Be Made Well

Imagine the throng of people on the shore of Galilee. They’ve been waiting for Jesus’ return since early morning, and as He steps from the boat, they press close around Him, following Him into the village of Capernaum. Suddenly, Jairus, ruler of the synagogue, appears and begs Jesus to come to make his daughter well.

One of the people in the crowd is a woman who has been unwell for many years. She’s spent all her money on doctors, but she “was no better, but rather grew worse” (Mark 5:26, NKJV). She’s heard about this great Man of Galilee and, with hope in her heart, gathers what little strength she had to leave her house that morning to join the crowd. The press of the people feels almost suffocating as she inches closer to Jesus. And then, through the pushing and shoving, she sees Him. She encourages herself: “ ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well’ ” (Mark 5:28, NKJV).

This incident shows Jesus’ care and compassion for the sick and lonely, and those usually lost in the crowd. Many that day were pressing close to Jesus’ side as they drifted along with the crowd, but only one intentionally reached out to touch Jesus to receive the blessing she so desperately needed. However, it wasn’t her touch that healed her; it was her faith that made her well (Mark 5:34). “The Saviour could distinguish the touch of faith from the casual contact of the careless throng.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 344. Jesus’ garment held no special power; rather, it was the woman’s faith and her choice to reach out to touch Him that healed her.

That frail woman, in her suffering and distress, could have stayed in bed at home on that morning, but instead, she deliberately sought Jesus out in the hope of healing. Seeing Him at a distance wasn’t enough; she drew close to Him.

Jesus beckons us to do the same today. He says, “ ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls’ ” (Matt. 11:28, 29, NLT).

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Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

Satan is the destroyer; the Lord is the Restorer. The Lord has not worked as a physician in the way that He desires to work, because, He says, Ye will not come to Me, that I may give you life. We look to every source for relief except to the One who proclaimed over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” . . .
Christ met one poor soul who had spent all her living in order that she might be cured of a physical malady. The statement is that she had spent all that she had on many physicians, and was nothing better, but rather made worse. But one touch of Christ by faith took away the infirmity of long years. This suffering woman came behind Christ and touched His garment, [having] faith in the Person whom the garment covered, and instantly she was made whole. “Who touched me?” said Christ. Peter was astonished. He answered, “Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?”
Christ desired to give a lesson that all present would never forget. He would show the difference between the touch of living faith and a casual touch. He said, “Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.” When the woman saw that she could not be hid, she came forward trembling, and throwing herself at His feet, told her pitiful story. Christ comforted her. “Daughter,” He said, “thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
Why do we not come to Jesus in faith? Many give Him a casual touch, coming in contact only with His person. The woman did more than this. She put forth her hand in faith and was healed instantly. . . . The friends of the truth will honor Him who is the Author and Finisher of their faith. Christ will prove Himself a physician in restoring the body as well as the soul. The workers together with God will yoke up with Christ and place themselves, soul, body, and spirit, in right relation to God. . . .
The will of men, women, and children must be trained by cooperation with God. . . . The melody of spiritual joy, and spiritual as well as physical health, will be revealed and will promote that blessedness that the Lord Jesus came to our world to impart to every individual who will believe.—Christ Triumphant, p. 239.