped . . . He turned . . . He spoke to her.
He was not offended or angry at her. Nor was he too busy or too tired to bother with her. Think of it. He whom all the forces of hell could not stop was diverted by the touch of a sickly hand! This woman did by her touch what Satan himself could not do. She stopped Jesus in his tracks.
He spoke to her as if she were the only person in the crowd. When he turned, it was just Jesus and her. No one else mattered.
He was not offended or angry at her. Nor was he too busy or too tired to bother with her. Think of it. He whom all the forces of hell could not stop was diverted by the touch of a sickly hand! This woman did by her touch what Satan himself could not do. She stopped Jesus in his tracks.
He spoke to her as if she were the only person in the crowd. When he turned, it was just Jesus and her. No one else mattered.
We do not have a stoic, uncaring Christ. Nor do we have a preoccupied Christ who is too busy to notice our problems. He is the sensitive Jesus who as the hymn writer says, “feels our deepest woe.”
He loves you as if there were only one person in all the universe to love. He hears you as if you were the only one speaking to him. He attends to your needs as if yours were the only needs in all the universe. What a Christ!
Lord Jesus, as you were not too busy to feel the touch of this woman’s hand brushing the edge of your garment, hear us when we call out to you. Though we are weak, you are strong and mighty to save. Thank you for responding to the touch of our feeble faith. Amen.
Going Deeper
Read Luke 8:41-48. Why did this woman touch the edge of Jesus’ cloak? Can you think of time when you were as desperate as she was? What does this story teach us about Jesus? About the nature of faith? What sort of “touch” from Jesus do you need in your life today?
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