Please keep in mind that this and all the studies contained within this website are my own personal studies, they do not necessarily represent my Church's views or my Pastors'... Be blessed!
Changed by His touch, or not? A Study by : Richard P. Duffield
Changed forever
by His touch, or not The decision is ours!
Or better yet: Believe And Receive, Doubt And Miss Out!
Her name was Mary (as
was named many women in her day, after Miriam the sister of Moses)
and she had heard great things about this carpenter. It was almost
13 years now that she had been an outcast, one despised for her
Jewish "uncleanness" .
All she ever got from the doctors were promises and in the end
all she had was an empty pocketbook to show for it. And grief
of course, year after year of grief!
While by the river where she almost constantly stayed for the
last 7 years, she could get together with other "unclean"
women (during the times of their monthly uncleanness) and discuss
the goings on of the day and hear the various teachings that the
Rabbis were expelling from the Temple. Oh how she longed to go
to Temple, she loved God and she knew that if there was one thing
in her life she missed most it was the time she used to spend
at the Temple!
Being unclean by Jewish law she would never be allowed to enter
the Temple again
Never mind that her husband of more than 15 years left her some
8 years ago and her only son had gone to seek his fortune in Egypt
and hadn't been heard of in almost 5 years Alone, that's how she
found herself except for these women who came and went, month
after month, year after year
As many of the "holy ones' were quick to tell her, surely
it was some unspoken sin in her life that kept her with this "issue
of blood". After all they echoed in, what else would be the
cause of such a curse Surely she had something to hide and God
in His all knowing
Greatness was punishing her for it.
Then one day this young woman named Hannah spoke of this young
Galilean, Jesus was his name, a carpenter, who stood up in the
Temple and quoted the great prophet Isaiah and promised to set
the captives free. Why he said he would heal the broken hearted,
that the spirit of the Lord was upon him
Such boldness one had never seen, such confidence that everyone
was amazed!
Hannah had been surprised that anyone could or would say the things
he'd said!
Mary didn't know why but even as she heard the telling of this
story, her spirit within her began to quiver. Could it be that
there was a sliver of hope???
After all these years hope was all she had, and cling to that hope she'd already determined she would!
Not far away at that
same time, Cephus stood amongst a small gathering of men, his
anger and rage boiling within him. How dare that peasant carpenter
from Nazareth try to imply he had any special favor from God!
Didn't the very scriptures bear out that nothing of any value
would come from that miserable city? How could someone be so lifted
up in pride to try and insinuate that he had the power to forgive
sins. What would possess a man to from obscurity come into the
holy Temple and try to say he was anointed of God and that he
had the ability to heal and set people free?
Surely madness or ever worse, demonic possession!
It was a good idea that this man take a wide berth around this
part of town, why the words of Moses himself would demand that
this man be stoned for his insolence!
Cephus certainly did not like or believe in being a violent man
(he'd never so much as lifted a hand in anger before) but surely
this man Jesus had gone too far and by the mercies of God someone
had to put an end to his mad ranting and ravings! The very thought
of the words that this carpenter had spoken forth was enough to
make a good citizen of Israel want to take matters into his own
hands!
In one accord all those present decided that if this lowly carpenter came to their part of town and insisted in making these blasphemous statements they'd resolve the matter as the law of Moses required. They'd have heard more than enough and abided their time as they set their hearts towards the destruction of this insurgent demon possessed peasant called by the name of Jesus.
Time passed and news
had spread quickly about the miracles that the wonderful young
Prophet from Nazareth had been doing. Mary's ears always perked
up and focused on the conversation any time this young Jesus'
name was mentioned. She often inquired as to how one could go
about finding him but it seems no one knew his movements.
Little was known about him except that where he walked, miracles
followed.
Mary had determined already in her heart that if she could find
out where he'd be, any city within the distance her legs could
carry her, there she'd be too and her miracle would surely follow!
Yes, this wonderful young Prophet would without a doubt be the
answer to her many years of prayers. If only she could know where
to find him, if only she could somehow know which road to follow
Mary's hope was now becoming faith. Believing, she now eagerly anticipated her miracle in faith!
