Rediscover the Bible for Life
“Jesus’ Fringe Benefits”
By Dennis Lee
For twelve years a woman had been plagued with continual bleeding, and the doctors could do nothing, even with all their medicines and medical procedures. One day she heard that Jesus was coming through town and that people hailed Him as the Messiah performing great miracles and healings. So she thought if she could just touch the fringes on the hem of his garment she to could be healed. (Mark 5:27-29; 6:56)
What were these fringes and how could they heal?
God commanded that Jewish men wear fringes on the hem of their garments so that when the people saw them they would remember the Lord God and that He was the one who delivered them.
In the process of putting on these fringes they would tie them with 39 knots signifying the numerical value in the Hebrew language of “The Lord is One.”
But why did his woman and then others believe that if they touched them they would be healed?
It was an act of faith based upon God’s word that there was healing power in the fringes of the Messiah’s cloak.
“But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.” (Malachi 4:2a)
The word for wings is the same Hebrew word used for the hem or corners of a person’s garment, the place where the fringes were put.
So she reached out by faith and touched these fringes and was healed. Immediately Jesus knew that healing power had been dispensed and so He asked, “Who touched My clothes?”
When the woman came forward Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” Notice He didn’t say His fringes, but rather her faith. The fringes were merely the objects by which her faith was released.
While this woman’s faith was immature and imperfect, it was real, and Jesus honored it as He honors such faith today. We really don’t have to have it all figured out to possess a faith that pleases God. That’s why Jesus said that the faith of a little child is all that’s necessary to enter into God’s kingdom.
It’s not in the formulas or philosophies that society or religions present that healings are wrought; rather it is in the simple faith that Jesus is our healer.
Jesus knows how weak our faith often times is when faced with the troubles, trials, and tribulations that come with life. And Jesus also knows that sometimes we need a point of release for our faith, whether it is an object, alter, hands being laid upon us, or whatever it may be where our faith can be released. The only requirement is that we believe that it is Jesus, the Son of God, who is our healer.
Prayer: Lord, I may not know or understand everything, but I continue to believe in You and in Your healing touch. Please, may my faith be released as I symbolically reach out and touch the hem, the fringes of your garment.
