Gentleness Is The Healing Touch Of God

The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – GENTLENESS #2

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. There is no law against these things.” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

Our Lord Jesus Christ Heals In Response To Faith

In Mark 5:21-34 NLT says, “21 Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around Him on the shore. 22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet, 23 pleading fervently with Him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.” 24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around Him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind Him through the crowd and touched His robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. 30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31 His disciples said to Him, “Look at this crowd pressing around You. How can You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 But He kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and told Him what she had done. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

In Verse 21 shows our Lord Jesus Christ went back across the Sea of Galilee, probably landing back at Capernaum (Mark 4:35). As always, a large crowd gathered (see also Mark 1:33; 2:2; 3:7, 20; 4:1). The contrast with our Lord Jesus Christ just having been asked to leave the Gerasene region is unmistakable. Unfortunately, although He was popular with the people in Capernaum, they really were no more receptive to His message.

In Verses 22-24 describes the synagogue was the local center of worship and Jairus was a lay person elected as one of the leaders. Jairus held a position of high esteem in the town. For him to fall down before our Lord Jesus Christ and plead for Him to come heal his daughter was a significant and daring act of respect and worship.

We do not know the nature of the young girl’s sickness; apparently nothing had helped her and she would soon die. But Jairus remembered someone who could help – someone whose touch had healed many people in Capernaum (Mark 1:33-34). When Jairus heard that our Lord Jesus Christ had returned to Capernaum, he was among the crowd on the seashore (Mark 5:21). He asked for our Lord Jesus’ touch on his daughter, knowing that if our Lord Jesus Christ were to come, his daughter would live. So our Lord Jesus Christ went with him, with the curious crowd following along.

In Verses 25-26 describes In the crowd that pressed on our Lord Jesus Christ was another person in need of divine help. A woman who had had a hemorrhage (that is, bleeding; this may have been a menstrual or uterine disorder) for twelve years. The bleeding caused the woman to be in a constant condition of ritual uncleanness (see Leviticus 15:25-33). She could not worship in the synagogue, and she could not have normal social relationships, for anyone who came into contact with her would also become unclean. Thus, the woman was treated almost as severely as a leper. She had suffered and become destitute in trying to get a cure. There was no hope for alleviating her suffering, until she heard about our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Verses 27-28 describes the woman worked her way through the crowd and came up behind our Lord Jesus Christ. She knew she only had to touch His clothing and she would be healed. The decision to touch our Lord Jesus’ garment was due to the popular belief that the clothes of a holy man imparted spiritual and healing power (see Mark 6:56; Acts 19:11-12). She may have feared that our Lord Jesus Christ would not touch her if He knew her condition. Or she may have feared that if her disease became known to the crowd, the people who had touched her would be angry at having become unclean unknowingly. The woman knew she could be healed, but she tried to do it as unobtrusively as possible. She thought that she would just get healed and go away.

In Verse 29 describes the moment the woman touched our Lord Jesus’ garment, the bleeding stopped. The disease that had weakened her body for years suddenly disappeared. She felt the difference and knew not only that the pain had stopped, but that she was also completely healed of the disease. What a moment of incredible joy this must have been for this woman!

In Verse 30 describes the healing had been immediate upon the woman’s touch (Mark 5:29); our Lord Jesus’ knowledge of the healing was also immediate. As the woman felt the healing of her body, our Lord Jesus Christ felt the supernatural healing power go out of Him. Someone had touched Him in order to be healed, that person’s faith had allowed the healing to take place, and our Lord Jesus Christ perceived what had happened. Our Lord Jesus’ question, “Who touched my clothes?” had a definite purpose. Whether our Lord Jesus Christ already knew who touched Him or not is inconsequential. What mattered was that our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to establish a relationship with this woman. She had hoped to go away undetected. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having healed her physically, wanted to heal her spiritually as well.

In the meantime, Jairus must have been exasperated; he was already in a hurry due to the severe illness of his daughter. No doubt the slow movement of the crowd was frustrating him. Then, of all things, our Lord Jesus Christ stopped to ask a seemingly silly question. Little did Jairus know that through all these events, he would be learning a valuable lesson about our Lord Jesus’ power.

