The Remez That Healed
Posted on October 13, 2017 by Graeme Wilson in Freedom Fighters
“But for you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”
— Malachi 4:2 (NLT)
“Even if all I touch are His clothes, I know I will be healed.” She had been an outcast for 12 years, all her money had been spent on doctors, she wasn’t supposed to be intermingling with the crowd… but there was this “Miracle-Man” she had heard about and she desperately wanted to be made pure enough to rejoin the community. All of a sudden Jesus stopped and asked, “Who just touched my robe?” Then, He waited for a reply. The disciples were like, “Rabbi, there’s a crowd. Who isn’t touching you?” He gazed out across the crowd and then, shaking with fear and amazement, she stepped forward and said, “I touched you.” She began to tell Jesus her story.
I’m gonna put on my Hebrews glasses for this Freedom Fighter and take a look at Scripture through Jewish eyes. The first thing I need to get into is something Jesus would have been wearing, and that is a tallit. “What is a tallit?” Well, I’m glad you asked. To be very basic about it, the tallit was what we refer to as a prayer shawl. It could be adorned with fringes, but for the Hebrew, the corners needed to have a tzitzit. ‘What are those?” Well I’m glad you asked. A Tzitzit was what we can refer to as tassels, and these were to be placed at the four corners of the tallit to remind YHVH’s children of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. Each tzitzit had 613 threads…you can research any other questions you have.
Next thing, a word that I used in today’s title and that word is remez. Jesus used a method of teaching that gave a remez or a “hint” back to the Old Testament. Other rabbis were using it as well, but we’re talking Jesus Christ here, the One who has been since the foundation of the earth, so He’s the expert. He wasn’t going to teach the accepted interpretations of the Torah because He had “s’mikhah”, the authority to teach new interpretations, which ticked off those wacky Pharisees. To be honest, I think Jesus taught the proper interpretations. That’s my opinion, feel free to disagree.
Now an example of a remez can be found in Matthew 21:15-16 when the Pharisees became indigent as the people were shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David” and in response to their question, “Do you hear what their saying?”, Jesus quoted from Psalm 8:2, “You have taught children and infants to give you praise.” Now those wacky Pharisees would’ve known the rest of that verse, “silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.” Implying that they were Jesus’ enemies…then the next morning Jesus would curse a fig tree. Anyway, how do these things tie together? I’m glad you asked…
The woman in my opening paragraph would have been in synagogue hearing readings from the scrolls on the assigned days before her infirmary. When the teaching would have ended the rabbi, wearing his tallit, would raise his arms and the tzitzit would be draped over them, like wings, and the rabbi would bless the crowd. She would have heard the verse from Malachi that I have used in my opening today. She would have put her faith into Jesus being that “Son of Righteousness” since stories of His healings would have begun to circulate around Galilee. But she was not allowed to be in the crowd when Jesus would raise His “wings” to bless the crowd, so what’s a girl to do? She goes on a hunch because she was given a remez… “Daughter, you are well because you dared to believe. Go in peace, and stay well.” said Jesus.
A lot of us have used the term, “That guy just can’t take a hint” and I’m gonna be bold enough to say neither can we. Oh, sure it is fun to connect the dots in Scripture because it does give them life, but if we aren’t gleaning the remez that Jesus has given us in His teaching we’ll miss the meaning. And that is that the Gospel message is all over the Old Testament and Jesus points it out in all of His teaching. I suspect that the apostle Paul, being a Pharisees’ Pharisees, would have picked up on all the remez he was given as well.
So, what about us? Are we looking for those hints when we read the words of Jesus or are we just content with them just being righteous words? May that not be! The Bereans didn’t have a “New” testament to go on and they found out God’s word was far beyond righteous…they found God’s Word was prophetic and TRUTH. May we see it as they did. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two adult children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.
The Daily Bible Reading: Jonah| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here
Daily Quote: “Begin to rejoice in the Lord, and your bones will flourish like an herb, and your cheeks will glow with the bloom of health and freshness. Worry, fear, distrust, care-all are poisonous! Joy is balm and healing, and if you will but rejoice, God will give power.”— A.B. Simpson
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 106:1