Tzitzit

 Happy Sunday!

Matthew 14:35-36 says, "And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole."(KJV).

Did you know that the woman that touched the hem of Jesus' garment while he was on his way to heal Jairus' daughter was not the only person to do so and be healed?  It's true, many others were also healed by using the same method.  There was no magic in the "Tzitzit" the knotted ritual fringes, or tassels of his garment.  Touching the hem of his garment and receiving healing required Faith.  Jesus verified this, "Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”(Luke 8:48 Living Bible).

Let's take a look at how she received her healing...

She HEARD the WORD - "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had HEARD of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment."(Mark 5:25-27 KJV).  Somehow she heard that Jesus had the power to heal. Maybe a neighbor mentioned it, or perhaps she overheard a conversation but she heard the reports and envisioned her own healing.  Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ."(Easy-to-Read Version).

She SPOKE the WORD - "For she SAID, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole."(Mark 5:28 KJV).  She could see herself whole, and her hope is what Faith is made of.  Hebrews 11:1 says, "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead."(Living Bible).  Then she spoke only what she wanted to happen.  Proverbs 18:21 says, "What you SAY can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words."(Good News Translation).

She ACTED on the WORD - James 2:26 says, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."(KJV).  She had to do something.  She had to get information about where Jesus would be.  She had to map out her way there.  And considering it was against the Law for her to be in public with an issue of blood, she may have even had to wear a disguise to conceal her true identity.(Leviticus 15:25-30).  James 1:22 says, " Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves."(Easy-to-Read Version).

She Heard, Spoke, and Acted on the Word, and she got just what she wanted!  "And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague."(Mark 5:29 KJV).

Galatians 3:13-14 says, "Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham’s blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it."(Message).

Love and prayers, Cynthia