Today’s message is titled, “When You Touch What Is Unclean.” Let me briefly explain today’s passage. Jesus was on His way to someone’s house. Why was He going there? He had been asked to come and raise someone who had died. For those who do not yet know Jesus well, it may be hard to understand when we say that He raises the dead. But such signs and amazing works truly happen in Jesus Christ. As Jesus was on His way, a large crowd gathered around Him. Why? Because He was on His way to raise the dead. A great crowd followed Him. So people were pressing in from every side, and the whole crowd was moving together with Him.

But suddenly, Jesus turned around and said, “Who touched My clothes?” To the disciples, it must have seemed like a very strange question. Why? Because so many people were following Him, and people were touching Jesus from every side. They were pushing and being pushed, so of course their bodies were bumping into Him. Yet Jesus asked, “Who touched My clothes?”

The disciples did not understand why Jesus asked such a question. But one person knew. There was a woman who had touched the hem of Jesus’ garment with a very special faith. She confessed that she was the one who had done it. This woman already knew something. The moment she touched Jesus’ clothes, something changed in her. And what was that change? At that very moment, the illness she had kept hidden was healed.

Then what was her sickness? It was a discharge. More specifically, it was a flow of blood. She was suffering from a sickness in which blood kept flowing. Normally, a woman experiences bleeding once a month. But for her, it did not stop. It continued on and on. How painful and distressing that must have been. She suffered like that for twelve years. She spent a great deal of money trying to be healed. She spent everything she had. And even more than that, because she was in such a condition, everyday life must have been impossible for her. We do not know whether she was married or not, but married life would also have been impossible. There is a good chance she did not have children either. So as a woman, she was living an extremely painful and miserable life.

And there was one more thing added to her suffering. These days, even when someone coughs, people look at that person with concern, so it is not easy to feel at ease. Of course, we do need to be careful with one another. But in winter, many people cough. Some have an ordinary cold, and some have asthma. Still, in a situation like this, even the fact that someone has a cold can make others uncomfortable, so everyone becomes very cautious. But the flow of blood this woman had at that time was even more serious than that. A flow of blood does not spread to other people. But under the Law given to Israel, a woman with a flow of blood, that is, a woman whose body kept bleeding, was regarded as “unclean.” This was not simply a matter of being unsanitary or not clean in a hygienic sense. It meant she was unclean before God. She was not clean. So attending worship to serve God, or entering a place where people had gathered, was something she could not even imagine.

For the Israelites, to be unclean meant that a person could not come before God and could not be with the people of God. That person had to be separated, almost like someone with a contagious disease. And uncleanness spreads. The discharge itself, the flow of blood itself, was not contagious. But once someone was judged to be “unclean,” that uncleanness itself could spread. So whoever came into contact with an unclean person would also become unclean. This is clearly written in the Old Testament.

First, let me briefly explain the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible that we Christians read is divided into two large parts. There is the New Testament, and there is the Old Testament. The New Testament is shorter, while the Old Testament makes up the larger part of the Bible. And the Bible is not just one book. It is a collection of sixty-six books. These books were written at different times, and they were written by different people. So when they are gathered together into one Bible, it is easy to think that one person wrote it all, or that one person edited it all together. But that is not the case. The Old Testament is made up of thirty-nine books, and the New Testament is made up of twenty-seven books.

The essence of our faith, the standard of our faith, and the meaning of our faith are all contained here. Our Christian faith comes from what is written in the Bible. The Bible is the standard by which we judge whether an act of faith is right or wrong. For example, when we lay hands on the sick, believing that they will recover, we do so because that promise is written in this Bible.

Before I believed in Jesus, I used to look down on the Bible and say, “Isn’t this just a book you Christians wrote?” So whenever someone tried to speak to me with the Bible, I would say, “Do not bring the Bible to me!” Why? Because I thought it was a book you people had made up. But let me make one thing clear. The Old Testament is the book used by the Jews. This same Old Testament is still used in Judaism today. But Judaism does not acknowledge Christianity. It does not acknowledge us at all. In fact, in the past, they even tried to kill Christians, saying they were blasphemers. And yet we Christians have taken that very Scripture, which could be seen as someone else’s sacred book, and included it in our own Bible and believe it.

Let me read to you from Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament. Leviticus records the ordinances for serving God, and also the ordinances for how God’s people were to live with one another. The flow of blood I just mentioned belongs to what the Bible calls a discharge, and Leviticus 15 speaks about a discharge. This is what is written from Leviticus 15:1.

Leviticus 15:1–5 says:

“The LORD also spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. Every bed is unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.”’”

