What Does the Bible Say? (Part 2)

 Is Jesus' ministry on earth the only example of physical touch we find in the Bible?

This is the question I was still wrestling with as I finished last week's post. 

Jesus' life and ministry is certainly one of the clearest examples. And there isn't a list of direct commands or prohibitions given in Scripture. Some aspects of it are covered in other directives, but physical touch is not an item with a specific list of things in Scripture.

But, Scripture is also not completely silent on examples of other situations.

One of the things we see that we still often practice in our churches today is laying hands on people as we pray for them or commission them. (Acts 6:6, 9:17-19, 13:3, 2 Timothy 1:6)

Until the study for this posts, I've never really thought about this as being an example of physical touch. But it one. And it is an example of physical touch that we seem to see as acceptable for all in most situations.

There was one more example of what could be interpreted as physical touch in Scripture. Paul ends a number of his letters with these words and you can also see it in one of Peter's letters. At a glance we amy not see them as words about physical touch because of cultural differences.

Paul & Peter both end these letters with the words: 'Greet one another with a holy kiss." (Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26, 1 Peter 5:14)

It's easy to just move quickly past these words as not being important. But when I stopped and took the time to understand what was meant by this simple sentence.

As I looked at commentaries on these verses it started to become clear that this was about a greeting of mutual affection in the family of God.

In the note on Romans 16:16, Barne's Notes on the New Testament, it is described this way:

"Greet one another in an affectionate manner; that is, treat one another with kindness and love, and evince all the proper marks of affection."

This kind of greeting would be along the lines of a quick hug or a handshake today.

Talking about 1 Thessalonians 5:26, The Moody Bible Commentary says this:

"Paul's final requests included prayer for himself, and that the intimate gesture of the holy kiss be shared with all. This 'kiss' was a common gesture of fellowship meant to convey affection and unity. While it might still be an appropriate gesture in some cultures today, in others, more culturally acceptable gestures would adequately fulfill the apostle's intent."

These words from Paul and Peter would indicate a level of closeness in the greeting of other believers where physical touch would be part of it. Nothing sexual or impure is involved. This is simply being willing to be close enough to physically touch each other.

While I'm sure with more study, I could find more in the Bible on this topic. But, I will be moving on in my writing on this in the coming weeks. Next week, I'll be starting to talk about what science says about our need for things like hugs and people sitting close to us. It's been a fascinating topic to dive into.

What Does the Bible Say?

 This is the questions I always like to start with when I'm working on a blog series. I think it's the best place to start. After all, the Bible is our authority on how to live as Christians.

So, what does the Bible say about physical touch?

I'd never read any of my Bible looking for references to physical touch before. It was a different study with this topic in mind.

The first place I looked was probably one the more obvious places. Jesus' life and ministry.

It didn't take long to see that Jesus regularly touched people when He ministered to them. Often when He healed people, but also the children who were brought to Him (Mark 10:13-16, Luke 13:10-17)

It was Jesus' healing of people by touching them that most caught my attention. Jesus could have healed them with a word - something He did on many occasions. Yet, there are occasions when the gospel writers were very clear that Jesus touched those He healed.

As I looked at those times Jesus touched someone to heal them, they were people who wouldn't ben used to being touch. Some because the law actually said they couldn't be touched without making someone unclean, as the person in need of healing was considered unclean. Others because they're reality made it unlikely they would be touched by others, at least not in healthy ways.

So, what did physical touch look like for Jesus?

Jesus touched a man with leprosy to heal him (Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-14)

Leprosy made the man unclean. Being unclean excluded him from daily life interactions that were normal. It excluded him from going to the temple. And people would have gone out of their way not to touch him so they didn't also become unclean.

Even in the man's words to Jesus, there is a sense of his desire to be included and be able to be touched by others again. Matthew 8:2 records his question: "Lord, if you're willing you can make me clean." Yes, being clean implies being healed of leprosy, but I think the desire to be clean goes beyond just the healing. Jesus was willing and He reached out to touch this man. In doing so, healing his leprosy and restoring that healthy physical touch for the man.

We also see Jesus touch those who were deaf or blind to heal them (Matthew 9:27-31, 20:29-34, Mark 7:31-37, 8:22-26, John 9:1-12)

In that day, those who were deaf or blind would have had no choice but to beg from others for daily necessities. While times change, not everything does and I don't imagine beggars in Jesus' day were treated much different than today. Largely ignored or seen as a nuisance. And definitely not touched by those who passed them by. Yet, Jesus chose to touch them in His healing of them.

When I look at Jesus' example, I see somehow who was not afraid of physical touch. And not with just a few people. Jesus accepted it all from anyone who gave it and He gave it to many - often to those on the outside.

There is more to discuss about what the Bible says about physical touch to come.

What we All Need

 When I wrote my series on singleness in the church a year and half ago, there was a topic I completely avoided. It came up a few times in my research and writing, but I always had a good reason to skip over it. There was always something else to write about.

The truth is that I just didn't want to go there or open up that topic. But the last nine months have brought it back to the surface and I can't avoid it anymore.

I touched on it a little bit in my post last week, but there's so much more to it than what I wrote there. In the next few posts, I'm going to be talking about physical touch and our need for it. And take a look at what Scripture says about it.

Because this is a topic with potential for so much confusion, I'm going to start with being clear about what I'm not talking about:

1) I'm not talking about one of the five love languages that are popular to talk about. You don't get to tune out or stop reading because it's not your love language.

2) I'm not talking about sexual touch or love. That is a different topic, and one I currently have no plans to write about.

So, what am I talking about? What do I mean when I say physical touch?

I'm talking about those moments of connection with someone that comfort, soothe, make us feel loved and safe. A hug from a friend. A hand of comfort on our shoulder. A friend just being physically close to us while we watch a movie or enjoy being outside.

And, as I think about this topic, I've been hesitant to go here in the past, because of the huge possibilities of misunderstanding. Especially as I move into talking about what it looks like for a single person. 

As Lore Ferguson Wilbert writes in her excellent book Handle With Care: How Jesus Redeems the Power of Touch in Life and Ministry:

"Our society simply doesn't know what to do with the human body or human touch. Our culture is confused, and confusion only results in more confusion."

It's easy to look at culture and see the confusion. But it's not limited to secular culture.

I would argue that the church is just as confused - in some cases, even more confused - than our culture. We've just replaced the lack of rules or boundaries you could say is our culture's problem, with a long list of things we can and cannot do. A list that actually can't be found in Scripture. A list that often causes harm in exactly the ways we're trying to protect ourselves.

So, I will start with the next post looking at Jesus' use of physical touch in Scripture. And move from there into discussion about life and life as a single person in this area.