Cephus too had been
hearing about the so called miracles. These foolish tales had
only further fueled his hatred for this one called Jesus! Hadn't
this stubborn people ever read or heard read the books of Moses
that clearly showed that Pharaoh's magicians could perform miracles
too? Couldn't they discern that this too was but tricks from the
pit of hell?
His group of men had twice almost found the deceiving young rogue
only to miss him by mere hours.
Yet the stories grew
How could so many be deceived? Surely the people were ripe to
follow any rebel with a sweet tongue, hadn't they just done so
with another so called prophet named Judas and brought destruction
on themselves? Wasn't the city of Sepphoris' burning and the crucifixion
of almost 2000 Jews enough to stop this kind of thinking?
Why not even 30 years had passed and had they already forgotten
what the sting of death by a Roman sword or even worse, the dreaded
Roman crucifix felt like?
The newly reconstructed city should be enough to remind them daily
This Jesus was beginning to become more than just a little dangerous!
Like the plague he was spreading his deadly ways and as such needed
to be stopped and the sooner the better. No longer could Cephus
and his comrades wait to have the troublemaker come to them, there
was definitely a need to take an offensive stance and find this
Jesus by any means and put an end to his uprising!
They decided to send out messengers to every point of the compass
and upon finding his whereabouts they'd notify the others and
meet at wherever he was and put an end to this charade!
Oaths and vows were made to put an end to this dangerous troublemaker
before his treasonous ways placed the very livelihood of the entire
Jewish nation in jeopardy of Roman punishment.
God only knew that these men's intentions were pure Or were they?
Two different stories,
two different people, two totally different perspectives.
They're talking about the same person, the same Jesus! How could
it be?
To one he was hope, he was the answer to prayers. A gift from
God.
To the other he was evil incarnate, he was impending doom to him
and his whole country! A plague that needed to be annihilated!
Yet Jesus' message never varied, it remained the same for all
who heard him.
Both of these two people would eventually touch Jesus' garment,
one would be miraculously healed, the other would experience a
miracle but blinded by his hatred would allow the touch of the
Master's hand to pass him by.
In all actuality they'd both receive exactly what they expected of Jesus, nothing more or nothing less!
Matthew 9:18 While he
was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My
daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and
she will live." 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so
did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve
years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21
She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will
be healed."
22 Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter,"
he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman
was healed from that moment.
23 When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24 he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.
Mary in the verses above
received the healing she was seeking, she knew why she'd made
that trek to that small town so far away from her place at the
river. It was only by God's grace did she even hear that her much
sought after Jesus might be attending the party of a tax collector
named Matthew and even then she knew the news was most likely
too late. How she happened upon him almost a day's walk from where
Matthew stayed was in fact the beginning of her miracle.
She knew even before she could see what all the commotion was
that this was the one people spoke of The very air she was breathing
was energized with a power that could only have been from Jehovah
God Himself!
The crowd was thick, there was little chance that she'd even get
near him except for the fact that she determined in her heart
to push and shove, step on toes, climb, crawl, and scratch but
she'd get close enough to touch him, to receive her miracle!
For nearly 13 years she'd been waiting for this opportunity and
she'd make sure it would not escape her this day! Not even an
earthquake would separate her from her healing she'd already determined
in her heart.
The time came and he was within her sight and she made her move
Look at her story
once again from Luke's Gospel:
Luke 9:40 Now
when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting
him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came
and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house
42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And
a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve
years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him
and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding
stopped.
45 Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied
it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing
against you." 46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched
me; I know that power has gone out from me."
47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
One of the messengers
who'd been sent from Cephus' group of men to this region was present,
he saw things in a totally different perspective than Mary. His
thoughts were captured for all eternity in the following scripture
and having seen all this with his own eyes his comments were that
Jesus was nothing more than the prince of demons
Could he have witnessed the same thing that Mary did? Both were present at the same miracles, however their perspectives couldn't be more diametrically opposed!
Look at the following
scripture, found just after the account by Matthew of Mary's healing
and the raising of the ruler's dead daughter:
Matthew 9:32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed
and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon
was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was
amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in
Israel."
34 But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons."
Didn't Cephus' messenger
see the miracles that God had done through Jesus?
Wasn't there any part of his religious thinking that maybe just
slightly leaned towards believing that this Jesus was in fact
sent from God as he preached?
After all Jewish beliefs were that sickness and death were from
Satan and healings could only come from Jehovah!
