When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
~Mark 6:53-56 (ESV)
Tucked away between more well-known stories of Jesus walking on water, miraculously feeding 5000 people, and a confrontation with the Pharisees, is this account of our Lord healing the sick in a place called Gennesaret. It’s almost like a footnote.
It is an account seldom cited, being pushed out of the way by more well known Bible stories. It is not usually the fodder of sermons or devotions.
We don’t have the names or numbers of those who were healed or any details of their stories. Perhaps there were lepers, lame, blind, and demon-possessed – our minds can fill in the blanks. Maybe Jesus even raised some from the dead.
But can you imagine what it must have been like? Can you imagine back then when there was remarkably little medicine and people got sick and had so little hope? When people got sick and were permanently damaged because of it – if they even survived?
Then to reach out touch Jesus’s clothes, and be healed…
Those miracles have new poignancy for us at this time. Maybe you haven’t thought about this side of Jesus in a while, this Jesus who literally left countless miracles in His wake. But in light of what the world is going through now, it’s an astonishing thought.
What a peaceful place to be, in His presence, touching His robe, the mere fringe of His garment, and being healed!
We can no longer touch that garment, but we can come before His throne with our fears and concerns, and we can know the peace of His presence.
These days we see greater stories develop around us and we may feel anonymous, lonely, and perhaps even forgotten in the sea of those getting more attention and those more well known. We feel like a footnote.
But we are no less important to Jesus. He traveled across a stormy sea for these people, but He did so much more for us – He laid down His very life. We have so much more in our grasp than the fringe of a garment – we have His risen glory, His Lordship, and His Holy Spirit.
He is within our grasp for our healing. We bring before Him our broken bodies, spirits, and hearts. The healing doesn’t always look like what we are expecting, but He will most certainly use our situations for His glory. We are assured that we are in the palm of His hand, the shadow of HIs wings.
Come to Him with your fears, your worries, and your brokenness. Come to Him without fear of rejection. He sees you and cares for you. Grasp the fringe of His garment and experience His miraculous love!