Touching Jesus is a sermon teaching us that no matter what our need, we should come to Jesus and reach out for Him in faith and with a trusting heart.

When we speak of “lifetime,” we generally mean time spent here on Earth. We all have our own individual lives and experiences and no two people’s experiences are going to be exactly alike. There are differences in all of us, one of the wonderful things about being human is that we are all uniquely individual. But there are some things that happen to all of us, as Solomon says, that time passes for everybody. A 24-hour period is the same for everybody, it just depends on what you do with it. For the time we have on Earth, it is the same for everybody. Jesus said the same sun shines on everyone and the same rain falls on everyone. There are just some things that happen to all of us regardless of how good or bad we are.

Good Times and Bad Times

Jesus spoke about the Galileans that were killed at the altar and how their blood was mingled with sacrificial blood. He said that they were not terrible people but if all do not come to the Lord, they will have the same fate. He also mentioned the 18 who died building a tower that collapsed on them. He asks if those workers were worse sinners than anyone else in Jerusalem and that is why it happened to them. He said that was not the case, but unless these people repent, they would likewise perish. He’s saying death comes to everybody.

Every person will see good times and bad times in their lifetime. We will experience joy and mourn, success and stress. This year has been difficult for many of us. We are hoping next year will be better, but it might not be. Things have happened this year that nobody saw coming. But good times and bad times have happened. For all the good times and stressful times, we need a Savior, a firm foundation, a solid rock, you need Jesus, this world needs Jesus. There is no one human action we can take that can solve all our problems. Even if a vaccine for the coronavirus is found, it won’t solve all the other problems we have in this world.

When Jesus walked the Earth, the people had a lot of problems back then, financial problems, family problems, political problems, and health problems. It was true 2,000 years ago and still is true, always has been and always will be.

Praying All Night

People heard about Jesus just like they heard about the people that died at the altar and in the tower collapse. When Jesus came into their area, those people wanted to see and touch Him. People today want to see and touch Jesus. Jesus went into a mountain to pray all night long. If Jesus needed to pray, how much more should we be praying? Jesus knew some big things were about to happen, a major event was about to occur. He went to pray all night to God. It should strike you that Jesus needed to pray and he felt he should pray all night because something major was about to occur.

We need to pray every day, as Paul instructs us to pray without ceasing, pray all the time. Jesus did not always pray all night, but He did when something big was going on that He knew was about to happen. Jesus prayed all night because in the morning He would call his disciples and choose 12 to be His apostles. An apostle is a sent one, one on a mission, similar to being a missionary. To be an apostle you had to be called by Jesus, personally trained by Jesus, and that they would be witnesses to the resurrection.

The Power of Jesus

A great crowd from far away places gathered because they heard that Jesus was there. They came to see and hear Him and to be healed by Him. Even people possessed by demons were healed by Him. The whole multitude sought to touch Him. When they touched Him, there went virtue out of Him and healed them all. In the Old Testament, virtue means honor, courage, and strength. In the Greek New Testament, virtue means power. Power flowed out of Him. There is power that is authority and power that is energy. Jesus has the power to heal and the energy to heal. Part of that power was His holiness and His grace. So after He called the 12 apostles, everyone that touched Him was healed. They all wanted to touch Him and wanted to be healed.

In another instance, after Jesus returned from Gadara across the Sea of Galilee, where He healed someone who had a legion of demons. The demons asked Jesus to cast them into a nearby herd of swine. Jesus allowed it and the herd ran into the sea and drowned, making the owners of the 2,000 swine unhappy. The legion of demons asked to be put into the herd of swine because they thought Jesus was going to send them directly to Hell. Afterward, the people that lived there asked Jesus to leave.

Today, the Holy Spirit helps and guides us. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are gentleman-like in their manners. Jesus doesn’t stay where He is not welcome. Don’t ask the Lord to leave you alone. He’s there because He cares about you, loves you, and wants to do good things for you. When our country says we don’t need God, we are in big trouble. We’ve always needed God and now we need God more than ever. There was never a time we were OK on our own, and there never will be. This is how God works in the lives of men.