Did you see that? It says that the bed on which this unclean person lies becomes unclean. And then it says that anyone who sits on that bed also becomes unclean. Isn’t that highly contagious? In other words, originally, I am not an unclean person. I am a clean person. But if I simply sit on the bed where an unclean person sat, if my body just touches it, then I also become unclean. Uncleanness keeps spreading.

“He who sits on anything on which he who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.” (Leviticus 15:6–11)

So what happens if you shake hands with someone who has a discharge? You become unclean. Or suppose that person touches my body or touches my clothes. Then I also become unclean. For example, if this person were a priest, and it was his turn to go before God and offer sacrifices, he would not be able to do it. Why? Because he would be unclean until evening.

Then what should be done with an earthen vessel that someone with a discharge has touched? It must be broken. And it says, “The vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water” (Leviticus 15:12).

From verse 19, it speaks specifically about when a woman has a discharge, and when that discharge is blood.

“If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.”

Then what should be done with this woman who had a discharge? She would have to be separated, wouldn’t she? Even today, when a contagious disease is spreading, people are placed in quarantine, aren’t they? In the same way, at that time, she was a woman who had to be separated.

There is a certain principle in this world. When something clean and something unclean meet, does the dirty thing become clean, or does the clean thing become dirty? We may wonder why there has to be such a principle. But when a clean plate comes into contact with filthy waste, the waste does not become clean. The clean plate becomes dirty. That is the principle of this world. There is nothing in this world that is different from this. If you put a clean apple together with a rotten apple, does the rotten apple become clean? No. The rotten apple affects the clean apple, and soon the clean apple also begins to rot.

There is also a saying in economics: “Bad money drives out good money.” What does this mean? Long ago, when people used gold coins, the purity of the gold was supposed to be 99.9 percent. But some people lowered the purity a little. For example, they made gold coins that were only 80 percent pure. They probably thought, “This should be good enough.”

But as time passed, what happened to the gold coins in the market? Which coins were left circulating? Only the 80 percent gold coins remained in circulation. Then what happened to the 99.9 percent gold coins? People stored them all away in their homes. So the 99.9 percent gold coins completely disappeared from the market. That is where the saying comes from: “Bad money drives out good money.”

This is the principle of the world. When something bad appears, it quickly sweeps away what is good. For example, suppose cheap red pepper powder is made. As time goes by, restaurants in the market begin using the cheaper powder, even if it is not good for hygiene. The world keeps moving in that direction.

In physics, there is also something called entropy. Entropy means that things keep moving toward disorder. They move from order to disorder. For example, suppose you arrange the stones neatly on a Go board. Time passes. Then, after about ten years, you come back and look at it. Would the stones be arranged more neatly, or would they be scattered? Most likely, they would be scattered. The wind may have blown, or someone may have passed by and bumped into it. Now imagine shaking it. While it is being shaken, would the stones line up neatly in a row? That would be difficult, wouldn’t it? Instead, they would become more disordered. This is how the molecules in the world move. All material things are made up of molecules, and those molecules gradually spread out and become disordered.

In the same way, in this world, when order and disorder meet, everything becomes disordered. And when death and life meet, who wins? It would be wonderful if life overcame death, but in the end, death covers everything, and people leave this world. In this world, that is the principle. The dirty swallows up the clean. This is the principle of the world.

So the Law from Leviticus is for living in this world. It is a law needed while we live in this world with a physical body. So when there is a risk of infection, or when uncleanness may spread, the person must be separated. That is the law of this world. In the same way, the Law in the Old Testament, which the Israelites kept, was also a law that was valid only within this world.

But then, a woman who was bleeding came into the crowd. Was that the right thing to do, or the wrong thing to do? She could make others unclean. But the people did not know. They did not know that she was an unclean woman, so as they pushed against one another, their bodies may have touched her. And yet, this woman dared to try to touch someone on purpose.

If she knew she was unclean, she should have kept herself separated. Would she go to someone on purpose and touch him? Was she trying to make that person unclean too? Wasn’t that a very inconsiderate thing to do? And yet that is what she did. If someone today had been confirmed to have a contagious disease, and that person deliberately went around shaking hands with people, wouldn’t everyone criticize that person? That was the kind of situation she was in. So this woman could not say that she had a discharge. She could not say anything about it. She pretended as if nothing was wrong, came up from behind, and touched Jesus’ clothes.

Then shouldn’t Jesus have become unclean? According to the law of this world, Jesus should have become unclean. But what happened?

Here, something amazing happened. The moment this unclean woman touched Jesus’ garment, her uncleanness disappeared. The discharge that had tormented her for twelve years completely disappeared. The bleeding stopped. So she felt it right away: “Ah, I am healed!”

But she could not talk about this. If she revealed that she had entered the crowd while unclean, she would have been rebuked. But Jesus knew first. That is why He deliberately asked, “Who touched Me?” He knew everything, but He asked.

