Scripture Daily

Context No. 3263 of 4322 · Luke

Context · Reflection

Luke 8:45-49: in context

45Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 46But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” 47When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 48He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” 49While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.”

As Jesus makes his way through a pressing crowd, a sick woman touches the edge of his garment and is instantly healed. Jesus stops and asks, who touched me? Peter protests that the whole multitude is jostling him, but Jesus says, someone touched me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me. The woman, trembling, comes and confesses before everyone, and he tells her, your faith has made you well.

In a crowd where many press against Jesus, one woman touches him in faith, and that touch is different from all the rest. He asks who touched me not because he does not know, but because he wants her hidden faith brought into the open. The crowd merely pressed; she reached out believing, and she alone was healed. Nearness to Jesus in a crowd is not the same as faith that actually reaches for him. And he draws her trembling confession into the light and calls her daughter, honoring the faith others would have overlooked. He wants not anonymous proximity but personal, trusting contact.

Am I merely part of the crowd pressing near Jesus, or do I reach out to him in personal, trusting faith that he would draw into the open?

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