I
pray you are keeping up with Mark as we speed through these chapters. We are going to slow down just a bit for a
history lesson.
Do
you ever wonder why people were healed in the New Testament from touching
Jesus’ garment? Matthew, Mark and Luke
all tell the story of the woman with a “discharge of blood” who “touched the
fringe” of Jesus’ garment and was healed (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke
8:43-48). And here in Mark 6:53-56, is
the account of many begging Jesus to just touch the edge of His cloak and being
healed.
If
you are not an Old Testament scholar, you may not recall the Mosaic Law where
God instructed His people regarding the corners, or fringes, of their
garments. Jews were to “Make tassels on
the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord
of blue on the tassel of each corner” as a reminder that they were God’s people
called to keep His commandments (Numbers 15:37-41).
It
seems like a strange instruction until we learn that in the Ancient Near East,
the corner of a person’s garment represented his identity, it was a symbol of
who he was and what he stood for. That
is why Ruth, when she was seeking marriage to Boaz, asked him to spread the
corner of his garment over her (Ruth 3:9).
It was a request for him to identify with her. Don’t miss this; the same Hebrew word means
“wing” or “corner of a garment”. In many
translations make Ruth’s request as, “Spread your wings over your servant.”
When
God spoke of making a covenant with Israel, He pictured Himself as spreading a
corner of His garment over her (Ezekiel 16:8) – a symbol of identifying with
her as His bride. When David cut off a
corner of King Saul’s robe, “afterward David’s heart struck him” (1 Samuel
24:5). These pangs of conscience seem
strange unless we realize that he had defaced an important symbol of Saul’s
identity and divinely authorized kingship.
So
important were the corners of a Jewish man’s garment in ancient Israel that the
Old Testament closes with a prophecy of the Messiah that references the corners
of His garment.
Again, the same word means both “wings” and “corners of a
garment’. At the heart of the Messiah’s
identity would be healing – spiritual and eventually physical – for all who
trusted in Him.
Initially when I began reading this chapter, I focused on “You give them something to eat.” (Mark 6:37). We have to have the faith to feed the
faith. Spurgeon says, “Without Him we can’t.
Without us, He won’t.”
Here’s the point loud and clear! Jesus will give us all we need to meet the
needs of the people around us so long as we recognize our own inadequacy and
trust Him. We all need the healing of
Jesus’ wings. Jesus has compassion on
each and every one of us. We need to “come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some
rest.” (Mark 6:31). Are you
troubled? Are you stressed out? Take time – a lot of time and sink into God’s
word.
I have heard many times these past few months that “we are
all in this together”, and “we’re not in the same boat, but the same
storm”. Ladies, Jesus tells us during
the storm, “Take courage, it is I (in the
storm). Don’t be afraid!” (emphasis mine).
I bet you can come up with a previous difficulty that made
you feel like you were dragged through a knothole sideways; but what got you
through that time? And what did you
learn from it? Jesus is present with us
and will be with us on the other side even though we don’t know what is there. Reach out in faith and touch His wings and He
will shelter you.
I don’t know where your faith has been during the past couple
of months, but I hope you are resting here.
These verses are filled with hope.
Regardless of how it looks like now, God controls the future and
everything will be made right. We who
have loved and served God, look forward to a joyful celebration. This hope for the future becomes ours when we
trust God with our lives.
Blessings,
Lisa
