I. Concentration: on how faith heals.
1. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” (v.30)
2. “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, “Who touched me?” (v.31)
3. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. (v.33)
4. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (v.34)
II. Meditation: on how a most obscure touch reaches the saturation point.
1. As the anointing oil flows from Aaron’s head down to the edge of his robe (Psalm 133:1-3), so flows the power of Jesus, down to His hem, gathering at the saturation point.
2. Jesus asked for their benefit - He already knew His garment had been touched; this question grabbed the attention of the crowd – they were about to witness a miracle.
3. The woman had a bleeding illness, making her unclean; she shouldn’t have been out in public, let alone touching His garment – time to fess up!
4. Jesus shows the crowd how miracles can be borne out of pure faith – Halleluiah!
III. Revelation: on how it feels to be touched.
1. As Christians, let us rejoice and be ever grateful that we have been saturated by the touch and love of Jesus Christ.
2. Let’s go out in the world and ask “what is it like to be touched by Jesus?”, not because we don’t know, but because we want to get the attention of others so that they too will know this glorious feeling.
3. Our salvation is not a secret, we should not hide from it; without fear and intimidation we should stand tall and proud and tell God’s truth about Jesus Christ, our Savior.
4. We are not called to have faith in our faith, we are called to have faith in our God and to never doubt Him – He is capable of doing anything He chooses to do.
IV. Application: As a Christian, I need to:
1. Feel blessed that He has clothed me with the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).
2. Use opportunities afforded me through the ministries where I serve God; help those people (needy, hungry, in prison) know what it feels like to be touched by Jesus.
3. Remember what it felt like to be “touched” by the Holy Spirit when I accepted Jesus as my Savior; like a love story – tell it to others so they want what I have.
4. Realize that faith is like any other part of my life – if not strengthened, it atrophies and deteriorates; strengthen my faith daily, by sharing it with others, staying in The Word, learning, studying and applying.