We’re in the fifth of five episodes in our Jesus in the Love Languages mini series where we look deeper at the ministry of Jesus. Tune in to hear ways Jesus showed words of affirmation, quality time, giving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Today’s episode 29 is 3 Mindset Shifts We Learn from Jesus Using Physical Touch. We’ll look at how a mindset of others before self, letting faith guide you, and doing the right thing helps us imitate God.
CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN: EP 29
Who is Luke?
Before we dive into our 3 mindset shifts, let’s take a peek at a few things. We will be in the book of Luke today. Let’s talk about who Luke is, and what he wrote. Here’s a quick Brooke Breakdown about Luke:
- He wrote the New Testament book, Luke (shocker) which is one of the four gospels
- Luke also wrote the book of Acts
- The book of Luke is a synoptic gospel, which is similar to the books of Matthew and Mark
- Luke was a physician and was known for his accuracy and attention to detail
I chose to discuss Jesus and physical touch through the book of Luke because Luke was a physician. Since he had practice healing people, he gives a unique twist on his writing and the accounts of Jesus literally touching people. It’s a fun way to look at Jesus using physical touch to express love, care, and compassion.
Through Luke’s physician lens, we get to explore how Jesus touches lives (and souls) in this book of the Bible. As we walk through the 3 Mindset Shifts We Learn from Jesus Using Physical Touch, we’ll see how we can apply these to our daily lives.
Research Shows
Fun Fact: Scientific research shows that physical touch can provide a range of benefits including: reducing stress and anxiety, lowering blood pressure, boosting the immune system, enhancing feelings of security and trust, improving sleep quality, and promoting overall well-being by triggering the release of oxytocin, often called the “love hormone.” I think we all know a guy who can provide all of that and more.
What’s interesting is that we see Jesus healing on both large and small scales. There’s times in the Bible where he heals the masses, while other times, a more personal story is recorded. As we walk through these physical touch examples, we’ll be able to see how Jesus puts others before self, encourages faith, and does the right thing. We can live out these 3 mindset shifts we learn from Jesus using physical touch.
Mindset Shift #1: Others Before Self
Our first of the 3 mindset shifts we learn from Jesus using physical touch is others before self. We’ll read some context from the book of Luke, read specific physical touch scriptures, and then see how we can life out this first of 3 mindset shifts.
Brooke Breakdown Leading Up to the Mass Healing
Let’s do a Brooke Breakdown from Luke chapter 3, leading up to Jesus doing all the wonderful physical touch healing.
- Chapter 3: John, Jesus’ cousin, prepares the way for Jesus, then baptizes Jesus (episode 3 for more JTB).
- Friendly reminder that after Jesus is baptized, he is led by the holy spirit to go into the wilderness where he is tempted by the devil for 40 days with zero food. Ew, someone nagging you while you’re hangry. I would not have done nearly as well as perfect Jesus here.
- Jesus finished up the wilderness time, and went to Galilee filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. He taught a whole bunch and was praised by everyone. This news spread for obvious reasons.
- Jesus went to his hometown, Nazareth, and went to his home church. There, he said that the scripture has been fulfilled and he’s the dude.
- The crowed MOBBED him, and forced him toe the edge of the hill. They were going to push him over the side! What?! Through something my brain can’t comprehend he (vs 30), passed right through the crowd and went on his way. No cliff jumping for Jesus.
- Jesus goes to Capernaum, casts out a demon, and the people are flabbergasted at his holy power.
Luke 4:38 Analysis
Are you recovering from storyline whiplash like I am? I feel like I’m on set for a high drama tv series where the screenwriters are writing week by week. The crazy part is that God knew every single leg of this journey. This was always the plan. No whiplash for God. We’re now in Luke 4:38. Your section may be titled “Jesus Heals Many People.” I’ll be in the NLT. Listen for Jesus loving others through physical touch:
After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them. As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
Luke 4:38-41
Live it Out
Let me say it this way. Jesus get baptized, does a 40 day fast, preaches the truth, gets mobbed, almost thrown off a cliff, and what does he do next? Goes to his friend’s house and heals Simon’s mother-in-law. Then, what does he do? Heals everyone who came for help, just by touching them.
