The Touch of Jesus

When Jesus lived on earth he was very much flesh, blood and bone. A totally physical body. I sometimes envy those who experienced that life with Him. Though I know He is now with me every day of my mortal life, as real as the air I breath yet cannot see, I would like to feel with physical feeling the touch of His hand.

In Matthew 8 and 9 we are given several examples of "the touch of Jesus". Each example shows us how His touch speaks of sympathy, love and power. And here is the amazing thing: each example we are given is a situation where it would be considered 'unclean' to touch the person. Yet He was willing to touch, just as He is willing to touch our lives which are dirty and filthy with sin, and make us whole and clean.

Matthew 8:2 tells of a leper who came and worshipped Jesus saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." Leviticus 13 tells about all types of skin diseases, and calls these diseases leprosy, with the person being pronounced unclean. In II Cor. 6:17 it says "touch not the unclean thing". A leper in the Old Testament was put outside the camp and was to stay away from others. Jesus knew this, yet Matthew 8:3 states "He stretched forth His hand, and touched him." Jesus could have made the leper clean without touching him, but He chose to show His love by the comfort of a touch.

Matthew 9:20 is the story about the woman who was diseased with an issue of blood for 12 years. She came behind him and 'touched' his garment. In Leviticus 15, a woman is considered 'unclean' during her monthly cycle, or a drainage of blood. The woman who came to Jesus had been bleeding from an illness for 12 years, yet Jesus turned and told her to be 'of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee well.' He allowed her to touch Him and He did not rebuke her or draw away from her in disgust, but comforted her and healed her.

In this same chapter of Matthew He went to the home of a certain ruler whose daughter was ill, and in fact she died before they reached the home. According to the Law in Numbers 19:11 it states: "he who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days." Jesus could have healed the little girl before she died, or He even could have given the word and brought her back to life, but instead He went to the girl's room and took the hand of the child who was dead. She arose, well and whole and just as though she had never been ill.

Matthew 8:14,15 gives us a short example of Jesus touch when He went to Peter's house and Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever. Instead of leaving her alone lest He catch a disease, He 'touched her hand', and the fever left her. She felt so well afterwords, it says she "arose, and ministered unto them."

Today we find countless hearts and lives soothed by the healing touch of Jesus, as He takes what is 'unclean', our dirty filthy rags of sin, and turns us into something beautiful.

Bill and Gloria Gaither have written this beautiful song of Jesus 'Touch':

Shackled by a heavy burden,

'Neath a load of guilt and shame--

Then the hand of Jesus touched me,

And now I am no longer the same.

He touched me,

O He touched me,

And O the joy that floods my soul;

Something happened, and now I know,

He touched me and made me whole.

(This article from the heart of CC)

A Paradox

"Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross." (Phil. 2:5-8)

The way of the Lord is definitely a paradox. In these verses we have Jesus, equal to God the Father, yet He became as a bondservant with no reputation. He is Creator of all, Ruler of all, yet He humbled Himself even to death. We who are followers of Jesus are told to 'love' our enemies; we are to be gentle, yet strong. The rich are told they will become poor, and the poor will become rich. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Jesus is our ultimate example to show us how to love those who despitefully use us. None of this life is about me, it is all about Him. It should be "not I, but Christ." John 3:30 states "He must Increase, but I must decrease." This is the Jesus way. So be it.

One Look at the Cross-The Curse

The Curse

The Jews did not accept the flogging as enough punishment, and insisted on the crucifixion. In Bible days the act of nailing or binding a person to a cross or tree was considered the cruelest and most shameful method of capital punishment. Anyone hanging on a tree according to Deut 21:23 is cursed by God. Because of the stigma and curse on anyone 'hanged on a tree' the idea of a crucified savior was foolishness to Greeks and offensive to the Jews. Yet Jesus willingly took the curse and humiliation of the law and as Galations 3:13 tells us "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." Thus He became the means of freeing people from the curse of Sin.

Jesus did not just 'die' in our place--He became a "Curse" of the worst kind, for you and for me. He received the total rejection by the Father so that we could be "accepted" in the beloved. He bore the utter darkness and was alone as the Father had to turn His back on His beloved and only Begotten Son, so that we would not have to die alone.

"Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted Him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of His own body once and for all. Every Jewish priest performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times; but these sacrifices can never take away sins. Christ however, offered one sacrifice for sins, and offering that is effective forever, and then he sat down at the right side of God. There He now waits until God puts His enemies as a footstool under his feet. With one sacrifice, then, He has made perfect forever those who are purified from sin." Hebrews 10:10-14 (Good News New Testament).

The work of the Cross was to atone for the sin of the world, our sin. Atonement itself is life changing. Yet redemption is free through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. All who accept His payment for their redemption become new creatures in Christ. This is the Glory of the Cross! Lives are altered and redirected by it!

But we cannot however leave our Savior on the Cross. On the third day He rose, triumphant over sin, hell and death. Death has lost and Life has won! He lives, our Savior lives!

Have a Glorious Resurrection Day knowing we serve a Risen Savior! Praise God, He Lives!

1. From the heart of CC

2. The Prayer life, Andrew Murray, Zondervan Pub.Hse.Grand Rapids,MI

3. International Standard Bible Enc. Vol 2

International Standard Bible Enc. Vol 1

4 The Oxford Companion to the Bible, Pg 141

5. The Mind of Christ, T.W.Hunt, Broadman & Holman 1995

One Look at the Cross-The Trials

THE TRIALS

Years ago I saw a picture of Jesus, standing before Pilate. A robe had been placed around his shoulders, a crown made of thorns was on his head, but He really looked quite serene. There were a few drops of blood showing on his forehead caused by the thorns, but otherwise He looked very kingly and unmarred. This is not according to the prophecy in Isaiah 52:14. Here it states that "His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." To me, this is saying that He was so beaten up He did not look human. This is the effect the brutalities described in Matthew 26:67,68 and 27:27-30 had done to Him.

The first stop made after He was arrested, was before Annas, the old 'political' boss and father-in-law of the present High Priest. It was here Jesus received the first recorded "slap". One of the meanings for "slap" is Webster's dictionary is "to hit with force." On His already sensitized skin, it no doubt caused severe pain and even bruising; may have even been with the fist.

Jesus second stop was before Caiaphas, the current reigning High Priest. While Jesus was here, it is recorded in Matthew 26:67 that they spat on His face and buffeted Him, while some 'smote' Him with the palms of their hands. According to Webster's dictionary, to 'buffet' is to "hit with the fist". Luke 22:63-65 states that they "mocked him and smote him". Webster gives the word for 'smote' or smite' as meaning to strike or attack with powerful or disastrous effect. They even blindfolded Him and then struck Him.

He was then taken to a mock trial before the Sanhedrin, the 'lawyers' of the day. Following the trial before the Sanhedrin, He was taken to Pilate, the Roman Governor. By the time Jesus reached Pilate's courtyard, He was exhausted, dehydrated, beaten and bruised. Pilate did not find any reason for sentencing Jesus, and sent Him to Herod Antipas. (This was the Herod who had kept Jesus cousin, John the Baptist, in prison for months, and then had him beheaded at the request of his wife's daughter.) Herod did not want the final decision, but before sending Him back to Pilate, Jesus was turned over to the soldiers. The soldiers tried to make a mockery and spectacle of Jesus by putting a fine robe on Him and clamping a crown made of thorns on His head. These thorns are from a bush found in Israel with thorns at least an inch long. This was forced down on Jesus head, and with the head being a very vascular area, not only would a few drops of blood show, but blood no doubt was streaming down His face, running into His eyes and mouth.

Luke 23:22 tells about going back to Pilate, and Pilate still did not feel Jesus had done anything to warrant death, so he thought the Jews would be content to just punish Him by having His flogged. A 'flogging' by the Romans was commonly done prior to their crucifixions to help 'speed' up death. It was administered by a whip made of calfskin, using several cords or thongs weighted with jagged pieced of bone or metal, and then applied to the bare upper body. The Romans tied their victim to a post and the blows were applied to the back and loins and at times even struck the face and bowel areas. This is the flogging which Christ received according to Matthew 27:36. In was not merely 39 stripes as the Jewish law give, but by Roman standards, it was indefinite--until the one doing the flogging decided to quit, or the victim died.

At any point Jesus could have called on 10,000 angels to save Him and avenge His enemies, but He came as the perfect Lamb of God, willing to take the curse and humiliation that we might be free from the curse of Sin. Next week we will think about "The Curse".

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