His Touch • Mark 5

To a man filled with screaming demons

You stop and ask his name.

Once he was free 

You told him to go to his 

home and family and tell them

about Your mercy and all You had done.

To a woman who had been unclean

for so long, who had dared to touch Your robe,

You did not let her slink away.

You sought her out, acknowledging her faith,

urging her to step out into health and freedom.

To the suffering man, who was just told 

his daughter had died,

You calmly told him to ignore the crowd and to trust You.

Gently, You led him to her

as you raised her up into new life.

Chaos becomes Calm

Hopeless becomes Hope Full

Unclean becomes Clean

Dead becomes Alive

At the touch of Your hand.

Jesus asked him, "Tell me your name."    

He replied, "My name is Mob. I'm a rioting mob."

They came up to Jesus and saw 

the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes 

and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man. 

Jesus said, "Go home to your own people. 

Tell them your story—what the Master did, 

how he had mercy on you."

She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. 

She was thinking to herself, 

"If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well." 

The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. 

She could feel the change and 

knew her plague was over and done with. 

Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith,

and now you're healed and whole. 

Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague." 

While he was still talking, 

some people came from the leader's house and told him, 

"Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?"

Jesus overheard what they were talking about 

and said to the leader, "Don't listen to them; just trust me." 

He clasped the girl's hand and said, 

"Talitha koum," which means, 

"Little girl, get up." 

At that, she was up and walking around!

Excerpts from Mark 5 in The Message