This woman confessed. She could have chosen not to confess. She could have pretended until the end that it was not her. If she had done that, she may have been healed of her sickness at that time, but she would not have heard the word that the Lord spoke next.

When this woman came before the Lord and told Him the whole truth about what had happened to her, Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” So she was not only healed in her body; her soul was also saved.

Why? Because this woman did not see Jesus as just one person among the many people in this world. She saw Him as God. That is why her faith saved her.

If He had belonged to this world, then the moment the woman touched Him, Jesus would have become unclean. But Jesus does not belong to this world. Rather, He is the One who can make all unclean things holy by touching them, by coming into contact with them. Jesus is God. Everyone who meets Him experiences this: the dead are raised, the sick are healed, those who were in disorder are brought into order, and those who were in despair receive hope.

It is the same today. If you meet Jesus today, the same thing happens. That is why, even in a situation where a contagious disease is spreading like this, we who believe in Jesus can have peace. Why is that?

Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” We must not fear those who kill our body. They may kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. But God can destroy not only the body but also the soul. So the One we must truly fear is God, not things that merely cause this body, which will die anyway, to die a little earlier. Fundamentally, this is the faith we have.

And then He said, “These signs will follow those who believe: In My name you will cast out demons, you will speak with new tongues, and if you lay hands on the sick, they will recover.” And the word we need to pay close attention to next is this: “If they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” He said that even if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them. There are words like virus and bacteria, aren’t there? The word “bacteria” refers to germs. Then what is a virus? It originally means poison. But the Lord said, “If they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” (Mark 16:18) That is why we who believe in Jesus are bold.

And just now, when this unclean person touched the body of Jesus, Jesus did not become unclean. Instead, the life of Jesus came upon this unclean person, and the unclean one became holy. Even if a virus comes into contact with Jesus, Jesus is not harmed by it. Rather, that unclean thing dies by the power of Jesus.

What is amazing is that we who believe in Jesus have been changed through baptism. What kind of change is it? By believing in Jesus and being baptized, we become one with Jesus Christ. We become the body of Jesus Christ. We become one with Him. So now, I do not exist separately on my own. I am a member connected to Jesus, like one of His fingers or toes. So if an unclean person meets me, if that person comes into contact with me, what happens? People of the world are afraid that they may be infected. But when an unclean person comes into contact with us, that person is changed. That person is healed. I am not the one who becomes infected; that person is the one who is healed. Why? Because I am a person who has become one with Jesus.

This is the kind of faith Jesus wants us to have. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Those who believe are to go out and preach the gospel to every creature! Then the Lord works with them and confirms the word through signs. And what are signs that follow after this? “In My name they will cast out demons; they will heal the sick; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” That is what He said. So when we touch the unclean, we do not become unclean. Rather, we can make the unclean clean, when we have become part of Jesus.

So among those here who have not yet become one with Jesus, if there is anyone who says, “Ah, these days I am so afraid,” then quickly become one with Jesus. How do you become one with Him? Be baptized. Be baptized in the name of Jesus. You may say, “I have not learned much yet, but I truly want to become one with Jesus! I want to become part of Jesus!” Then no matter how unclean something may be, even if it comes and touches you, you will not become unclean. Rather, by the holiness of Jesus, you can influence it.

Beloved, let us become one with Jesus. Then there is no need to be afraid. “If they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” Rather, the moment something unclean comes into contact with the body of Jesus, it will be changed and made holy and clean. Faith in Jesus is powerful. It is not ruled by fear. That is why those who believe in Jesus can do things that people of the world would not even dare to imagine.

In the past, when the Black Death was spreading through Europe, many people could not care for the sick because they were afraid of becoming infected. Among them, some said they believed in God, but still could not go near the sick because they were afraid of catching the disease. But some people said, “Even if I die now, I will go to heaven, so I have nothing to fear!” And they went and helped the sick. Others said, “I have the power of Jesus, so even if others cannot go, I will go!” And they went and helped. This is how different the faith of those who believe in Jesus is.

So I hope that you will become one with Jesus in this way. And for those who have already become one with Jesus, I bless you in the name of Jesus that the life and power of Jesus will be richly revealed through you.

Father God, we thank You that You sent Jesus Christ and made us, who were originally dirty and unclean, clean and pure in this way. Now that we have become one with Jesus Christ, please help everyone who meets us to be made clean, to be made pure, and to receive life. Also, in this unsettled time, let those of us who believe in Jesus be filled with the peace and happiness given by God. Help us always to acknowledge the amazing fact that we ourselves have become one with Jesus, and work in us so that we may reveal that kind of power. We give thanks and pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.