In Verse 31 describes the disciples were surprised by our Lord Jesus’ question, so their reply seems almost rude. In effect they said, “How can you ask such a ridiculous question? Lots of people are touching you!” They did not understand that our Lord Jesus Christ meant a different kind of touch.

In Verse 32 shows our Lord Jesus looked around – the healed person could not have gone far, for our Lord Jesus Christ had stopped immediately upon being touched. He knew that person was there. In His piercing gaze at the few people nearest Him in the crowd was the unspoken demand that the person come forward. The crowd didn’t understand what was happening, the disciples thought our Lord Jesus Christ was being unreasonable, and Jairus was probably fuming. But one person did understand what our Lord Jesus Christ meant by the question, and she knew she had no choice but to answer.

In Verse 33 describes that the woman told Him what she had done – that she had been unclean and had come jostling through the crowd, that she had dared to touch Him (a man) and did so in her unclean state, that she had hoped to remain undetected, and that she had been healed. To top it off, she had to say all of that in front of a crowd. No wonder the woman was frightened and trembling. According to Jewish law, a man who touched a menstruating woman became ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:19-28). This was true whether her bleeding was normal or, as in this woman’s case, the result of illness. To protect themselves from such defilement, Jewish men carefully avoided touching, speaking to, or even looking at women. By contrast, our Lord Jesus proclaimed to hundreds of people that this “unclean” woman had touched Him – and then He healed her. In our Lord Jesus’ mind, this suffering woman was not to be overlooked. As God’s creation, she deserved attention and respect.

In Mark 5:34 describes that far from being angry, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to the woman in gentle words. She came for healing and received it. But she also received a relationship and peace with God Himself because of her faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ explained that it was not His clothing that had healed her; rather, her faith in reaching out to the one person who could heal her had allowed that healing to take place. She not only had faith, but she had placed her faith in the right person.

The disciples, no doubt, received a profound lesson in the value of planting seeds in even the most unlikely places. The crowd, while seeming to be nothing more than a hindrance on the way, held one pocket of “good soil” in whom our Lord Jesus Christ planted a seed.

King David’s Song Of Praise

In 1 Chronicles 16:8 & 19-22 NLT says, “8 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness.
Let the whole world know what He has done. 19  He said this when you were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. 20  They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. 21  Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf: 22  “Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”

These gentle metaphors speak clearly of the tenderness of God and call us to approach our own wilderness experiences with the same gentleness toward our fellow travelers.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Appears To His Disciples

In John 20:19-23 NLT says “19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said. 20 As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again He said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

In Verse 19 describes that the disciples were still perplexed and apparently had gotten together that night behind locked doors. They probably were discussing the women’s reported sighting of angels, what Peter and John saw at the tomb, and Mary’s astounding claim that she had seen our Lord Jesus Christ. At some point during the day, our Lord Jesus Christ had appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34), and the women had reported the angel’s words that the disciples were to go to Galilee and meet our Lord Jesus Christ there (Matthew 28:7). But for some reason, they did not go; instead they stayed in Jerusalem, afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, our Lord Jesus Christ was standing there among them. Our Lord Jesus Christ could do this because His resurrection and subsequent glorification had altered His bodily form. In this new spiritual form, He was able to transcend all physical barriers. He gave the standard Hebrew greeting, “Peace be with you,” but here it was filled with deeper meaning (see John 14:27; 16:33). Our Lord Jesus Christ would repeat these words in Verse 21.

In Verse 20 describes that due to our Lord Jesus’ sudden, miraculous appearance among them, the disciples at first thought He was a ghost (Luke 24:37). Our Lord Jesus Christ needed to convince them that He, including His touchable physical body, was present with them, so He held out His hands and showed them His side. When they realized who He was, they rejoiced. Our Lord Jesus Christ had said, “Your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see Me again” (John 16:20). Indeed, they were filled with joy.

