When our family lived in Eugene, we attended two Oregon football games at Autzen Stadium. They were a lot of fun and incredibly loud, but there was one thing that had a big impact on the games and the experiences: the crowd. We learned quickly that although the stadium was built to seat over 50,000 people, it was difficult to get around when a lot of those people are trying to leave at the same time. It was even more difficult to try to keep a family of four together during that mass exodus.
In Mark 5, we encounter Jesus in the middle of a crowd on his way to help the dying daughter of Jairus. One woman within that crowd is sick and just wants to make physical contact with the edge of His clothes. She is so convinced of His power that she believes she can be healed through that contact. When she touches the edge of his cloak Jesus asked, “Who touched my clothes?” When I hear the question, I imagine myself back in the concourse of the stadium trying to wade through the flow of the crowd toward the exit. What if I had stopped and said, “Who touched my clothes?” What kind of responses would I get? I would expect sarcasm or laughter or something like the response given by the disciples. So why did He ask the question?
Jesus did not let the important teaching moments pass by unnoticed. Whether it’s a question with an obvious answer or drawing in the sand, Jesus has a way of making people pause and listen. He could have healed the woman without a word, or He could have ignored her and hurried on to His life saving task for the daughter of Jairus. He had just driven a demon out and was on his way to heal a sick girl. Clearly it was a very busy day, yet he stopped and shared this moment with the woman and the entire crowd. She had amazing faith. He had compassion, both on the woman through healing and on the crowd through sharing an unforgettable moment with them. And amazingly it all happens along the way between the two miracles that seem like the point of the story. The most amazing things often happen along the journey.
Brian