Receive or Reject Him

When Jesus returned to the region of Capernaum from Gadara, the people were all gladly waiting for Him. What a contrast, the people Gadara wanted Him to leave and the people around Capernaum could not wait to welcome Him and receive Him. That is the difference that happens in people all the time. You’re either going to welcome the Lord or you’re not. You will either receive Him or turn Him away. You are going to trust Him or you’re not. You either receive him or you’re not. If you’re neutral on the subject, why not receive Him and all He wants to give you — forgiveness of sin, everlasting life, and His presence forevermore. Negatives some people see is to let Jesus control their life, and that’s what people don’t want. They want to do their own thing and do it their way and proceed the way they want to go. God’s way is always going to be the best way.

Jairus, a the ruler of the synagogue in the area, learned Jesus returned and he came and fell at Jesus’ feet and asked that He come to his house where his daughter was dying. As he tried to get to Jesus, throngs of people were around Jesus. A woman with a bleeding disorder for 12 years who had seen doctors who could not heal here. She came behind Jesus and touched the bottom of His robe and was immediately healed. What healed her? She touched the hem of the garment Jesus wore. There wasn’t anything magical about the robe. Jesus asked who had touched Him and Peter answered that everyone was touching Him. Jesus said virtue has gone out of Him for a particular person.

The woman came trembling and fell before Him. She gave her testimony of how she was healed. When you’ve been saved, you ought to tell somebody so they can be saved also. One of the reasons we do public baptisms is to indicate to others that we believe in Him. Jesus told the healed woman to be of good comfort and that her faith had made her whole and to go in peace. When she touched His robe, she believed and it was her faith that made the difference, not the physical touching. The physical touching of Him was the result of her faith. She touched Him because she believed and knew that He could heal her.

The Dying Daughter

Meantime someone notified Jairus that His daughter was dead and not to trouble the Master any longer. That father’s heart must have broken when he got the news. He was trying to do everything he could to save her. But when Jesus heard it, He told the father to fear not, his daughter will be made whole. When Jesus entered the home, He told her family not to weep, that she slept. The people laughed Him to scorn for they all knew she was dead. People even laugh at Jesus today. He was left alone with the daughter and told her to rise and her spirit came back again. He commanded her family to feed her. Her parents were astonished and Jesus told them to tell no one of what was done because of the unbelief, because of those who mocked Him and rejected Him. The parents thought it was all over but it was not.

We learn that we must come to Jesus by faith and trust Him even if the situation looks bleak. For Jairus, the situation looked hopeless for him and to the other people there. We get boldness through the blood of Jesus. You have to believe that Jesus will do what He said He will do and He will.

In I John, John writes that he and the apostles were there with Jesus, they heard Him, they saw Him, they touched Him, the Word of Life who was made visible and they bore witness of Him. God knows your needs. Why not come to Jesus by faith and a trusting heart and touch Jesus with your needs. If you need to be saved, come to Jesus. Is your heart broken, come to Jesus. Health needs, physical needs, financial needs, all needs, come to Jesus. Come to Jesus by faith, reach out and touch Jesus by faith.

Touching Jesus sermon starts with verses from Luke 8:46:

⁴⁶ And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

Matthew 5:44-45:

⁴⁴ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

⁴⁵ That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Luke 13:1-5:

¹ There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

² And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

³ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

⁴ Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

⁵ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 6:12-19:

¹² And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

¹³ And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

¹⁴ Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

¹⁶ And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

¹⁷ And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

¹⁸ And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

¹⁹ And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

Luke 8:40:

⁴⁰ And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.

Psalms 107:2:

² Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Hebrews 10:19-22:

¹⁹ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰ By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

²¹ And having an high priest over the house of God;

²³ Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 11:6:

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I John 1:1-2:

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

² (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

Get in-depth knowledge by viewing or listening to the sermon: Touching Jesus

Touching Jesus Sermon Recommendations

You may also want to listen to or view these sermons:

A House Divided

I Shall Not Want

Photo courtesy www.LumoProject.com.