How far will you go?

Read Mark 5:21-43

There are many things that strive for our attention every single day.  Many of them step out in the middle of us going to complete something else.  Jesus' life was no different.  One day, a man named Jarius comes to Jesus and tells Him that his daughter is dying.  Jesus follows Jarius towards his house.  There is a huge crowd around waiting to see what happens next.  Then this woman that has been bleeding for 12 years sees Jesus and makes her way towards Him.  Jewish people recited the Law and the Old testament to their children.  She would have heard many times about "a Son of righteousness with healing in His wings".  This reference is to Messiah, the One we know as Jesus Christ.  The rabbis would wear this garment over their shoulders that represented the presence of God.  Part of it wrapped around their hands (Numbers 15:37-41) and the rest hung off their back.  Therefore, if they stretched their arms out side to side, the garment over their back looked like wings!  Now, these tassels represented the name, ways, character, and the grace of God.
Lets concentrate on the woman now.  She was a Jewish woman, therefore we know that she would know about the prophecy about Messiah mentioned earlier.  If she had been bleeding for 12 years she would have been deemed unclean for years because of the loss of blood.  Another important note is that if you touched or were touched by and unclean person, you were unclean.  If you weren't sure, you could go ask the Temple elders.  If they said you were unclean, which they probably would have found something, you needed to offer a sacrifice.  If you didnt have one, you could buy one from them (conveniently).  But I digress.  So this widely known unclean woman starts trying to get through the crowd.  This next part doesn't make any sense if you look at the rest of Jesus' ministry.  She touches the corner of His garment.  He was a rabbi, so what was there?  TASSELS!!!  This happens, she is instantaneously healed, and Jesus completely loses it.  "Power has left from me!" He says in Luke 8.  Jesus loses His cool and goes aggro because somebody touched His clothes.  The rest of the time, He would just heal them and tell them not to tell anyone.  Why in the world would a Jewish Rabbi want someone to know that an unclean person just touched His clothes?  The answer is coming quickly!
So after the Obi-Wan Kenobi moment, Jesus tells the woman to "Go in peace".  Almost immediately, someone from Jarius' house comes and says "Jarius, your daughter is dead!  Why bother the Rabbi anymore?"  That sounds really insensitive until you know the fact that it was ILLEGAL to let anyone, much less a Rabbi into a room with a dead body.   Wait for it....Wait for it...unless they were already considered unclean by the general public.  Remember: "Who touched Me?!?  Power has left from Me!"
Jesus finally gets to the house where the little girl is at and they let Him in because He's already unclean.  Of course we know that He raised the girl from the dead.
Jesus took His reputation as a Rabbi and threw it in the dirt to save one little girl from the grips of death.  She was dead!  He didn't care.  He was fulfilling the parable of the lost sheep, giving up everything He needed to in order to get back that one sheep that had slipped away, even to death.
How much are we willing to put silly things like our public image down in order to try and show the Love of God to others?  I know people that most have written off as never able to change or be changed.  Someone came along and started loving on them, befriended them, and now they are GIANTS IN THE EYES OF THE ENEMY!  I know it's hard to get to some people.  That's why its not our job to get to them.  We have to love them just as we love ourselves.  When we do that, God takes care of the rest.  If you see someone that looks like they're having a bad day, say something good about them.  If someone's stressed out, tell them they're doing a good job at what they're trying to accomplish.  Give a homeless person a shirt and tell them that Jesus loves them.  God, through the ENTIRE BIBLE!!! wanted us to help the poor and the afflicted.  So much so, when the rich man over looked Lazarus, he got sent to hell for it.  The parable about the man that had more than enough food, what happened to him?  God killed him because of his greed.  Ananias and Saphira, in the book of Acts kept back part of the money they said that they would give for an offering and they dropped dead at Peter's feet.  Go and deal kindly with the people that need the Love of God.

Remember when Jesus was saying, "Get away from me for I do not know you!" (Parable of the Ten Virgins)  Well I'll close out with this.  Jeremiah 22:16 "He dealt kindly with the poor and the needy.  So it will go well with him.  Is this not what it means to know me declares the Lord?"
Grace and Peace be with you all!