“One encounter with Jesus Christ is enough to change you, instantly,
forever”
(Luis Palau)
I was there on the side of
Lake Galilee when I read Mark 5:21-42.
I saw Jesus, his disciples, Jairus and the old woman that I read in this story.
I was among the crowd. I wear my faded jean, blue cap, orange t-shirt and my Flipper slipper. Strangely, the crowd doesn’t
noticed me, perhaps I was invincible to them. But I think Jesus knew.
When I was there, I saw
crowd of people surged around Jesus. Then I saw a man whom people called Jairus,
one of the leaders of the synagogue fought his way through, fell at Jesus’ feet
and begged him for help. The crowd silenced. I can hear him say, “Come to my house, please. My little girl, my
precious only daughter, is dying.” Jesus nod and his band of followers set
off, but the crowd is so large that it became almost impossible to make
headway. I, on the other hand, can easily walk through the crowd. Am I also in
the form of spirit? I don’t know. But I think Jesus knew.
As Jesus and his followers
are pushing their way through, I saw a woman struggling toward them. I read Mark 5:25-25 that I was holding and realised
that she is suffering from continual bleeding for twelve long years, despite
going to doctor after doctor. Their ineffective treatment had cost her every
money she have and she is desperate! She wants Jesus. “This is my chance,” I can hear her thought (I think Jesus allowed
me to hear this). “If I can only touch
Jesus, I’ll be healed.”
Approaching
Jesus from behind so as not to be seen, she push her hand through a dozen of
bodies pressing around Jesus and grabbed his cloak. To our surprise – me and
the woman – her body mend as she stood there and I think she know that her
years of suffering are over. The bleeding have stopped! She is now healed and
religiously clean!
I then looked at Jesus. He
seems like noticing that a surge of power leave him – and he allow me to felt
(a glimpse of) it too. Stop in his tracks he scan the faces in the crowd, pause
for two seconds as he look at me, then proceed his scanning and call out, “Who touched my cloak?”
Everyone, especially his disciples are staggered and say, “The crowd’s wild. Can’t you see them pressing around you? It would be
easier to ask who didn’t touch you.”
But Jesus keep looking from face to face, until the
woman, realising she is found out, come forward, fearing that Jesus would be
angry with her. Falling to her knees before him, she pour out the whole story. “My dear child,” Jesus’ tender voice say, “God has responded to your faith. You are well: no more
suffering for you. Go in peace.” I’m touched by Jesus’ response. I know that Jesus’ insistence to
find out who had touched him was because he wanted the woman to know that it
was her faith that had made her well and not some ‘magic’ resulting from her
touch or Jesus’ cloak.
While all this is happen, I
saw some friends of Jairus arrive and tell the news that his daughter is dead. “There’s no point Jesus coming now,” they
say. Ignoring them, Jesus look Jairus straight in the eye, “Don’t abandon hope. Trust me, and all will be well.”
I follow Jesus and his followers to Jairus’ house. There are uproar, full of
mourners weeping and wailing. Jesus command them all, “Out, all
of you! The girl is not dead, just sleeping.” I looked around to
see the reactions of the people. They laugh at Jesus. He turn them out, leaving
only the girl’s parents to stay in the room, along with his closest friends:
Peter, James and John. Oh ya, I was there too.
“Get up, little one,”
Jesus says, taking the girl by the hand. She sit up and get out of bed and walk
around the room. I was shocked! Jesus raise the dead to life! Her parents and
Jesus’ friends are overcome with joy. Jesus tell both of them to give the girl
something to eat and urge them not to tell anyone what have happened. But news spread
quickly. Jesus then looked at me (though nobody knew that I was there) and
said, “Write this down!”
Was it my imaginations or truly
his gentle voice that whisper for me to write this down? I’m not sure. The safest
and biblical thing to say is that you should read Mark 5:21-43 in the Bible for yourself. Experience Jesus. Witness
his miracles. See his awesome power. How long since you encounters Jesus first hand?
Read the Word. Who know, you might
need a little touch from Jesus or probably a raise from the ‘dead’ from him. Either,
you can never be the same!
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
No comments:
Post a Comment