Primed: Mark 5:29-32

Jesus knows.  There are times where these are the scariest words I could ever hear.  Maybe you’ve had similar moments.  These words usually pop into my head about 5 seconds after I’ve made the choice to choose sin over righteousness.  My conscience yells at me, reminding me that Jesus knows.  After all, Jesus is God and God knows all.

The unnamed woman feels Jesus’ power flow into her.  Her plan worked.  Her mountainous faith proved true.  After suffering for over a decade, she finally finds relief.  How great that must have felt!

Then, Jesus turns and realizes something happened.  Jesus knows.  He asks, “Who touched me?”  Jesus is God; He knows who touched Him.  He knew the woman planned to touch Him before she did it.  In fact, He knew she would have this plan before she was even born!  Jesus is God.  There is no reason He needs to ask this question.

Why does He ask it, then?  Jesus is an expert at making disciples.  Disciples are not made when answers are given to students lecture style.  Disciples are made when discussions happen and there is a free give-and-take between mentor and mentee.  Disciples are made when the mentor, who knows what is going on, helps the rest figure out what is going on rather than straight up tell them.  Jesus asks the question because He is more concerned about the teachability of the moment than He is concerned about the actual event.

At this point in their relationship, Jesus and His disciples can have a healthy flow of discourse.  When Jesus asks the question, the disciples look around, see the crowd tightly pressed among Jesus, and ask Him how anyone could possibly know who touched who.  It might be more right to say everyone touched everyone else, so how could they possibly know which touch was the important touch to which Jesus is referring.  The disciples unexpectedly find themselves in ignorance, but Jesus knows.

I love it when Jesus teaches a lesson to a specific individual at the same time He teaches a different lesson to a group through the same words.  I love it when these moments come up in my life, too.  It is a great feeling to say something knowing that the group is learning one thing but there is a specific person or a specific couple of people who are getting a personalized message.  Please hear that last comment rightly.  It isn’t about keeping people in the dark.  It is about tailoring messages to individuals so they can understand what they need in the moment.  It’s like teaching parables.  Some people hear the parable; other people hear a greater message within.

In a single question, Jesus makes His disciples realize they missed something.  He primes them to learn.  In the same question, He teaches the unnamed woman she’s been discovered.  He primes her to meet the Son of God for the first time.

Jesus knows.