I don’t know about you, but getting kids up and to school on time, working, and then doing the sports practice shuffle before a 9pm dinner time has me wiped and not in the “healing the masses by touching them” mood. The first of 3 mindset shifts we learn from Jesus using physical touch is one I definitely struggle with after a long day. The others before self mentality, when done well, is life giving for you and the receiver.
More healing from Jesus like this takes place in Luke 5 and 6, and I highly encourage you to read it for yourself. For a taste, here’s Luke 6:19, “Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.” Have you ever been touched out from having your littles climbing all over you?
Yeah, Jesus in this moment is pretty humbling. He could’ve stopped it, but he didn’t. He chose others before self. We can all take note of this, and use it as a mindset shift of us regular humans in our day to day lives. Take a moment and evaluate your day. Where were times you could have put others before self? Take inventory, and the next time this situation, work to be more mindful of this. Hint: ask God for help!
Mindset Shift #2: Let Faith Guide You
Our second of 3 mindset shifts we learn from Jesus using physical touch is let faith guide you. There are numerous times in the ministry of Jesus that he heals people and then says the famous line, “Your faith has healed you.” Let’s take a look at a couple of times when Jesus uses physical touch to show love and healing, and how we can let our faith guide us.
Jesus Heals in Response to Faith
Now, does Jesus need to physically touch people in order to heal them? No. Look at this example from Luke 7:2-10. I love this story! May we all have this mindset of letting our faith guide us.
At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.
Luke 7:2-10
Luke 7:11-17 Reading
Jesus’ power overdelivers on our expectations. Right after this scripture we go straight into Jesus raising a boy from the dead by just touching his coffin. Luke 7:13-15 says, “When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.”
Luke 8:40-56 Reading
This may be my favorite physical touch example from today’s episode. We get to see someone letting their faith guide them while we get to see Jesus heal. We’ll be in Luke 8:40-56. I’ll be in the NLT, and I strongly encourage you to whip out that Bible, grab the gel pens and highligthers, and follow along. I want you to look for physical touch, healing, and letting faith guide in this scripture:
On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.” When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.
Luke 8:40-56
Live it Out
These are just some of the many examples where Jesus heals in response to faith. Clearly, there is something going on here, and we don’t want to miss it. Our second of 3 mindset shifts we learn from Jesus using physical touch is let faith guide you. Jesus is able, so why do we so easily doubt? Talking to self here.
Next time there is a situation and you feel like, “fake it til you make it” comes into your brain, swap out the word fake for faith, and “Faith it til you make it.” We are on God’s timeline, and when we pause, take a deep breath, and let our faith guide us, we can rest in the peace of Jesus.
Mindset Shift #3: Do the Right Thing
Onto the next! The third of our 3 mindset shifts we learn from Jesus using physical touch is do the right thing. Yes, this may seem simple, but we need to remember that simple isn’t always easy. What if you’ve been wronged? Are you harboring ill feelings towards someone? Can you still do right by these people like Jesus did during his ministry?
I know we all want to be the hero of the story and say, “Yes, absolutely I would do the right thing no matter what.” Yet, our sinful, human nature can trip us up if we’re not careful about it. Of these 3 mindset shifts, we’ve discussed, this may be the one I struggle with the most. As a personality with strong feelings of judgement, I really have to keep myself in check on this on. I’m so thankful we have the example Jesus set. May we be more like him every day!
Luke 13:10-17 Reading
Sometimes doing the right thing means upsetting people who are in the wrong. They can be loud, combative, conniving, and worse, all because you did the right thing. Keep in mind that Jesus is perfect, and people still didn’t like him…especially when he did the right thing! You’re in good company, friend. Let’s read an example from Luke 13: 10-17. I’ll be in the NLT.
