The woman with the blood issue, is one of the more well-known accounts of healing mentioned in the scripture. Literally thousands of sermons (probably more) have been preached on it over the years. Many have been from the perspective of “You need to sacrifice everything and press-in through the crowd to receive healing! You need to keep on pushing to touch Jesus!”
However, what I want to share with you today, is a different perspective on the entire thing; a perspective not focused on ourselves, or our works, but one focused on the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. As I meditated on this, some amazing things came to light, that I am excited to share with you today.
So let’s begin today by reading the account from Mark 5, verses 25-34:
“And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
And his disciples said to him, You see the multitude thronging you, and say you, Who touched me?
And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your plague.”
So right away, in verses 25 and 26, we learn some details about this woman. First we see that she had suffered with this condition for twelve years – this was not a minor thing, this was a full-fledged condition. This was serious. I have had conditions which spanned multiple years, and let me tell you, that the longer something persists, the stronger the hopelessness tends to become.
In-fact, those of you who know my testimony, you know that one of my conditions was a blood issue – which also lasted multiple years, so I can both identify and sympathize with this woman. And I know from both my own experience and from speaking with others that for every day, week, month and year that something lasts, the temptation to give-up and give-in haunts you even more.
Even good Christian brothers and sisters who stood with you at the start, will begin to waver, crack and crumble, and say things like “well you know, maybe it’s God’s will for this to remain.”, or “I really don’t know if God will heal you.”
I’ve heard both of those, and I have talked with others who have heard the exact same things. And for the person suffering with the condition, watching your friends fall away one by one just fuels the temptation to roll-over and accept the condition as part of your life, permanently.
Couple that with what we see about this woman’s condition in verse 26… We see that this woman suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing better, but rather grew worse.
This woman was in a really desperate and pitiful state! She had been to the doctors; many of them in-fact – and we see that she suffered many things by them. She didn’t just try one treatment and give up… she tried many treatments. We see that she spent all that she had – so now she’s broke, poor, in poverty… and what good does she have to show for it? Nothing! She didn’t get better, in-fact she became even worse!
Combined with what we saw earlier, the time-span of her condition, and the despair that comes with such a scenario, and we have a deeply depressing picture here. There are quite a number of people in this situation today… and I’m here to tell you that there is a way out! It’s not drugs, alcohol or suicide – believe it or not those are the top three – but there is a better way.
Most churches today are afraid to tell you what I am about to, but it is not my own message which I am delivering today, it is straight from the scripture. Look at verse 27:
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
This here is quite amazing for many reasons. First we see that she heard of Jesus, and what she heard must’ve been amazing! What she heard was enough to completely cancel-out her despair and hopeless, and replace it with faith, and hope! What she heard was enough to take her eyes off of her situation and cause her to look to the One who could really help her. And also what she heard (as we have studied before), caused her to disregard and break several Levitical laws, and push through an entire crowd and touch Jesus’ garment.
What do you imagine that this woman heard regarding Jesus? Do you think she heard what many churches are saying about Jesus today? That you must clean yourself up before coming to Him? Or perhaps she heard that you must earn your blessings from Jesus? Or that God helps those who help themselves? Maybe she heard – as some preach today – that God doesn’t heal at all.
No, my friend. If this woman heard any of those, she still wouldn’t have any hope at all. Because as we have already read, she had no way to clean herself up, or to help herself. She was completely bankrupt, in every sense of the word. This woman heard something else, and in verse 28, we get a clue as to what was going through her mind, and what she believed about Jesus:
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
Her statement here is very enlightening. This is not a maybe in her mind. This is not a gamble, or a roll of the dice. This is the language of certainty. She truly believed that if she would touch Jesus’ clothes, she would be made whole – and as we saw, she believed it enough to push through a crowd, breaking Levitical laws to do it!
This woman heard of Jesus, not in a frightening, fearful or distant way… not as a Jesus who was unapproachable, not as a hard and angry judge, but as a Healer. She latched on to a promise of God that many of us have forgotten today. It is found in Malachi 4:2, in which it says that the Sun of Righteousness would rise, with healing in His wings – and the Hebrew word of “wings” used there is in reference to the corner of a garment or shirt!
This woman, latched on to this promise, this prophecy from Malachi 4:2, and truly believed it.
Now, what follows in the next few verses from our text of Mark chapter 5, is extremely interesting as well!
We see in verse 29, that straightway – immediately, her bleeding was stopped. There are some today who believe that Jesus will never heal instantly; that it’s always a long-drawn-out, slow and gradual process. However that is not consistent with the scripture or the many accounts of Jesus’ healings.
We also see that she felt in her body that she was healed… this was not just a spiritual healing, as some try to claim, but this was a physical healing of her physical condition. Some people try to spiritualize all of the healings in the scriptures, and in doing so, rob hope from the people regarding the physical aspect of Jesus’ healing as well. Jesus has made provision for complete healing, spirit, soul, and yes body as well. There’s no reason to rob from one to enhance the other.
Now, take a look at verse 30 here… Jesus, notices that power had gone out of Him and into this woman, He stops and asks a very intriguing question that a lot of people just skim over. Jesus says who touched My clothes?
This question is awesome! I love this question, because it highlights something specific. There’s a reason this question is here; remember that there are no insignificant details recorded in the Bible – and specifically the words of Jesus Himself!
In verse 31 the disciples respond to Jesus’ question by saying “There’s an entire multitude thronging you! What kind of a question is ‘who touched me?’?” Exactly! That’s the point!
You see, there may have been an entire multitude thronging Jesus, grasping at Him, brushing up against Him and touching Him the way that people swarm all over celebrities and rock stars today – but Jesus only acknowledges this one woman as being one who touched Him.
What was so special about this one woman? Drop down to verse 31:
And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your plague.
Now we have studied this phrase before, and totally picked it apart… for today however, I want to focus in deep on just one point. “Your faith has made you well” – When I asked the LORD about what was special about this woman, why was she the only one that was acknowledged as touching Jesus… this was the reply that the Spirit said to me – she touched with intent.
This woman touched with purpose, and with a clear goal. The multitude was thronging Jesus just because He was the celebrity of the day. This woman touched because He was the Healer, and she had the intention of being healed. She had a problem, and He was the solution.
Perhaps today, you are in the same situation, perhaps you even need a healing in your body, much like this woman. And you may be thinking that this is simply too good to be true. Maybe this amazing healing was only for this one woman that Jesus addressed as daughter. Maybe she was just a special recipient for that time to demonstrate Jesus deity. Well, in closing today, let’s turn over Matthew 14:34-36, and let me show you something that will eliminate those doubts for you:
“And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.
And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought to him all that were diseased;
And sought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.”
The people of Gennesaret heard of what happened with this woman, and like her, with the same spirit of faith, they did not let doubt or fear dissuade them. They sought to touch Jesus in the same way as the woman, and take a look at the end of verse 36… as many as touched Jesus were made perfectly whole. How many? As many as touched.
So I encourage you today. Jesus is the same healer today as He was back then. And His healing is not just for the elite. His power is not just for the privileged few, and His Grace is for all who will just reach out to receive.
Let Him heal your issue today, whatever it is.
Be blessed.
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