“At that very moment, Jesus recognized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” Mark 5:30 CEB
When I was 19, I worked in a retail warehouse and buying office. I started out unloading trucks and invoicing the packages. Once they were all invoiced, they went to the lines to be unpacked and prepared to be sent to the stores. Quickly I was moved to another area where I was asked to totally redo the archives room of the warehouse. After finishing that project, they used me to do all kinds of odd jobs. One day the manager of the warehouse called me over and asked me to do what he thought to be a very easy task. An electrician had been doing some work on the breaker box and had forgotten to put the front panel back on the box. My manager asked me to put the panel back on. I agreed. I mean how hard could it be to put the panel back on with the four screws designed for just that purpose. I grabbed the appropriate screwdriver and the screws and went to work. I placed the panel on the box and tighten the first screw. The second one went in with no issues. Then I began to tighten the third screw, and something happened. A loud pop and a huge flash occurred. It physically moved me back from the panel and scared the living daylights out of me. Thankfully, I was wearing tennis shoes and the screwdriver had a rubber handle. As a result of this experience, I developed a new respect for power.
The power in the Scripture above is very different, but the result of the power has some similarities. Jesus is walking through a large crowd after being asked to heal a man’s dying daughter. Jesus is pressing through the crowd with a purpose. As he is walking through the crowd, Mark writes, “At that very moment, Jesus recognized that power had gone out from him.” Jesus knew that divine, healing power had left him and gone to someone else. There was a discharge of power that was large enough for Jesus to recognize it—and for the woman to be instantly healed in such a way that she knew it. Jesus knew it and she felt it. The power that was released was tangible and real. It was also divine and supernatural. It affected both Jesus and the woman. It affected Jesus because he knew he had blessed someone, and he wanted to know who. I have heard some preachers talk like Jesus may have been upset with the woman for touching him. As I read this passage, I believe Jesus was not upset. Rather, I believe Jesus is moved out of love and compassion for the woman and wanted her to have the complete blessing from him. This is why he turned to her, and she turned to him and confessed. Jesus was moved to say to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace, healed from your disease.”
Imagine how this affected the woman. She had spent 12 years going to specialist after specialist and spending everything she had. After 12 long years she was no better off—instead she was worse. She followed her faith in going into a large crowd, as an unclean woman, and touching the clothes of a teacher. She took a great risk that immediately paid off. Scripture says as soon as she touched the hem of his garment she was healed. Not a little healed, completely healed. She was so healed that she could literally feel that her body was different. Undoubtedly, the power that came from Jesus entered into her like a supercharged shot of vitamin B12. It was as if she had been shocked by an electrical panel with high voltage power throughout her body. It changed her body, healed her disease, and transformed her life. That is miraculous power—straight from Jesus.
I believe that this miraculous power from Jesus is still available to us today. This power can heal diseases, bring restoration and reconciliation to relationships, bring peace to mental and emotional illnesses, and transform the lives of everyone it touches. When we choose to get close enough to Jesus a simple brush of his garment is all the power we need. How close to Jesus are you today? How close to Jesus are you willing to get? The closer you get to Jesus the greater the power available to you. Keep doing all you can to get close to Jesus: spend time in silence listening for Jesus, spend time in prayer talking with Jesus, and spend time reading about the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. Do this everyday and you will get close to Jesus, the giver of miraculous power.
This Sunday we continue our message series for Lent entitled “Miraculous.” We will look at the way Jesus offers miraculous power—available to all who believe. We can choose to live a miraculous life in Jesus Christ. I hope you will join me this Sunday at 8:15|NINE45|11:15 in worship. You can also go to SAUMC.NET and join us via livestream. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church!
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