In Verses 21-23 describes our Lord Jesus Christ gave His peace to them and then commissioned them to be His representatives, even as He had been the Father’s (see John 17:18). Our Lord Jesus Christ again identified Himself with His Father. He told the disciples by whose authority He did His work. Then He gave the task to His disciples of spreading the Gospel message around the world. They were sent with authority from God to preach, teach, and do miracles (see Matthew 28:16-20; Luke 24:47-49).

in essence, to continue across the world what our Lord Jesus Christ had begun in Palestine. Whatever God has asked us to do, remember: (1) Our authority comes from God, and (2) Our Lord Jesus Christ has demonstrated by words and actions how to accomplish the job He has given us. As the Father sent His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ sends his followers . . . (we as Born-Again Christian believers) and us. Our response is to determine from day to day those to whom the Father has sent us.

Before the disciples could carry out this commission, however, they needed the power of the Holy Spirit. And our Lord Jesus Christ gave them this power by breathing into them the Holy Spirit. This act reminds us of what God did to make the first man come alive – He breathed into him (Adam) and he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). There is life in the breath of God. Man was created but did not come alive until God had breathed into him the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). God’s first breath made man different from all other forms of creation. Here, through the breath of our Lord Jesus Christ, God imparted eternal, spiritual life. With this breathing came the power to do God’s will on earth. Amen!

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the disciples their Spirit-powered and Spirit-guided mission-to preach the Good News about Him so that people’s sins might be forgiven. The disciples did not have the power to forgive sins (only God can forgive sins), but Our Lord Jesus Christ gave them the privilege of telling new believers that their sins have been forgiven because they have accepted our Lord Jesus’ message.

All Born-Again Christian believers have this same privilege. We can announce the forgiveness of sin with certainty when we ourselves repent and believe. Those who don’t believe will not experience the forgiveness of sins; their sins will be retained (i.e., not forgiven).

The Widow at Zarephath

In 1 Kings 17-24 NLT says, “17 Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” 19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” 21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! 23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”

In 1 Kings 7:18 says, “What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God?” – A domestic calamity (the death of her son, 1 Kings 17:17) seems to have led the widow to think that the presence of the prophet had drawn God’s attention on this household and, as a consequence, some past sin was revealed (Honor). Without answering her, Elijah took the child, laid him upon his bed, and after an earnest prayer that contained a protest about the justice of God to bring calamity on this widow who had been so hospitable to him, saw the boy come back to life. It is difficult to determine in view of the ancient understanding of time between life and death whether the child was dead, i.e., brain and heart, or was merely not breathing (LaSor). It has been suggested that in “stretching himself upon the child” (1 Kings 17:21) mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was involved (Jones). This view is supported by the Septuagint which states that “he breathed on him three times.” If this technique was used, then we see that through prayer and medical treatment the child lived.

Prologue: Our Lord Jesus Christ Is The Eternal Word

In John 1:1-5. 14 NLT says “1  In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 2  He existed in the beginning with God. 3  God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. 4  The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. 5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. 14 So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

When John in the book of John in the Bible wrote of the beginning, he was paralleling the words of the creation account. John called our Lord Jesus Christ, “the Word.” John did not identify this person immediately, but described His nature and purpose before revealing His name (see John 1:17). As the Word, the Son of God fully conveys and communicates God.

Theologians and philosophers, both Jews and Greeks, used the term “word” in a variety of ways. The Greek term is logos. It could mean a person’s thoughts or reason, or it might refer to a person’s speech, the expression of thoughts. As a philosophical term, logos conveyed the rational principle that governed the universe, even the creative energy that generated the universe. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, “the Word” is described as an agent of creation (Psalm 33:6), the source of God’s message to His people through the prophets (Hosea 1:2), and God’s law, His standard of holiness (Psalm 119:11).

John may have had these ideas in mind, but his description shows clearly that he spoke of our Lord Jesus Christ as a human being he knew and loved (see especially John 1:14), who was at the same time the Creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, and also the living picture of God’s holiness. Our Lord Jesus Christ as the logos reveals God’s mind to us.

