The last two weeks we have been studying about the apostle Thomas and his comments and how they disclose to us a very probable aspect of his personality. We saw that by what he said in the following portions of scriptures, it was possible that Thomas was only expressing himself as he saw the situation, as a pragmatic person. “A person who is pragmatic is concerned more with matters of fact than with what could or should be.”
John 11:16, Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
John 14:5, Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
John 20:24-25, “24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
However, we must realize that not all doubt that Jesus addresses is from a pragmatic person. There are instances that Jesus dealt with which involved people who had “little faith” or people with even no faith. The following are the only verses that Jesus uses the phrase “You of little faith…” all of which has nothing to do with a person or persons being pragmatic.
Matthew 6:30 (Luke 12:28), “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
Matthew 8:26, “He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”
Matthew 14:31, “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Matthew 16:8, Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?
Matthew 17:20, “He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
As we read our Bibles, we will come across many instances of people who in spite of the challenging situation that they were facing and the facts that they clearly knew and personally experienced, they did not let these things or pragmatism impede them from having faith and experiencing the miracle from God that they needed in their lives. A very good example is the lady with the bleeding issue found in Mark 5:24-29.
24 A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
There are some important aspects that we need to take into account that this woman did not allow to discourage her from acting on her faith. The first one is obstacle of the “large crowd” that this lady needed to pass through in order to reach Jesus. The second is the twelve years of continual suffering and inconvenience that she experienced because of her bleeding, “had been subject to bleeding for twelve years”. The twelve years of discouragement of not being able to be helped by any doctor, “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors”. The financial challenge to see one doctor after another for twelve years and now her funds were exhausted, “and had spent all she had”. And finally, the fact that her chronic physical condition was getting worse, “yet instead of getting better she grew worse”. All these facts did not impede her action of faith to make the effort to touch Jesus to be healed.
Verse 27 tells us of her act of faith, “When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” What is said about this woman in this verse is not necessarily in chronological order, in spite of this what is important to take into account are the three elements of her faith to be healed. The first point is “When she heard about Jesus”. In many incidents that is recorded in the gospels concerning healing, the person healed heard about Jesus and how they could be healed by Him. Matthew 4:23-25, “23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
What this woman heard about Jesus that caught her attention was that Jesus healed which she obviously needed, so when the opportunity came and she saw Jesus and thought to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”.
A person with little faith, with no faith or who is pragmatic would have probably looked at all the obstacles and negative past experiences and have been dissuaded to act out on the thought of the possibility of being healed by Jesus. However, it is important to understand that a person of faith does take into consideration all the difficult obstacles and facts, they do not outweigh or supersede the fact of their faith, as the woman in this incident to be healed.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us an important fact or element concerning faith. Without hope, faith has no foundation to stand on. The hope of this woman was what she heard about Jesus being able to heal her. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The fact of her healing by Jesus was what she was sure and certain about. What she saw was her healing not the obstacles or the physical facts or circumstances of her condition.
Mark 5:30-34
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?'” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
As result of her action of faith, pushing through the large crowd this lady was healed. Jesus in verse 34 very clearly states why she was healed, “He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.” Jesus, in the same verse, also told her in addition to her healing there were two benefits or blessings, peace and freedom of continued suffering, “Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” These two consequences of illness are many times overlooked by those who are praying for a sick person. The emotional peace that the illness takes from a person. And also, the suffering that the sick person experiences which is not only be physical but also can be financial. However, when the sick person is healed by Jesus along with it always comes the two blessings, peace and freedom.
Pastor John
Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
