Matthew continues to recount his story in act two of the
three that compose it. In the first act,
a father has demonstrated a faith others are sure to call stupid, for what he
asks of Jesus (to bring life back to the dead, even though this has never been
done). But now in act two, the journey
towards the dead is well under way, and on it, something ridiculous
occurs. The History that sometimes acts
as a razor against our beliefs finds a new character to widdle against. A woman who has suffered with what is likely
some form of hemophilia for more than 12 years has made her own determination
of what must be done to find life and health.
She determines that Jesus is sure to be her cure. She has seen him cure so many others. She knows He can do it.
But this woman creates for herself an obstacle of
unworthiness. As she examines her own
life, the decisions she has made, the sins she has committed, the filth of the
condition of her disease; she determines she is unworthy to ask Jesus for
healing. She is embarrassed by the smell
that must certainly accompany her presence.
She does not wish to be brought to Jesus by her friends, as she does not
want others to be so intimate with her personage in such plight. Besides, she can move. She just finds herself disgusting. And how many of us examine our lives, and our
history of sins, and reach the same conclusion.
We too are disgusting. We too
have heaped so much sin and shame upon ourselves, we find that we are in no way
worthy of the presence of God. We do not
deserve to ask Him for anything. Even
though we have seen Him act for others, we hold back our requests, believing
our history is a barrier to His listening ear.
But it is our holding back that is the problem. Self-created, but every bit real.
The woman of the story of Matthew, forgets, that ALL sin is
disgusting to our God. It is the poo He
must wade through to pull you out of it.
And He does not hesitate to do the dirty work of reaching you, or the
difficult work of pulling you through this pit to get you out of it. The condition she finds herself in, is not
something that Jesus would have held His nose against, turned away, and left
her to suffer and die in. It is the same
condition He looks to relieve us all from.
The goal of mercy, is not to simply forgive, and then return you to the
cesspit of your sins. The goal of mercy,
is to forgive you, and create within you a way out of the cesspit forever. Jesus understands how bad sin is, and wants
to redeem you from it anyway. No matter
how dirty the work for Jesus, it is still something He longs to do for
you. Your unworthiness will never be matched
by His greater love for you.
But in this pit of despair and unworthiness the woman has
created for herself, she has not lost hope altogether either. Instead she comes up with a ridiculous
idea. She will remain anonymous. She will move through the crowd quickly from
behind, hopefully downwind, and will duck down and touch only the hem of His
garment. It is not the robe she needs,
as even in this state, she attributes no special power to the clothing. It is His contact with the clothing when she touches
it, she imagines will do the trick. She
will do this ridiculous thing all because she fears to ask Him face-to-face to
heal her. She will do this ridiculous
thing because she fears her own unworthiness.
How many barriers do we place upon ourselves that our God would never
ask, because we allow our guilt to outmatch our opinions about the love of our
God?
If this sounds like a ridiculous idea, it is. If this sounds to you like it would never
work, that, is another matter. Matthew
continues his recollection in chapter nine picking up in verse 20 saying … “And,
behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came
behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:” The crowds were moving. The wind conditions were favorable. There were so many people there, she would
easily be able to “get lost” in all the faces.
No one would be paying attention to her.
She could enter from a side street, get low, touch the hem of his
garment, and disappear back into the crowd, going home healed.
Matthew continues in verse 21 saying … “For she said within
herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.” Her plan in her mind made sense to her. Her beliefs made sense to her, even if they
never made sense to another living person on planet earth. Here is where faith gets ridiculous, but does
not go wrong. Our relationship with
Jesus is indeed a relationship, something that is one-on-one, not a group think
exercise. Was this doctrine of hers,
this idea that she had, Biblically sound?
No. Not really. There is nothing in scripture about touching
clothing to get healed, at least not until this story anyway. Is this idea something the modern Christian
churches continue to espouse? No. We have long since abandoned the idea of
relics, that if you but touch them, something good happens spiritually. Particularly because most relics are
fakes. And further Jesus does not say to
His followers; here is my robe from last week, take this around and use it to
heal people. Jesus offers a Holy Spirit
for that, which is much more effective anyway.
So, it is not that her doctrine is sound. It is not.
It reflects a notion about unworthiness that is misplaced. It discounts the love the Savior has for her
(at least before the incident is over).
