Taking Hold of Jesus
“And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” (Mark 5:31)
A dear friend of mine moved to Mississippi from Pennsylvania, and I asked him what he expected to find in Mississippi. His answer? “Christians sitting on their porches with the Bible in one hand and a mint julep in the other!” The poor Yankee expected to find that everyone in Mississippi is Christian. I mean, aren’t we? When I moved to Raymond, several people introduced themselves as “I’m Mrs. So-n-So. I go to the Baptist Church.” You could say that we have a huge crowd here following Jesus, just like our passage. And just like our passage, only one actually touched Jesus. Only one received any saving benefit from Jesus. Only one truly had faith in Jesus. How can such things be?
For one, many crowd around Jesus because of the spectacle. Jesus is fine and all, but who is in church today? What are they wearing? Who are they with? Or as a friend of mine was once told after him and his wife went to the front to pray, “Oh, you know everyone thinks you two have problems now?” For two, many crowd around Jesus because that’s what we’ve always done. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it countless times – “My daddy built this church.” Or, “This is my grandmother’s pew.” Heaven forbid that Jesus actually built the church, or that our grandparents sat in that pew because they loved the Jesus proclaimed from the pulpit. For three, who has time to write about the shame of missing, of the plastering over issues of conscience, or simply trying to pacify someone else’s pleading. To use the language of Paul, there is a world of difference between being around Christ and being in Christ.
“Who touched me?” This woman did not bump into Jesus, nor graze by His presence. No, she touched the hem of His garment with all the humility which becomes the life of faith. As J.C. Ryle says: “Personal application to Christ is the real secret of peace with God.” The difference between knowing and trusting, between tapping and touching are of eternal consequence. If we do not move from the former to the latter, we will remain in sin, in sickness, in death. We will not be made well. Ask yourself – am I crowding around Jesus, or am I following Jesus? Is Jesus my entertainment, or my life? Do I go to church because my family went there, or do I actually hear the fullness of the gospel preached and practiced? Have I touched Him?
