Passing Through, or Pressing Through?

by Brian L. Martin

In the 8th chapter of Luke’s Gospel we read the account of the woman who was healed from a flow of blood. Jesus, having returned from healing the demoniac of the Gaderenes, is met by Jairus, who fell at His feet and begged Jesus to come to his house and heal his dying daughter. As Jesus was passing through the town to Jairus’ house, the woman with the flow of blood came up behind Him and touched the hem of His garment. She was immediately healed. Jesus, having perceived that power had gone out from Him, asked, “Who touched Me?” Peter responded by saying, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

Peter’s point was that, as the crowd was passing through the streets with Jesus, many people had touched Jesus—they had brushed up against Him, bumped shoulders, etc. So why did Jesus ask, “Who touched Me”? Because the touch of the woman was different than the touch of the others in the crowd. She determined to press through the crowd and touch Jesus, in order to receive something from Him. Her touch was intentional, whereas the crowd’s was incidental. Hers was causal, the crowd’s casual. And this is why out of perhaps dozens that “touched” the Lord that day, only the woman is recorded as having received anything from her contact. She realized, apart from the rest of the crowd, that the destination was not where Jesus was going—the destination is Jesus Himself!

In our personal walks with Christ, it is much easier than we may realize to become part of the crowd and pass through life, rather than pressing through to Him. Our Bible study, prayers and church activities can take on a “routine” aspect, and our contact with Jesus becomes incidental, rather than intentional. This is not to say that being part of the crowd following Jesus is undesirable, nor unrewarding. But it was the woman who received power when she made a concerted and determined effort to touch the hem of His garment.

It has been noted that in the culture of that day, not only would a woman never take the initiative to touch a Rabbi, but suffering from a flow of blood she would have to announce herself as being unclean, lest someone else touch her and become ceremonially unclean them self! But she was so desperate for a touch from the Master that she not only pressed through the crowd; she went against the religious “establishment.” I am not advocating rebellion or divisiveness in the church, merely pointing out that at times the “institutionalizing” of our faith becomes the very thing which we must press through in order to touch Christ. Consider this excerpt from an article on worship:

When was the last time you worshipped? You didn’t attend worship—you worshipped. You got higher than the platform, the singers, the preacher—you had an audience, an encounter with God. Worshipping Him is the most significant thing that we can do—it is from worship that everything else flows (service, evangelism, missions, etc.). How often do we really encounter the living God, privately or corporately?

Yes, to be in the crowd following Jesus is a good thing; to have solid Christian habits—regular Bible study, prayer and church attendance—is most certainly desirable as well. But we would do well to examine ourselves from time to time: are we studying to know doctrine, or to know Jesus; in church, do we desire to be comfortable, or do we desire to be challenged to be more Christ like; are we passing through, or pressing through?

If I am honest with myself, I must admit that I am passing through more often than I am pressing through.

How about you?