Who Touched My Clothes?

Mark 5:30
And Jesus immediately knowing in himself that Power had gone out of him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

I love to wear those designer T-shirts with the cross on them. Whenever I go shopping, I’m looking for some cool shirts with the cross because to me the cross is a reminder of what Jesus did for me. How he took my place, suffered, died, and was raised from the dead so that I might have eternal life. That’s what the cross means to me. What a win-win to look good and represent my faith at the same time.

The problem I keep running into is somebody keeps putting skulls in the cross. Who touched my clothes? There is one brand in particular, Affliction, which has crosses and demonic looking skulls embedded in the cross. Skulls to me represent the dead and the demonic. Now some would argue that the cross is a symbol of death and execution so the too should go together. But I disagree because the cross did not end in permanent death for Jesus but it is a symbol of life to me. When you put a skull with my cross to me you are trying to make permanent what was only temporary.

Who touched my clothes?

Affliction means a condition of pain, suffering, or distress. Why would I want to purchase affliction? Why would I want to put on Affliction? I’m too busy trying to take off Affliction. I’m definitely not going to purchase more Affliction. Why do we purchase Affliction? No I’m not talking about the clothing line; I’m talking about the stuff we purchase that causes pain, suffering, and distress.

There was a woman who had been afflicted for 12 years with bleeding. She had a menstrual cycle for 12 straight years. Because she had been ostracized due to her affliction she was ashamed to see Jesus face to face so she said to herself, “if I can just touch his clothes, I know I will be made whole.”

When she crawled through the crossed and touched his clothes with her affliction, something happened. Her Affliction got on his clothes. The skull touched the cross and immediately Jesus felt his power leave him. He stopped in the middle of the crowd and asked who touched my clothes? The disciples thought he was crazy because everybody in the crowd was making contact with him, but Jesus knew somebody with an Affliction touched his clothes because his Virtue left him. When we have faith and an affliction, Jesus recognizes us when we touch his clothes. Something happens when we take our affliction to the cross.

Jesus said, “Daughter your faith has made you well. For those of us who’ve been wearing affliction or buying affliction and you are tired, here’s what you need to do:

1. Crawl through crowd and touch Jesus. That’s faith. Faith gets God’s attention. Don’t let a crowd stop you from getting help for your affliction.

2. She took her affliction to the cross, not the cross to her affliction. Many of us put more emphasis on sporting our Affliction than we do lifting up the cross. What get’s more attention in your life, your Affliction or your faith. What do people see about you when they meet you? Do they see Affliction written across your chest or do they see the Cross?

3. After we have an encounter with Jesus, we need to go in Peace. Peace is a state of being. The word Shalom means nothing missing, nothing broken. Go in Shalom.

4. Be healed of your affliction. Healing of an Affliction is a continued process. It wasn’t just the disease, but the relationship that needed to be sustained, her self-esteem, her reputation needed to be healed. Deliverance from affliction doesn’t happen overnight. It took this woman 12 years to get to Jesus. Now imagine all the people she was estranged from for 12 years. Imagine how devastated her self-esteem was for 12 years. If you have been afflicted for a long time, give yourself some time to be healed of your affliction. Go to therapy, go to counseling, go to detox, go to church, and be healed of your affliction.

Dear God, thank you for what you did on the cross that healed my affliction. I’m glad that I could bring my affliction to the cross and you healed me. There is still power in the precious blood of the lamb. It was at the cross where I first saw the light and the burdens of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.