The Desire of Ages
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 36: The Touch of Faith
This chapter is based on Matt. 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43;
Luke 8:40-56.
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"My little daughter lieth at the point of death:
I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that
she may be healed; and she shall live."
Illustration ©
Pacific Press Publ. Assoc. |
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Returning from Gergesa to the western shore, Jesus found a
multitude gathered to receive Him, and they greeted Him with joy. He remained
by the seaside for a time, teaching and healing, and then repaired to the house
of Levi-Matthew to meet the publicans at the feast. Here Jairus, the ruler of
the synagogue, found Him. {DA
342.1}
This elder of the Jews came to Jesus in great distress, and
cast himself at His feet, exclaiming, "My little daughter lieth at the
point of death: I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be
healed; and she shall live." {DA 342.2}
Jesus set out at once with the ruler for his home. Though
the disciples had seen so many of His works of mercy, they were surprised at
His compliance with the entreaty of the haughty rabbi; yet they accompanied
their Master, and the people followed, eager and expectant. {DA 342.3}
The ruler's house was not far distant, but Jesus and His
companions advanced slowly, for the crowd pressed Him on every side. The
anxious father was impatient of delay; but Jesus, pitying the people, stopped
now and then to relieve some suffering one, or to comfort a troubled heart. {DA 342.4}
While they were still on the way, a messenger pressed
through the crowd, bearing to Jairus the news that his daughter was dead, and
it was useless to trouble the Master further. The word caught the ear of [343]
Jesus. "Fear not," He said; "believe only, and she shall be made
whole." {DA 342.5}
Jairus pressed closer to the Saviour, and together they
hurried to the ruler's home. Already the hired mourners and flute players were
there, filling the air with their clamor. The presence of the crowd, and the
tumult jarred upon the spirit of Jesus. He tried to silence them, saying,
"Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but
sleepeth." They were indignant at the words of the Stranger. They had seen
the child in the embrace of death, and they laughed Him to scorn. Requiring
them all to leave the house, Jesus took with Him the father and mother of the
maiden, and the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, and together they
entered the chamber of death. {DA 343.1}
Jesus approached the bedside, and, taking the child's hand
in His own, He pronounced softly, in the familiar language of her home, the
words, "Damsel, I say unto thee, arise." {DA 343.2}
Instantly a tremor passed through the unconscious form. The
pulses of life beat again. The lips unclosed with a smile. The eyes opened
widely as if from sleep, and the maiden gazed with wonder on the group beside
her. She arose, and her parents clasped her in their arms, and wept for joy. {DA 343.3}
On the way to the ruler's house, Jesus had met, in the
crowd, a poor woman who for twelve years had suffered from a disease that made
her life a burden. She had spent all her means upon physicians and remedies,
only to be pronounced incurable. But her hopes revived when she heard of the
cures that Christ performed. She felt assured that if she could only go to Him
she would be healed. In weakness and suffering she came to the seaside where He
was teaching, and tried to press through the crowd, but in vain. Again she
followed Him from the house of Levi-Matthew, but was still unable to reach Him.
She had begun to despair, when, in making His way through the multitude, He
came near where she was. {DA
343.4}
The golden opportunity had come. She was in the presence of
the Great Physician! But amid the confusion she could not speak to Him, nor
catch more than a passing glimpse of His figure. Fearful of losing her one
chance of relief, she pressed forward, saying to herself, "If I may but
touch His garment, I shall be whole." As He was passing, she reached
forward, and succeeded in barely touching the border of His garment. But in
that moment she knew that she was healed. In that one touch was concentrated
the faith of her life, and instantly her pain and feebleness gave place to the
vigor of perfect health. [344] {DA 343.5}
With a grateful heart she then tried to withdraw from the
crowd; but suddenly Jesus stopped, and the people halted with Him. He turned,
and looking about asked in a voice distinctly heard above the confusion of the
multitude, "Who touched Me?" The people answered this query with a
look of amazement. Jostled upon all sides, and rudely pressed hither and
thither, as He was, it seemed a strange inquiry. {DA 344.1}
Peter, ever ready to speak, said, "Master, the
multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?"
Jesus answered, "Somebody hath touched Me: for I perceive that virtue is
gone out of Me." The Saviour could distinguish the touch of faith from the
casual contact of the careless throng. Such trust should not be passed without
comment. He would speak to the humble woman words of comfort that would be to
her a wellspring of joy,—words that would be a blessing to His
followers to the close of time. {DA 344.2}
Looking toward the woman, Jesus insisted on knowing who had
touched Him. Finding concealment vain, she came forward tremblingly, [347]
and cast herself at His feet. With grateful tears she told the story of her
suffering, and how she had found relief. Jesus gently said, "Daughter, be
of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." He gave no
opportunity for superstition to claim healing virtue for the mere act of
touching His garments. It was not through the outward contact with Him, but
through the faith which took hold on His divine power, that the cure was
wrought. {DA 344.3}
The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized
no accession of vital power. But when the suffering woman put forth her hand to
touch Him, believing that she would be made whole, she felt the healing virtue.
So in spiritual things. To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without
soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which
accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the
soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the
truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, cannot
receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we
must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which
embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves.
Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who
receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is
life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which
the soul becomes a conquering power. {DA 347.1}
After healing the woman, Jesus desired her to acknowledge
the blessing she had received. The gifts which the gospel offers are not to be
secured by stealth or enjoyed in secret. So the Lord calls upon us for
confession of His goodness. "Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I
am God." Isaiah 43:12. {DA
347.2}
Our confession of His faithfulness is Heaven's chosen agency
for revealing Christ to the world. We are to acknowledge His grace as made
known through the holy men of old; but that which will be most effectual is the
testimony of our own experience. We are witnesses for God as we reveal in
ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life
distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs.
God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked by our own
individuality. These precious acknowledgments to the praise of the glory of His
grace, when supported by a Christ-like life, have an irresistible power that
works for the salvation of souls. [348] {DA 347.3}
When the ten lepers came to Jesus for healing, He bade them
go and show themselves to the priest. On the way they were cleansed, but only
one of them returned to give Him glory. The others went their way, forgetting
Him who had made them whole. How many are still doing the same thing! The Lord
works continually to benefit mankind. He is ever imparting His bounties. He
raises up the sick from beds of languishing, He delivers men from peril which
they do not see, He commissions heavenly angels to save them from calamity, to
guard them from "the pestilence that walketh in darkness" and
"the destruction that wasteth at noonday" (Psalm 91:6); but their
hearts are unimpressed. He has given all the riches of heaven to redeem them,
and yet they are unmindful of His great love. By their ingratitude they close
their hearts against the grace of God. Like the heath in the desert they know
not when good cometh, and their souls inhabit the parched places of the
wilderness. {DA 348.1}
It is for our own benefit to keep every gift of God fresh in
our memory. Thus faith is strengthened to claim and to receive more and more.
There is greater encouragement for us in the least blessing we ourselves
receive from God than in all the accounts we can read of the faith and experience
of others. The soul that responds to the grace of God shall be like a watered
garden. His health shall spring forth speedily; his light shall rise in
obscurity, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon him. Let us then
remember the loving-kindness of the Lord, and the multitude of His tender
mercies. Like the people of Israel, let us set up our stones of witness, and
inscribe upon them the precious story of what God has wrought for us. And as we
review His dealings with us in our pilgrimage, let us, out of hearts melted
with gratitude, declare, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His
benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of
the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people."
Psalm 116:12-14. {DA
348.2}
Click here to read the next chapter:
"The First Evangelists"
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