Touching the Hem

A short devotional reading of Mark 6:53-56

They landed in Gennesaret – on the NW side of Sea of Galilee, just south of Capernaum.

This is the historic land allocation of the Tribe of Naphtali.

In Deuteronomy (33:23), the blessing of Moses to this tribe reads:

“And of Naphtali he said, ‘O Naphtali, sated/abounding with favour, and full of the blessing of the Lord, possess the lake/west and the south.

With this immense blessing, it is no wonder Gennesaret means:  Garden of the Prince.

The Garden recalls the fullness of Eden, sated with favour, full of blessing.

The Prince calls for the Messiah, the Saviour, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

This is a place where the King rules in fullness of majesty, possessing the earth in fullness of blessing.

So Jesus goes to Gennesaret.

The Prince goes to His Garden to bring about the fullness of His reign.

Isaiah 9:6 calls the coming Messiah ‘Prince of Shalom’

Shalom:  That great Hebrew word for wholeness and healing:  Body, Mind, Spirit.

The people in this town recognised him – not just as Jesus the Healer from Nazareth.

But Jesus the Healer from the pages of the prophets.  The coming Messiah.

The coming Prince.  Of Peace.  Comes again to his Garden to walk with his children.

In the cool of the day; and the heat of the day.

The Prince has come to restore.  And you only need to reach out.  To touch his “hem”.

The hem is the tassel on a faithful Jew’s outer clothing.

The same word for tassel is used in Malachi 4:2 “…the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings…”  

The word for “wings” is the same word used for hem or borders in the Books of Moses.

So when Jesus goes to Gennesaret, and heals people who touch the hem of his garment, we know that in multiple ways he is sending signs and signals that the earth’s King is here.

And when the earth’s King is present, all around are sated with favour, and full of the blessing of the LORD.

“Lord Jesus, may we know you are among us: Healing, saving, bringing peace and walking with us.”  AMEN

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