There is a growing concern for health. Many lives are being threatened by all kinds of sicknesses and diseases and these terrify many. What is the hope of those who are so threatened? The prophet Malachi, looking into the future, revealed the hopelessness and helplessness of the wicked, yet he said, “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” (Mal. 4:2) The “sun of righteousness” is a metaphor that refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Even Isaiah, prophesying the birth of the Son of God, referred to Jesus as the “great light” that has dawned on those living in the land of the shadow of death (Isa. 9:2).
And Jesus was to come with healing in his wings. These wings are not the kind that birds use to fly. Rather, these wings refer to the tassels in the garments of the Lord Jesus. God himself commanded the Israelites, saying, “Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes” (Num. 15:38-39). These tassels on the wings of the garments are to be a reminder of the Lord’s commands and to trust in him as the healer, for he said further, “For I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).
To better understand the healing that comes from the wings of the garment of Jesus, we need to take a look at the case of the woman who was bleeding for twelve long years. We are told that she had sought the help of doctors, but they were not of any help. She was under their care for twelve years and spent all that she had, yet never got better. Instead, her situation became worse. When she heard about Jesus passing by, she went behind him and touched the edge of Jesus’ clothes, saying to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed” (Matt. 9:21). Immediately, her bleeding stopped. It was a miraculous healing. Jesus immediately knew that someone was healed and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30)
Was Jesus unreasonable in asking who touched his clothes? At first it appears that way, since Peter had to remind him that people were crowding against him and many were touching him. However, Jesus was not referring to the upper part of his garments, but its wings. It was the wings, or the tassels, that the woman had her eyes on. In spite of the crowd, she was determined to touch the wings of Jesus’ clothes. She knew that if she was able to do so, then healing would come. Indeed, her faith was rewarded. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5:34).
The healing that came by touching the wings of the clothes of Jesus was not the result of magic. No one should be going around looking for the wings of the garment of Jesus hoping to be healed. There is no such garment now. As Jesus said, it was the faith of the woman that made her well. But did the woman put her faith in the wings of the garment of Jesus? No! As mentioned in Numbers 15:39, the wings are a reminder of the commands of the Lord. By touching the wings, the woman actually wanted to connect with the commands of the Lord and be reminded that if she would only put her faith in the Lord, she will be healed. It was her faith in the Word that made her well.
Imagine her feelings after she was healed after suffering a great deal under the hands of the doctors for twelve years. Surely she was like a calf that leaps upon being released from the stall, as mentioned in Malachi 4:2. This was also the experience of the lame man at the gate of the temple, who was healed when Peter and John said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). The man stood up, walking, jumping and praising God. What a feeling of joy for one who had been freed from being imprisoned by physical infirmities.
There are no more tassels, or wings, to touch and remind us of the commands of the Lord, but we now have the Bible to take the place of the tassels. Everyone who is sick should endeavour to connect with God, our great healer, through his Word. Through the Word, we will come to know that the Lord is our great healer, for “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Be healed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
