Mark 5:27-28
She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
Been in This Woman’s Shoes?
The woman who had a discharge of blood for some 12 years was desperate. She had spent all of her possessions on trying to find a solution but to no avail (Mark 5:25-26). Nothing had worked, and I am sure she tried everything she and the doctors could think of. In her present state, she would have been considered unclean and, to be a woman with a discharge, even more despicable to society since at that time women were not highly regarded at all. She must have been in poverty by then, had no family or friends, and couldn’t even worship near the temple. How much lower could someone go? She had hit rock bottom. But when we have come to an end of ourselves, it seems God is always waiting there for us, waiting for us to come to an end of ourselves. At the end of our rope, God typically ties a rope there for us. We are crushed and humbled, but it is only then that God can give us His grace (James 4:6).
Has Jesus Touched You?
This woman had heard the many reports about Jesus’ miraculous powers (Mark 5:27), so in desperation she pushed her way through the crowds (knowing it was against all that the society would have her do) and simply touched Jesus’ garment (Mark 5:28). She might have been ashamed or embarrassed to approach Him from the front to His face, or she might have been forbidden to do so. Whatever the case, she boldly sought Jesus and touched the hem of His garment. She must have had faith in order to do that and must have known that simply touching Him would help her. She probably had more faith than all of those surrounding Jesus, but isn’t that usually the case in the ministry of Jesus?
Healed by Her Faith
The moment she touched Jesus’ garment, she was healed (Mark 5:28-29). Jesus knew that power had gone out of Him and asked who it was that touched Him (Mark 5:30). The disciples sounded surprised because they said that He was surrounded by people everywhere, and He asked, “Who touched Me” (Mark 5:31)? When Jesus looked around, the woman, knowing that she was caught in the act, perhaps of doing something that society forbid, fell down before Him, trembling with fear, not sure what His reaction would be (Mark 5:33). Instead of what she feared, Jesus tenderly said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5:34). When Jesus called her “daughter”–or some translations say “woman”–this is not a way of showing her disrespect but the tender, loving title that is ascribed to one’s own daughter as being addressed by her natural father.
A Closing Prayer
Righteous God, You alone have brought me healing. My sins had brought the death penalty upon me (Rom. 6:23), and instead of Your right to rebuke me, a sinner, You reached out and touched me and forgave me of all my sins when I trusted Your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in His name I pray.
Amen
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