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Weekly Devotional ..................
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A Single Thread of FaithLuke 8:41 - 48 And now a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell down at Jesus' feet, begging him to come home with him. His only child was dying, a little girl twelve years old. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. And there was a woman in the crowd who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors* and still could find no cure. She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, "Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you." But Jesus told him, "No, someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me." When the woman realized that Jesus knew, she began to tremble and fell to her knees before him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. "Daughter," he said to her, "your faith has made you well. Go in peace." The familiar account of the woman with an “issue of blood” is common knowledge in Christendom. Much has been written concerning the nature of her medical problem. Great controversy is generated by those who think too hard and ponder whether or not Jesus was in control of the power that healed this woman. While these “issues” are important they are not essential and they certainly do not enrich Christian life. The most astonishing feature of this story is the power of just a little bit of faith. “A little bit of faith?” Yes, a little bit. I do not think that this dear woman had very much faith at all. If her faith was large, she would have just waved at Jesus from the side of the road and been healed by mere eye contact. Or perhaps even better, she would have just stayed at home and sent Jesus a mental note requesting His power in her life. This woman was desperate and hurting and somewhat brave. Her physical pain and suffering for twelve years was exceeded by the spiritual pain of being “cutoff” from the commonwealth of Israel. You see, any open wound or “issue of blood” made one “unclean” under Levitical Law. This woman could make sacrifices at the Temple and therefore could not receive any sort of “salvation”. What compelled this woman to brave a crowd and even more brazenly touch the hem of the Master’s garment?
The “wings” that Malachi is speaking of are an entirely Jewish thing. Jewish men of this time would always be wearing a tallit (tahl eet), or more commonly known as a prayer shawl. The fringes of this garment are adorned with a tassel called a tzitzit (zeet zeet). Books have been written on the significance of this particular wardrobe item, but suffice to say that the woman was healed by touching the tassels on Jesus’ tallit had heard about it in synagogue. This woman was healed by a single thread of faith. Think about it… |
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