He Touched People
Presence you could feel.
On physical, in-the-room love.
The big idea
Jesus healed with a word when he wanted to. He usually chose to reach out instead.
Opening scripture
“Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, and said: I am willing. Be clean.”
What does “He Touched People” walk through?
He Reached Out And Touched
Mark 1:41 · KJV
And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
In plain English
Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, and said: I am willing. Be clean.
He Did Not Have To
He healed a centurion's servant from another town without moving. So the touching was a choice — and he chose it with a man no one had touched in years.
Moved With Compassion
Matthew 9:36 · KJV
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
In plain English
When he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
“There are things that only transmit in a room. Everyone knows this and we keep testing it anyway.”
Do Not Give Up Meeting
Hebrews 10:25 · KJV
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
In plain English
Don't give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. Encourage one another, all the more as the day approaches.
Presence Does Not Scale
You can encourage many people at a distance. You can only sit with a few. Jesus spent most of his time on the few.
Pray
Jesus, put me in rooms with people rather than near them. Amen.
Write it down
Who have you been keeping up with at a distance who needs you in the room?
Be there
Go and sit with someone this week.
Which passages does this journey use?
3 passages, drawn from Mark 1:41, Matthew 9:36, Hebrews 10:25. Every verse appears here in the King James text with a plain-English line beside it, so you can read it without a commentary open. Allow about 6 minutes for the whole thing, or 7 short sittings.
- Mark 1:41
- Matthew 9:36
- Hebrews 10:25
Read any of these in full on the complete KJV, or look the wording up independently at Blue Letter Bible.
More in The Habits of Jesus
All The Habits of Jesus →He Withdrew To Lonely Places
The habit underneath everything Jesus did.
Before Dawn
What Jesus did before the day could ask anything of him.
He Slept In The Storm
Rest that does not wait for calm.
Interruptible
Jesus kept getting stopped, and kept stopping.
He Asked Questions
Jesus asked far more than he answered.
He Was Never In A Hurry
Urgency was not one of his tools.