What caused him to completely disregard the obvious miracles he'd
just witnessed?
A quote of the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky might sum it up,
"The genuine realist, if he is an unbeliever, will always
find strength and ability to disbelieve in the miraculous, and
if he is confronted with a miracle as an irrefutable fact he would
rather disbelieve his own senses than admit the fact. Faith does
not spring from the miracle, but the miracle from faith."
Be that the case or not, (he would certainly have argued the fact
that he was not only a believer but a devout believer!) his blood
boiled within him at the blatant blasphemy he'd just seen and
he couldn't run quickly enough to tell the others! Surely they
had to get in front of this travelling circus and together they'd
put an end to this madness once and for all. It was getting more
risky as time passed with the large crowds that this fellow was
now attracting!
Hopefully it wasn't too late, with any luck Pilate and his Roman
soldiers hadn't heard too much and even if they had it'd be a
feather in his and Cephus' caps to squelch this rebellion before
it amounted to anything.
Hadn't Israel suffered enough? When would this foolish people
learn that they must stop running after dreams and concentrate
on keeping the fragile peace they now enjoyed?
Didn't his Jewish brethren know that even Roman patience knew it's limits?
Certainly there is a
message for all to discern between the way the two people perceived
the same person! Mary believed and therefore received! Cephus
and his men chose instead to doubt and as a result missed out!
Believe and receive, doubt and miss out!
The one and same Jesus preached the same message to all who'd
listen, to some freedom and miracles came as a result, to others
more bondage to their own hatred was their reward
This same Jesus preaches the same message for all to hear today,
what'll you do with it?
Let's continue on to see what happens to Cephus when he finally touches the hem of Jesus' garment!
John 8:48 The Jews answered
him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan
and demon-possessed?"
49 I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but
I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory
for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.
51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never
see death."
52 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are
demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you
say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did
the prophets. Who do you think you are?" 54 Jesus answered,
If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that
honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have
not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him
not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep
his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it,
and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old,
and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59 Then took they up
stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of
the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by.
As Jesus "disappeared"
while walking through the middle of the crowd, Cephus was enraged!
One minute the blasphemer was right in front of him saying all
of that stuff which everyone had heard and was rightly going to
stone him for and the next he wasn't!
This guy's own mouth had literally signed his own death warrant!
But now he was gone...
A slight brush of clothing is all Cephus felt, he reacted by trying
to grab hold of it but was too late, all he grabbed was thin air,
he's sure it was the rebel but how he got away he couldn't understand!
Can you see that Cephus had just witnessed yet another miracle!?
Jesus vanished into thin air and walked right through the middle
of them and even so Cephus missed the miraculous nature of what
had just happened! Jesus had just vanished into thin air and the
act went right over Cephus' head without him even seeing the miracle
it was!
Cephus had just touched the "hem of his garment" and
all he got for it was more pain in his already ulcerous stomach!
Since this whole thing had begun he'd not slept nor ate properly
with the hatred that was building within him for this rebellious
radical who was hell bent on causing the Jewish people bloodshed
Being a "religious" man and a Pharisee to be exact he
was serious when he made a vow, and his vow was to see this man
dead!
By all that was "holy" he'd see this vow through to
it's fulfillment!
Cephus had touched the hem of Jesus' garment, the same act that healed Mary and countless others but to him it only caused more suffering!
Yet the scripture clearly
says: Luke 6:17 He went down with them and stood on a level place.
A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of
people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast
of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed
of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured,
19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was
coming from him and healing them all.
And again at another occasion just after Jesus walked upon the
sea:
Matthew 14:34 And when they were gone over, they came into the
land of Gennesaret.
35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent
out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all
that were diseased;
36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his
garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
Power was coming from him and healing them all
As many as touched were made perfectly whole
One can see that on
numerous occasions, in different places with many people involved
that by merely touching Jesus' garment, healings and miracles
were manifested!
The Bible clearly states that "as many as touched his
garment was healed or made
whole"! It doesn't say some of them, it says ALL OF THEM!
Indiscriminately!
