Touching the Rabbi's Fringe
Well, maybe you remember those "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets that people would wear in the 90s. The idea was that by having it on you, you would remember your Christian identity. And this is really a modern adaptation of some Jewish laws. According to the Scriptures, Jewish men had to wear tassels on the corners of their garments; you can see it in Numbers 15:38-39. And so, of course, Jesus would have had these on His clothing as He walked around and did His ministry.
Reminder of Identity
These tassels, in a sense, were like those bracelets. They served as a reminder to the person wearing them that they belonged to God and that everything they did should honor Him. And it was a visible sign to everybody else that this person belonged to the one true God.
Now, these tassels were also a sign of nobility, as the authors explain on page 150. The high priest in Jewish tradition would have his tassels dyed in an expensive royal blue to signify his holiness and his position as a priest.
Touching the Holy
Now, this becomes very significant when we read the story of the woman who tried to touch the hem of Jesus' garment. Do you remember that? She’d suffered from chronic bleeding for many years, and as Jesus came past in a noisy crowd, she just ran forward and said to herself that if she could just touch the hem of His garment... Now, that’s where the tassels were—the sign of His holiness. And as she touched His tassels, it wasn’t that her uncleanness made Jesus unclean; instead, Jesus’ holiness being touched made her well and clean. Isn’t that amazing?
Visible Faith
And so today, my friends, let’s give thanks for the holiness of Jesus, our High Priest. But let’s remember as well to be visible about our own faith. Some of us might wear a cross, maybe one of those bracelets, maybe a bumper sticker on our car—whatever it might be, just to remind ourselves to live lives that show the love of God in a humble way. Page 152 says that the tassels were a visible sign that offered those who wore them an opportunity to live out their faith in public. And then they say that perhaps, as Christians, we should do something similar, taking the risk of identifying our faith in public, not proudly or self-righteously, but humbly, giving ourselves a little reminder of the tassels that our Rabbi Jesus wore.
Consider it, friends. How differently would you live if everybody instantly knew you were a follower of Jesus when they saw you because of what you were wearing? Wouldn’t it help you to live a life that honored Him? Whatever it takes to help us in our quest to be more like Jesus, let’s use it so the world can see Him in us.
