Matthew 14:35-35 (NIV) And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

When Jesus walked the streets of any of the towns and villages of Israel, many people followed and crowded around Him. Inevitably, the ones closest in proximity to Him came in contact with Him in one way or another. But not everyone who touched Jesus were healed of their diseases. Those that touched Him unintentionally or by accident experienced nothing divine. It was like touching anybody else, even though He was God in the flesh. But there were many who touched Him who experienced divine and miraculous healing. What was the difference in the way that people touched Him?

The secret to touching Jesus can be found by doing the opposite of what most people did who had the incredible opportunity of touching God while He was here on earth. Most people touched Him unintentionally. There was no thought or expectation of receiving anything from Jesus when they touched Him. Therefore, they received nothing. On the other hand, those that touched Him on purpose, with intention, received what they touched Him for. The purposeful and intentional touch that they touched Jesus with demonstrated their belief that in doing so, they would be healed. They had faith that their action would result in something miraculous. The Bible tells us that all who touched Jesus were healed, even when it was just the hem of His garment that they touched (Matthew 14:36, Mark 6:56). His garment didn’t hold any power whatsoever. What made the touch productive and miraculous was the faith that the person exerted that made His power and authority to heal available to them. We even have the story of the woman who had the issue of blood for many years who touched the edge of Jesus’ cloak and was healed. The people in the scripture passage above asked Jesus for permission to touch His garment. This woman touched Him without permission and still was healed. It’s as if her faith literally pulled power from Jesus. The Word of God tells us that Jesus felt power leave Him when she touched Him, and that caused Him to turn around to ask who it was that had touched Him (Mark 5:30). The disciples were quite surprised at this question since there were so many people touching Him, as there was a throng of people pressing in on Him. But only this woman touched Him the right way and only she experienced a miraculous healing.

The question is, how are you touching Jesus? Are you touching Him intentionally or are you just brushing by Him as you put in your time at church without expecting anything from Him? How about when you are away from church? Are you doing what Jesus said and going to a quiet and private place to spend time with Him in prayer, touching Him with your love and devotion to Him or are you just throwing up a quick prayer before you go on to the more important matters of the day? Don’t miss out. Touch Jesus with faith in prayer, in worship and in fellowship with Him all day long and experience His love, His favor and His power to heal you, body, soul and spirit. There is wholeness waiting for you as you touch Him that way.

Pastor Joey Vazquez