“And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.” (Mark 6:56, ESV)
In our reading from Mark’s gospel, we see that the disciples were fighting heavy winds as they struggled to cross the Sea of Galilee. In the midst of this struggle they spotted Jesus walking on the water, quite calmly and with no trouble despite the winds. This is probably why they thought He was a ghost or spirit though such an admission reflects a superstition that is not supported by the Scripture. Such a belief indicates the naiveté of the disciples at this point even despite all that Jesus had done and taught up until this time to show that He was not only the promised Messiah, but God Himself. In any case, they were relieved that it was Jesus and that He calmed the wind and waves, but at the same time they were greatly disconcerted and troubled as to who He was.
This awesome picture of Christ as Almighty God frightened the disciples who were confused about the nature of Jesus. It scares many people, and if we are honest it scares us when we think about how sinful we are and yet are in the presence of such a Person. What does He think of us? What will He do to us? And yet, we see in our reading that He is a God of love and compassion. He healed the sick merely by allowing them to touch the hem of his garment. There is great and awesome power that should make us tremble, but there too is great and awesome love that should send us to our knees to ask for mercy and then rise up knowing that we have it because the Lord always keeps His covenant. He loves us even though we stray and delights to grant us mercy in spite of our failure and sin.