#278: Just One Touch: The Faith That Reaches Jesus

Go back with me to century one, early first century.

And we're going to put this story in the present tense.

So you're actually there.

We're going back to some rugged hills north of the Sea of Galilee.

There's a small town there named Chorazin.

It's located about two and a half miles northwest of Capernaum.

And Capernaum is the headquarters for Jesus' ministry.

There is a young woman who lives in Chorazin.

Now, Chorazin is more of a town than a grand city.

It's not very large.

There's less than a thousand people there, probably a few hundred.

But there's a young woman who lives there, and her name is Veronica.

And as a preteen, Veronica normally sat with her family in the village synagogue every Sabbath.

And on her 11th birthday, she attended the Sabbath service as she normally did.

But on that day, the synagogue teacher read from what we now call Malachi chapter 4, verse 2.

For you who fear my name, the sun, S-U-N, of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings.

And the rabbi paused and said that the Hebrew word for wings could mean the fringe of a garment.

And he referenced Numbers chapter 15 and Deuteronomy chapter 22, where God commanded the Israelites to wear tassels on the four corners of their outer garments.

They hung at the hem of the robe.

And those tassels were reminders of God's commandments.

And the rabbi said that when the Messiah would come, when the promised Messiah comes, there would be healing in his wings.

That is divine healing in the very tassels of his garment.