By using the expression “He was with God,” John was explaining that the Word (the Son) and God (the Father) already enjoyed an intimate, personal relationship in the beginning. The last verse of the prologue (John 1:18) tells us that the Son was at the Father’s side; and in our Lord Jesus’ special prayer for His followers (including us Born-Again Christian believers) (chapter 17), He expressed that the Father loved Him before the foundation of the world.

Not only was the Son with God, He was Himself God. John’s Gospel, more than most books in the New Testament, asserts our Lord Jesus’ divinity. One of the most compelling reasons to believe the doctrine of the Trinity comes from the fact that it was revealed through a people most likely to reject it outright. In a world populated by many gods, it took the tough-minded Hebrews to clarify the revelation of God’s oneness expressed through “three-in-oneness.”

The second verse of the prologue underscores the truth that the Word, the Son, was in the beginning with God. A wrong teaching called the “Arian heresy” developed in the fourth century of Christianity. Arius, the father of this heresy, was a priest of Alexandria (in Egypt) during the reign of Emperor Constantine. He taught that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was not eternal but was created by the Father. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ was not God by nature. Arius’s views gained some support. At the Church Council in Nicea in A.D. 325, Athanasius defeated Arius in debate and the Nicene Creed was adopted, which established the biblical teaching that our Lord Jesus Christ was “one essence with the Father.” Yet this controversy raged until it was defeated at the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381. This heresy still exists, however, in several cults. Yet John’s Gospel proclaims simply and clearly that the Son of God is coeternal with the Father.

In Verse 3 indicates the New Testament portrays the Son of God as the agent of creation, for all things were created through Him (see 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). Everything came into being through our Lord Jesus Christ and ultimately depends upon Him.

In Verse 4 describes that creation needs to receive life from the Word – for life itself was in Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ gives physical life to all. But He also gives eternal life to all those who believe in Him. The Greek term used for “life” is zoe; in the Gospel of John, it is always used to describe divine, eternal life. Our Lord Jesus Christ used this specific term during the Last Supper when He told His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

The divine life embodied in our Lord Jesus Christ gives light to everyone – revealing divine truth and exposing their sin. Everywhere our Lord Jesus Christ went, He brought light (see John 3:21; 8:12). Light means understanding and moral insight, spiritual vision. But more than just shining or reflecting, the light of our Lord Jesus Christ penetrates and enlightens hearts and minds. Everyone who comes into contact with our Lord Jesus Christ can be enlightened. When our Lord Jesus Christ’s light shines, we see our sin and His glory. We can refuse to see the light and remain in darkness. But whoever responds will be enlightened by our Lord Jesus Christ. He will fill our minds with God’s thoughts. He will guide our path, give us God’s perspective, and drive out the darkness of sin.

In Verse 5 describes that John used the past tense in the previous sentence, saying that our Lord Jesus Christ was the light of all people by virtue of being their Creator; but John shifted to the present tense: the light shines through the darkness. The timeless light has invaded our time, and we can see it in our darkness. As the light shines, it drives away the darkness, for the unsaved world is blinded by the prince of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 5:8). Our Lord Jesus Christ’s light shined to a hardened, darkened humanity – and He continues to shine. But the darkness can never extinguish it. This statement indicates the struggle between the darkness and the light. Unregenerate humanity under the influence of Satan, the prince of darkness, has not accepted the light and even resists the light. Thus, “darkness” indicates ignorance and sin, active rejection of God’s will. Those in darkness reject our Lord Jesus Christ, His light, and His followers. But no matter how deep the darkness, even a small light can drive it back. The power of our Lord Jesus Christ’s light overcomes any darkness in the world.

In John 1:14 describes and indicates in returning to the powerful term used at the beginning of the Gospel, John continues the theme of the prologue. The first thirteen verses summarize “the Word’s” relationship to the world as its rejected Creator, Visitor, Light, and Savior. Yet throughout the opening paragraph, John does not identify the Word as being human, except in the personal pronouns.