One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.
Luke 13:10-17
Luke 14:1-7 Reading
Let’s look at another example. The Pharisees were so mad at Jesus they were trying to trap him! As I read Luke 14:1-7, try to look for common themes of physical touch, healing, love, and doing the right thing:
One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?” When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” Again they could not answer.
Luke 14:1-7
Live it Out
How are we doing so far on the whole mindset shift of doing the right thing, even when people think it’s wrong? It’s so hard, especially when you feel invisible, and like no one sees you doing the right thing. Dear listener, God sees you doing the right thing. If you struggle feeling like being seen, please go listen to episode 11 and hear those truths.
In these moments when I feel like I’m doing the right thing, but I’m definitely feeling some worldly repercussions, here’s what I do:
- Pray and ask God for guidance and clarity for the next right steps
- Phone a friend and have an honest conversation, “Am I way off here?”
- Ask God to keep you rooted in faith and trust in Him
Podcast Recap
Here’s what I didn’t expect to happen in this episode. I didn’t realize that these 3 mindset shifts we learn from Jesus using physical touch would flow throughout the scripture from the book of Luke. A little inside scoop, I thought I was just going to rattle off times in Jesus’ ministry that he touched people and healed them. What I didn’t realize would happen was the giant mirror I now have in front of me. Do I always have these 3 mindset shifts locked in? No way! I’m human, but I can for dang sure try. For my non-Texans, “for dang sure” is a common expression and means to try really hard at something. Let’s do a quick recap:
- Mindset Shift #1: Others Before Self
- Mindset Shift #2: Let Faith Guide You
- Mindset Shift #3: Do the Right Thing
And, because I feel compelled, let’s pray these 3 mindset shifts over us:
God, thank you for your word, and that we get to look through Luke’s eye to see the physical touch miracles you made. Help us have these 3 mindset shifts as we walk out our faith on this side of Heaven. Help us put others before self, let our faith guide us, and to do the right thing. We can do this because of your power, and we call on that to shine through us. Thank you for sanctifying us along the way. We love you. Amen.
40 Day Prayer Challenge Info
Speaking of prayer, did you know that the Easter season approaches? I love how this Love Languages mini series is prepping us for reflection on the ministry of Jesus. There is something called lent, or the lenten season, and it’s a time period of 40 days that commemorates the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert (shout out episode 26). People spend time reflecting on the the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Lent looks differently for people and the season of life they’re in, while others do the same practices each year.
Something that I enjoy is spending time in intentional prayer, and I would love or you to join me for the 40 day prayer challenge taking place this lenten season. Do you have to tie it to lent? Not at all. Is prayer an important spiritual discipline that will bring you closer to God? Yep! If you’ve been wanting to get better at developing a habit of prayer, or looking for something to do to help you focus on the Easter season, this is for you! It’s free, and it’s for everyone! Here are some detials:
- Step 1: Join the email list. All the info and details will be sent through email. Head to brookecollier.com and enter your email where prompted. Details will come your way in a few days.
- Step 2: Subscribe to the Busy Christian Mom podcast. The 40 day prayer challenge will be 40 daily episodes. When you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, for example, the daily prayer will come straight to your app.
- Step 3: Spread the word! Prayer is good for everybody. Invite your home group, your book study crew, Bible study girls, your mama, your neighbor, your dog. There is power in prayer, and we have the opportunity to spend 40 days in holy anticipation of what God is going to do.
Join the email list, subscribe to the podcast, spread the word. 40 Day Prayer Challenge begins March 5th (Ash Wednesday) and runs every day through Palm Sunday. Bring a friend!
Links from the Show
- Pinterest: Brooke Collier BCM
- Busy Christian Mom Instagram
- Etsy Shop: Busy Christian Mom
- Jesus in the Love Languages Mini Series (ep 25-29)
