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MARK 5: 21 - 34

"WHO TOUCHED ME?"

I. A STRANGE QUESTION TO DISCIPLES.
        A. As usual Jesus was being mobbed.
                1. He probably had difficulty walking because of the
                   press.
                        a. I can see Jairus slightly ahead of Him trying
                           to clear a path through crowd.
                        b. Hundreds are thronging, jostling, shoving,
                           pushing.
                2. The disciples said, "You've got to be kidding, look
                   how the crowd is jostling you, and you say, who
                   touched me?"

II. A SELECTIVE QUESTION.
        A. In all the pushing, shoving crowd one touched Him.
                1. The disciples say, "hundreds have touched you.
                2. "No, they have jostled Me, but one has touched Me."
        B. There is a touch that makes a demand on Christ, there are
           touches that make no demand.
                1. You can be near to Him yet far away -
                2. You may look into His eyes and never see Him -
                3. You may sit here this morning, sing the songs, pray the
                   prayers, hear the Word, and never contact Him.
                4. It is possible to touch Christ in such a way that it
                   brings no response.
                5. It is possible to touch Him in such a way that it
                   demands a response from Him.

III. WHO TOUCHED HIM?
        A. Out of the crowd there came a woman trembling and falling at
           His feet.
                1. She had a sickness that had caused her to be
                   excommunicated from the temple.
                2. It gave her husband a right to divorce her.
                3. It weakened her every day.
                4. It caused her to be considered unclean, and everything
                   she touched to be unclean.
                5. By human standards it was incurable.
                        a. She had spent her entire fortune going to
                           doctors, but was no better off.
                        b. In fact, she was worse off for she was now
                           broke, and her sickness was not cured.

IV. HOW DID SHE TOUCH HIM?
        A. What made her touch any different from the hundreds who were
           thronging Him?
        B. Hers was the touch of faith.
                1. In her heart she had said, "If I can just touch His
                   clothes, I shall be whole."
                2. In all the jostling crowd one was moving toward Him
                   with purpose to touch Him.
        C. The touch had become a point of contact to release faith.
                1. It seems that faith often exists in three forms,
                   passive, active, and  activated.
                        a. Passive faith is more or less believing that
                           God can do it.
                                1. It doesn't move mountains, in fact it'
                                   doesn't move much of anything.
                                2. But He created the universe so He can
                                   pretty much do anything.
                        b. Active faith believes that God will do it.
                                1. It anticipates the day He will.
                        c. Activated faith believes He will do it now!
        D. We often need a point where we activate our faith.
                1. This was, I believe, the purpose in Jesus touching so
                   many people as He healed them.
                2. The value of laying on of hands.
        E. Notice Jesus said to the woman, "thy faith" hath made thee
           whole.
                1. Not thy touch.
                2. It is the touch of faith that brings a response.
                3. Today, here amidst the crowd who have gathered some are
                   going to touch Him and go home whole.

V. THOSE WHO TOUCH HIM WlLL BE TOUCHED BY HIM.