The phrase, became human, is striking and arresting, despite its familiarity. Understanding its meaning simply increases our wonder. When our Lord Jesus was born, He was not part man and part God; He was completely human and completely divine (Colossians 2:9). Before our Lord Jesus Christ came, people could know God partially. After our Lord Jesus Christ had come, people could know God fully because He became visible and tangible (Hebrews 1:1-3). Our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form. The two most common errors that people make about our Lord Jesus Christ are minimizing His humanity or minimizing his divinity. Our Lord Jesus Christ is both divine and human (see Philippians 2:5-9). God, in our Lord Jesus Christ, lived on earth among people. The man living with the disciples was God incarnate! John was overwhelmed with that truth. He began his first letter by describing the experience of seeing, touching, and hearing this Word who became flesh and was with them (1 John 1:1-4). In our Lord Jesus Christ, God came to meet with people; through our Lord Jesus Christ we can come to meet with God. John described Him as full of unfailing love and faithfulness.

Glory refers to our Lord Jesus Christ’s divine greatness and shining moral splendor. (For a specific instance of “seeing His glory,” see John 2:11.) This is perhaps the clearest example of what John was thinking when he and two other disciples saw our Lord Jesus’ Transfiguration (see Matthew 17:1-13. Peter spoke of it specifically in 2 Peter 1:16-18). This was the glory of the only Son of the Father. The Son was the Father’s one and only, His unique Son. Although all believers are called “children” (John 1:12-13), our Lord Jesus Christ is one of a kind and enjoys a special relationship with God. Eastern thought teaches a cycle of reincarnation. Many Hindus believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was one in a series of reincarnations of Krishna. But John teaches that our Lord Jesus Christ, as the unique Son of God, has a special glory and an unrivaled, unparalleled, and unrepeatable place of honor.

Sunday by Sunday as we come to worship, we may have confidence that the Bible is true. John and the other witnesses have certified it. May we be as gentle in our ministry of certainty as John is in his reporting it.

Gentleness is God’s demeanor in all of the tender ways He relates to us. He is gentle in His relationships to all His children. It is God’s purpose to counter the heinous crimes of tyrants with gentleness. The world is all too often a brutal and ugly place, but God steps into the world’s terror and horror and gently reminds us of His purpose.

Let me encourage our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, and I want my readers and listeners to be both strong in the faith and sensitive to others’ needs. Because all, we as Born-Again Christian believers are strong in certain areas and weak in others, we constantly need to monitor the effects of our behavior on others.

In these GENTLENESS Series of Podcast, we will learn the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

1. Learn To Humble Ourselves Like A Child – Podcast Gentleness #1
2. How To Receive Healing Touch Of God – Podcast Gentleness #2
3. Know A Way Of Winning Others To Our Lord Jesus Christ – Podcast Gentleness #3
4. Helps Us To Speak Of Friendliness And Cheerfulness – Podcast Gentleness #4
5. Learn The Art Of Ego Displacement – Podcast Gentleness #5

Observation: What do these passages say to you?

Interpretation: What do these passages mean to you?

Application: How do the meaning of these passages apply to you or to your situation?

If you are not sure that you are Born-Again Christian believer, please take a look of one of our ministries, “An Invitation To Meet Our Lord Jesus Christ” at https://homefellowshipchurches.org/an-invitation-to-meet-our-lord-jesus-christ/

Suggested Prayer: Father God, we come into your presence in our Lord Jesus Christ name, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for Your agape love and forgiveness. Thank you Holy Spirit as our Helper and Comforter. Thank you for the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage and strength. We cling, yield, plug-in and tune-in to you Holy Spirit to help us understand God’s Words and obey them, receive Your divine revelation, know the Truth that sets us free, and apply them in our lives, in Jesus name, Amen!

God bless you all and our families!

In Malachi 3:10-12 AMPC says, “10 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it”, says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” [Malachi 2:2.] 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer (insects and plagues) for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruits before the time in the field,” says the Lord of hosts. 12 “And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight”, says the Lord of hosts.

If the people would obey God, giving as they should, God would flood His people with blessings. There would be an overabundance of God’s blessing if He was given what He requested.