Does it matter who we are seen with? How important is it to protect our image?
In Mark Chapter 2 Matthew had called together the local crowd for a celebration. He was giving up the tax-collecting business to work for the Christ. What a reason to celebrate!
However, the Scribes and the Pharisees saw things in a different light. They saw status and image, and things didn’t look good to them. They asked, “How is it that this Jesus eats with publicans and sinners?”
They didn’t get Jesus’ purpose on this earth. They could not get past their private interests and prejudices.
Jesus had the perfect retort. In Verse 17 he said to them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but rather those who are sick. I do not come to those who know the way to live, but instead to those who don’t.”
On another occasion, the Pharisees tried to catch him out. It was the Sabbath, and they skulked about until they found a man with a withered hand, hoping to catch the Messiah in a moment of compassion.
They still did not understand that Jesus’ concern for the weak and injured knew no bounds. Jesus was well-aware of the Pharisees’ skullduggery, and in Mark 3:4-5, he called out to them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath, to do good or evil for this man?”
Then Jesus reached his hand out anyway, and the man was healed.
Jesus did not try to keep his message a secret, either. In Mark 4:1 a great multitude gathered. The numbers were so large that he had to enter a boat and teach them from on the Sea of Galilee.
The Jewish blue-bloods had fallen down on the job. Not only had they not managed to slow Jesus down, the crowds drew to him in even greater numbers.
Mark 5:28-34 brings the intimate nature of Jesus’ ministry home. It puts his call on a manageable level, one we can identify with personally.
This passage tells of the woman with the issue of blood. Although the Scriptures do not say, tradition suggests her name might have been Veronica. For twelve years she had suffered.
Her faith is expressed in her simple belief that if she could just touch Jesus’ clothing, she would be healed.
When Jesus felt the healing flow from him, he told her, “Your faith has made you whole.” He didn’t stop there, though. He also told her to go in peace, for this was his way of showing that his truth wasn’t just about the physical world, but about the spiritual as well. His principal purpose on this world was not to minister to the physical, but also to redeem the spiritual.
Jesus achieved his purpose. He did one without leaving the other undone.
In this life, we are Christ’s hands extended. To whom have we reached out today?
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