December 05, 2007 Mark 5:25

12/05/2007

Mark 5:25 - 34 (HCSB)

²⁵A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years ²⁶had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. ²⁷Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. ²⁸For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!” ²⁹Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction.

³⁰At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My robes?”³¹His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”³²So He was looking around to see who had done this. ³³Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth.

³⁴“Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be free from your affliction.”

There was a book published many years ago that claimed Jesus was a witch, and in fact, many websites today will say the same thing. The idea is that witchcraft is the manipulation (although they despise the use of that word) of ether. Ether is known in other pagan and eastern religions as Chi, Life-force, Life-energy, and so on.

In witchcraft, if one can manipulate ether, then one can cause certain events to occur or not to occur. And since ether is quite nebulous, the witch with the power thus imbues various articles they touch with the same power. There is also a book titled “The Lost Gospels” which has a story that when Mary, Jesus’ mother, would toss out the baby Jesus’ bath-water, local townspeople would rush to touch it and be healed (implying that even the water used to wash the baby had magical powers).

So when I read this passage about the woman with the hemorrhage, how she wanted only to touch the hem of his garment, It occurred to me that she had the idea that touching something that had touched Jesus would magically heal her.

When this happened, Jesus was immediately aware of it and He asked who had touched Him. Of course, by now, there were throngs of people following Jesus and as you might imagine, many touching Him. Jesus of course knew exactly who had touched Him but remember, He does everything for a reason. The lady in question presented herself and Jesus says something that I think many people have failed to understand it’s full significance.

Jesus says “your faith has made you well.” That is, in contrast to any magical ether or life energy, it was her faith, and faith alone that had healed her. I believe that Jesus stopped and addressed this woman specifically to make this point. Jesus did not have any magical power (associated with witchcraft). Indeed, He controls all life and matter, but He does so because He is God and creator, not because He has mastered any magical power. If this had been merely magic, then everyone who touched him would then gain magical power and eventually, Jesus would be left with none.

To claim that Jesus was a witch or magician only serves to separate Him from His deity. This again is one of Satan’s tricks to draw attention away from Jesus for who He really is.

Give Praise to God the Father and to His Son, Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Through Him, all things were made and through Him we have our existence, our healing, and our salvation.

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