27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.
30 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”
31 And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?'”
32 And He looked around to see the woman who had done this.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5:25-34.
Today, Jesus is not physically present in the same body, capable of being physically touched, as He was at the time of this event of the healing of the woman had a hemorrhage for twelve years. However, today, Jesus is spiritually present with as much power.
Many, if not most or all, of the miracles that were done in that day had the primary purpose of proving that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah and Savior. Today, we do not have that need of such miracles to so establish Jesus Christ’s position, authority, and power. It already was done back then.
But, our need for faith is as great as it was in that day. We need faith for salvation and for eternal life to the extent that all other needs pale into nothing by comparison. “There is none that I desire beside thee.” That is a lesson for which I particularly thank you, Protestant Reformed Churches ministers.
One of you PRC ministers shared the following Psalm 73:23-26 text to comfort in reply to the news and request for prayer concerning the recent death of Blake and Josh, two good friends of my son John.
“23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
Answer. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.”
So, how do we draw the Scripture text and these conclusions together? How do we “touch” Jesus? How do we get this faith?
The following Romans 10:6-17 text answers these questions.
“6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),
7 or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Romans 10:6-17.
In conclusion, we touch Christ, not by somehow ascending up to heaven or down to the abyss, to physically find Christ and physically touch Him. We touch Christ by finding and listening to true and faithful preachers who deliver to us the word of Christ. We touch Christ by reading the Bible. We have faith by hearing the word of Christ. By our hearts, we believe. With our mouths, we confess our faith. Romans 10:10 summarizes it: “ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 