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Simple faith of touching (Mk 6:53-56)
“And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him.” (v53-54) Luke 5:1 states that Jesus had once preached to the public on the shore of Gennesaret: “as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.” Therefore, as soon as Jesus and the disciples got out of the ship, “straightway” the people recognized him. He was famous in that region for his power of preaching and healing. The people “ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets.” (v55-56) What a boisterous scene!
Since so many people wanted Jesus to treat the sick, some who could not wait to be treated had a simple thinking in their minds: they “besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment”. (v56) Why? Perhaps they have seen some sick people get healed simply by touching him. A striking example is the healing of the woman with 12-year blood disease, who touched his garment secretly from behind and was “straightway” healed (Mark 5:27-29). Just as simple as they thought, “as many as touched him were made whole.” (v56) In other words, whoever had the simple faith of being healed in a simple way would not be disappointed. A simple faith leads to recovery in a simple way.
Sometimes we may have such a complex mind to think that a tough problem needs to be solved in a complex way. We simply forget that for the Lord to handle a complex issue, it’s as simple as merely a touch upon Him. To him, even making a dead person alive is as simple as waking her up from sleep. (Mark 5:41) By a thankful prayer to the Father, he could feed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. By a simple prayer with the Father in the evening, he could walk on the windy sea. Moreover, he quieted the surging sea by simply rebuking the wind and the sea, “Peace, be still.” (Mark 4:39) This time of quieting the surging sea on their way return to the land of Gennesaret is much simpler. He didn’t even have to utter a word: “when they (Jesus and Peter) were come into the ship, the wind ceased.” (Matt 14:32)