More than once did Cephus actually get his hands on Jesus' garment, read on and see another incident where the opportunity to be healed, to be delivered, to receive forgiveness presented itself to Cephus and his band of followers and yet went unclaimed, passed them by Instead they got more hatred, more ulcers
John 10:31 Again the
Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them,
"I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For
which of these do you stone me?" 33 We are not stoning you
for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy,
because you, a mere man, claim to be God." 34 Jesus answered
them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are
gods'? 35 If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came--and
the Scripture cannot be broken-- 36 what about the one whom the
Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why
then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's
Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38
But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the
miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is
in me, and I in the Father."
39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
The Bible says he "escaped
their grasp", to say it plainly he simply walked right
through them as he did before, he passed through the midst of
them
How? The actual explanation is withheld within the gospels but we could surmise that their anger and hatred blinded them to the Truth Jesus was (and is) the truth (John 14:6) and their deception blinded them to it! Whatever the case, Jesus walked right past Cephus as well as numerous others and even brushed against a large number of them without the same result as Mary and the countless others who received healings had!
And yet again:
Matthew 26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve,
arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs,
sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now
the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I
kiss is the man; arrest him." 49 Going at once to Jesus,
Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then
the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.
And father down:
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.
Others slapped him 68 and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ.
Who hit you?"
They more than touched him, they bound and arrested him, they
kissed, slapped, hit and restrained him! What is the difference?
Why didn't the mere touch change, heal them as it did countless
others?
While every one who merely touched his garment received wondrous
miracles these who more than touched his clothes, these who actually
laid hands (and lips) on him went without any change for the better!
How can that be? He was (is) God, how could they come into contact
with God and not be changed for the better?
God's word says He is no respecter of persons! (Acts 10:34)
That there is no partiality with God! (Romans 2:11)
If He did it for one, why would He not do it for another? Why indeed
Was there really a person
called Cephus? In reality I don't know, his character in this
study only serves to add reality and life to words on the pages
of a book for the reader to better relate to what took place.
If he didn't exist in reality he certainly existed in the minds
of all those who were present and demanding that Jesus be stoned!
He was present in the consciences of those who demanded that Jesus
be crucified!
Would I be out of line to suggest that he lives to some extent
or the other in you and I today?
Yes, I must admit that he lived in me for most of my life and
some of him can most likely be found in me even to this day! (I
wish it were not so but its often that the truth hurts!)
Can you see and agree that he might be found in you also
to some extent or another?
Remember what I said previously:
BELIEVE AND RECEIVE, DOUBT AND MISS OUT!
In almost every account of every miracle Jesus did throughout
the gospels, Jesus clearly states that it is the person's faith
who's receiving the miracle that made them whole. Where it is
not clearly stated, it is clearly implied! Surely one must agree
that the faith of those healed was significant if they left wherever
they were when Jesus was in the area and flocked to him to simply
touch his garment! If your memory isn't exactly clear on this
go back and read the gospels! Or simply check out Matthew starting
around the 8th chapter and read through to around the 16th You'll
see that there is something important to see here! DON'T MISS
IT!
BELIEVE AND RECEIVE, DOUBT AND MISS OUT!
The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please
God! (Hebrews11:6)
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Oh, I could pound that
subject for a long time but what I really want to do is clearly
show that it is possible to come into the manifest presence of
Almighty God and not be changed for the better as a result!
We know that the Bible says that whatever is not of faith is sin(Romans
14:23)
Would a Just and Perfect God bless that which is not of faith?
I think not
Could He? Not unless He wished to bless sin, isn't that what we
just read? Whatever is not of faith is sin
Can God come down in His awesome power and fill our church and
sinners who don't even know why get slain in the spirit and be
saved? I know it's not impossible because God is God and I'm not
BUT I don't think it's likely! I mean He can have sinners all
over slain in the spirit BUT don't believe for a moment that there
won't be faith involved! Maybe a sliver of faith in that sinner's
heart Maybe a lot of faith and prayers from a God fearing (and
loving) parent Certainly an unlimited amount of possibilities
BUT every one including an element of faith! Faith is and has
always been the key!
BELIEVE AND RECEIVE, DOUBT AND MISS OUT!
Phillip Yancey, a Christian writer penned the following words
which I feel are relevant to this writing, "Jesus never met
a disease that He could not cure, a birth defect that He could
not reverse, a demon that He could not exorcise. But He did meet
skeptics He could not convince and sinners He could not convert.
