Matthew 8:1-4
Jesus Touches and Heals a Man with Leprosy
1 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Luke 8:42-48
A Woman Touches Jesus Cloak
42 As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Jesus reached out His hand and touched a man with leprosy...I find that an interesting picture...
To touch or not to touch?...Touching affects both the one who is touching and the one who is being touched...Touch is almost a form of communicating with the one you are touching...Touching has a type of closeness with the one you are touching...Touching can almost say, you are included...
I am often very reluctant to be around someone who is sick, let alone touch a sick person...Jesus is nothing like this...Jesus was not only concerned with those who were excluded from society, but He would physically touch them, sick or not sick...He touched people who were ill, the blind, the lame, and even the leper...And the leper was excluded from the Jewish community because of the purity laws of Moses...To touch anyone ceremonially unclean was forbidden...But Jesus is over the Laws of Moses...
When Jesus touched someone, it should get the attention as it deserves...He has a miraculous touch...And in His Touch is a Great Action...Those who did not know Him might ask, why He would approach any of these sickly groups...One might further ask why Jesus would touch someone who was ill, especially a leper...He could easily get very sick...In Jesus’ time, the leper was not of the regular community...People with leprosy and skin disorders could and did put those who suffered these things out of touch in their culture and society...These lepers were excluded from much of their own society...But in God’s Kingdom there are no exclusions...The leper is even welcome...Anyone who is sick can go to the Kingdom of God if they believe in Him and His Father...So Jesus let us know by touching them that they were to be included...There are no exclusions...
And there is a healing power to the touch...Even today, we can read about the power of touch, and the strength that is in a hug...
Jesus has this ability to heal people with His touch...That He has proven...And He shows He would touch an untouchable...He wants to help the suffering and those in need, and those excluded from their own cultures...So we should not be surprised when a woman who touched just the edge of His cloak is healed...He would not have cared if she had touched His cloak or touched Him personally...After she touches the edge of His cloak though He does says that He has felt some power leave Him...The touching has affected both the one He healed and Himself...We learn the Action and the Power of His Touch...