In summary you could say, she went forward with the wrong ideas, the
wrong doctrine, but faith in the right God, in Jesus Christ. Matthew continues in verse 22 saying … “But
Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good
comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that
hour.” Her healing happens despite the
ridiculous ideas of her faith, and self-imposed obstacles. And as Jesus works with this woman, He begins
to take steps to correct her thinking.
He stops the momentum of his trip cold.
The crowds stop. He looks right
at this woman, though other texts have Him first question aloud who touched Him. His eyes burn with a love she could have
never imagined.
When Jesus addresses her, it is not in the derogatory
language she is sure she is worthy of.
He does not call her a dog, or pig, or disgusting piece of filth, which
she has seen herself as, her entire life.
He does not look down on her in any way.
In fact, in one of the rarest times in scripture, He calls this woman, “daughter”. Let that sink in folks. Jesus Christ names this woman daughter. A literal daughter of God. Not just a figurative title, or sweet
sounding family style inclusive word.
But a title that has deep meaning to it.
Especially to her. In that tender
word and tender address Jesus Christ shatters her ideas and self-created
barriers about unworthiness. He calls
her daughter instead. No matter what she
has done, or smells like, or how she sees herself; Jesus sees this precious
woman as His particular child and daughter.
He is on His way to resurrect the daughter of another father, but on His
way, He stops to insure this daughter of His is resurrected as well.
Jesus shatters the ideas of unworthiness as a barrier for
her and for us. Her healing is the least
of her blessings this day. She moves
from hopeful worshipper to grateful daughter.
Her testimony moves from theoretical ideas (some misplaced), to the
personal testimony of a daughter of Christ.
No one will ever be able to shake that word out of her head. It was personal. It still is.
The beauty of this story is the absence of our influence on this
woman. Had this woman been a member of
the modern Christian church, and confided her plan in us, we would have soundly
condemned it. Not for the unworthiness
piece which most of us also contend with, but for the worshipping clothing piece
which has no basis in scripture. We would
have wanted for this woman to subscribe to ALL of our ideas about God; BEFORE
she went to God for herself.
We would have created for this person as big a gauntlet
spiritually as she created for herself.
And most burdens just as ridiculous.
Even though her ideas were not perfect ahead of time, Jesus still
reached out to her. He rewarded her
faith with healing. Not to uphold the
idea of cloth touching for health, but so that she knows He cares about
her. He destroyed her ideas about
anonymity. Instead He calls her out in
front an entire crowd. So that they ALL
hear Him call her daughter, just as loudly as she hears it. To the crowd it will mean less. But to her it will mean everything. Jesus adjusts her doctrine through methods
that Jesus deems effective. And you and
I had nothing to do with it. It was all
Jesus, and it worked.
Why do we in the modern church, believe it is our duty to
“correct” the misguided ideas of our peers, who also believe in Jesus. Can’t Jesus do for them and for us, what He
did for His daughter so many years ago?
Jesus is effective at changing minds and hearts. You and I suck at it. If my friends from another denomination are
wrong about something, let’s let Jesus sort that out for them. If we are wrong about something, let’s let
Jesus sort that out for us. What works,
is devout faith in Jesus. What does not
work, is devout faith in our interpretations of scripture. That is what the Pharisees had, and they were
all as sure about it as we are today. So
sure, they missed Jesus and love entirely.
And when you look around the modern Christian church, we are as certain
about doctrine, and as lean with our love as they were.
An incorrect idea, or doctrine, can be corrected by Jesus
Christ. If it is a problem for us, you
can bet Jesus will be motivated to fix it.
And if it is not a problem, Jesus is probably not too worried about
it. So then, why are we? Love is what Jesus demonstrated that day,
that ultimately undid the mistaken ideas.
Jesus shows her that she personally matters to Him. He stops an entire procession to prove
it. He calls her out to prove it. He calls her daughter to make sure she knows
it. He gives her a gift that will ever
be ringing in her ears. He gives her a
testimony she will be retelling everyone for as long as she draws breath. She worships Him not because she has to; or
some pastor tells her to, or because it is that time of the week in that time
of the service. She worships Him,
because her heart brakes with the gratitude of knowing Daddy. She loves her Daddy, and does not grow tired
of anyone else knowing Him too.
It was a ridiculous faith.
But it was grounded in Jesus Christ.
And whether it was ridiculous or not, it found a way to receive the love
of Jesus Christ, up close and personal to her.
What is the level of ridiculous you are willing to risk to see Jesus
Christ love you one-on-one?
And the play has one more act for the finale …