Forgiveness of sins (and healings) requires an act of will
on the receiver's part, and some who heard Jesus' strongest words
about grace and forgiveness turned away unrepentant."
The "act of will" required to receive a miracle of
God is unquestionably FAITH!
You'd certainly have to agree that the Pharisees saw more than
their share of miracles, the raising of Lazarus in John's gospel
(11th Chapter) was the "straw that broke the camel's back"
in their eyes! They decided that such blatant proof (Lazarus
walking around after being dead for 4 days) of Jesus' miraculous
abilities was not acceptable and they conspired to kill Lazarus
(again) and the death of Jesus became a priority from that
point onward!
Having seen the miracles first hand, they still would not accept
Jesus as their Messiah!
How many miracles have you asked God for in your lifetime?
Did you always ask in faith? When you asked, did you continue
to "check" if you'd received the answer to your prayer
or not? Didn't Jesus say if we asked in faith, without doubting,
we could tell the mountain to go jump in the ocean? (Matt. 21:21)
He said ask in FAITH, without DOUBT!
Have you ever experienced a healing? How many times did you "check"
whatever was healed to make sure the healing "held"?
What would you call that? Doubt maybe?
Will God always grant our petitions? The word of God clearly shows
us that there are going to be times when our prayers will go unanswered
in our eyes (There'll be an answer in fact but it will not
match up with our anticipated answer and as such we'll dismiss
it as being unanswered!)
James in the 4th chapter of his epistle tells us that we have
not because we ask not, or we ask amiss
The big secret to seeing our prayers answered?
1. Ask according to God's will.
1. Ask in faith! (faith as a mustard seed will suffice says Jesus
Himself)
1. Do not doubt!
That's it! No big secret! Is it hard to do? Not really but we make it hard by not sticking to the formula! Ask according to God's will, ask in faith, and do not doubt! That's it!
Changed forever by
His touch, or not The decision is ours!
Can you see that in every situation there are at least 2 ways to look at things, two ways that are completely opposite, and countless other variations of the 2 main ways
We could say "optimistic" or "pessimistic", black or white, good or bad, yes or no, believe or doubt
What'll it be? Will you continue doing the same thing and expect different results?
A great man of God (Thomas E. Smith Sr.) once said that the definition of insanity is that very premise!
Will you simply realize that this entire paper was written to make you think and understand that we have a MAJOR part to play in how the touch of God effects us?
If we always expect, if we come in faith, if we trust Him to do the miraculous in our lives at all times we will not be disappointed! It is our faith that moves the hand of God!
Expectation, faith, and no doubt (trust God to back up His word EVERY time) and receive!
He longs to fulfill our petitions when they are according to His will, He loves us, that's why!
Jesus on more than one occasion made a miracle as a result of someone's faith even when He didn't originally intend to! He did it before, He'll do it again!
He added years to King Hezekiah's life after He'd determined to take it sooner! (2 Kings 20:1-6)
He would have destroyed the children of Israel had not Moses intervened! (Exodus 32:10-14)
Many places in the Bible God did something contrary to what He had intended to do as a result of one or more of His children's faith in His mercy! I'll say it again, FAITH MOVES THE HAND OF GOD!
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)
He never intended to change the water into wine, read John's gospel, the 2nd chapter! He said it was not yet His time yet He moved as a result of his mother's faith in Him!
Over and over in the Old and New Testament we can find examples!
Need I say more?
BELIEVE AND RECEIVE, DOUBT AND MISS OUT!
Raise up the level of your faith! The time is now! The decision is yours!
You decide if you'll have the faith of Mary or of Cephus, will you rise to the occasion?
When He passes by, will you grab His garment for your miracle or grab thin air?
Changed forever by His touch, or not The decision is ours!
BELIEVE AND RECEIVE, DOUBT AND MISS OUT!
Please feel free to copy or reproduce this in any form the Lord might lead you.
I pray this study has caused you to think about how serious this subject is and how important it is for us to do our part even as He does His! He gave everything that we might have such an opportunity as we have, any efforts we expend on His behalf are worth it!
I truly pray this study has blessed you!
Ever in His service,
Richard P. Duffield Jr.
(If you enjoyed this study, if you have comments, criticisms, or anything else to say please feel free to let me know!)