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Introduction:
We don’t know how it started. The woman probably did not
remember. She simply realized her menstrual cycle was not working
cyclically. Her discharge had continued beyond the usual time. At
first, she probably chalked it up to major stress. But it
continued for one month, then two and then three... As a faithful
Jewess, she no doubt prayed about it. However, she could no longer
visit the temple and seek the aid of the Old Covenant
priest/mediators. She was unclean (Leviticus
15:25ff). Everything she touched became unclean. Her mere
contact with another person would make them “guilty” before
the Lord (Leviticus
5:3). She was not allowed to enter the sanctuary of the
Lord (cf. Leviticus
12:4).
Today, her condition is known as menorrhagia. It could have
been caused by anything from stress, improper nutrition, hormonal
imbalance, vitamin K deficiency to polyps, fibroid tumors, cysts
or cancer. Her condition produces severe abdominal pain and leads
to iron deficiency anemia, which can cause discoloration, fatigue,
physical weakness, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, rapid
heart rate, ringing ears and even further heart problems. Further,
it can rob a woman of what she views as her distinctive role,
making her infertile.
Aside from the physical trauma, there was the emotional
trauma. She would have been cut off from everyone who meant
anything to her, fearing they might become unclean. It was because
of people like her that the Pharisees had developed their
intricate rituals of washing as if to wash off the very filth of
her existence. How do you think knowledge of that made her feel
for 12 years? Today, menorrhagia is treated with anything from
dietary improvement, hormone treatments, vitamin supplements to
surgical procedures such as hysterectomies. However, in first
century Palestine, the doctors apparently had no idea what to do.
For 12 years, this woman, while surely praying to God for help,
went to doctors. She suffered much at their hands. They took her
money, but provided no cure.
How much hope do you think she had after 12 years of
disconnection from the people she loved and the religion to which
she was devoted? How do you think she felt after 12 years of
bleeding, pain, weakness and fatigue? What outlook did she have
after spending all her money and her time hunting down the medical
specialists of her day only to find out once again that they were
useless? But she had heard about Jesus. His works made Him so
famous He could hardly show His face in the city for the crowds it
would cause. The woman heard Jesus was back in Capernaum and
ventured out into the crowds to see Him. If the people had known
her condition, how would they have reacted, knowing they were
being made unclean by this woman? She was convinced if she simply
touched this powerful Jesus, she could be healed. Yet, she was
equally sure if she told Him what she wanted, He would never let
her touch Him in her uncleanness. In fact, wasn’t He talking to
one of the important synagogue officials? Certainly, she could not
compare or compete with him for Jesus’ time. Perhaps if she
quietly brushed past Jesus touching His garments seemingly in the
bustle of the crowd she could be healed and no one would ever
know.
I can envision it now. With her head covered, she
cautiously stepped through the crowd. Looking at the ground to
avoid eye-contact, she tried to make her way through the knot of
people without touching anyone, hoping no one would recognize her.
She was nearly there. She had to move quickly because Jesus was
heading to the synagogue official’s house. She made it. She was
behind Him. He would never notice her. No one would know. She
touched the hem of His garment. Immediately, the flow of blood was
stopped. She felt the change in her body, the strength returning,
the headaches leaving, her breath steadying, her heart rate
stabilizing, the pain ending. She had done it. She was healed and
no one would be made guilty because of her presence because they
would never know.
However, as she tried to blend back into the crowd without
drawing attention to herself, even in her joy, the great Physician
stopped, turned and said, “Who touched Me?” She should have
known. How could One so holy and powerful be touched by one so
unclean and not know it. The disciples were amazed at what seemed
like a silly question. “Master, there are hundreds of people on
this street. Why are you asking, ‘who touched me?’ How can we
know?” But Jesus with His divine knowledge knew exactly who it
was and looked at the woman. With fear and trembling she confessed
what she had done. What would He do to her? What would the
synagogue official do? How could she presume to touch Him? What
would He say? I don’t know exactly how Jesus interacted with the
woman at this point, but I picture Him kneeling down and lifting
her face with His hand under her chin as He looked her in the eye
with tenderness, compassion and love and said, “Daughter, your
faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your
affliction.”
What an amazing story. Like so many Bible stories, I am
afraid we have become so accustomed to it that its truly powerful
nature has been lost. We simply see the miracle of Jesus and
wonder why He doesn’t perform such a “miracle” for us. We
need to remember these stories are not really about the physical
healing. They are recorded to introduce us to Jesus and learn how
to receive the blessings He offers. This story is here to help us
answer the question, “Does Jesus care?” Does He care that we
are sick? Does He care when we are struggling financially? Does He
care when we are struggling spiritually? Does He have time to care
for us when the world’s masses are vying for His attention? Does
He care about us when there are so many more important people
wanting His help? Does
He care about us even though we are so unclean? If so, why
doesn’t He do something about our struggles like He did for this
woman? If He cares, what must we do to receive His blessing?
Consider seven brief lessons we can see in this story to help us
answer one of our main questions—“Does Jesus Care?” Discussion: I.
The
worldly physicians will not help you.
We have no idea when the woman first started seeking the help of
doctors. They gave her all kinds of advice. They put her through
grueling experiences, causing her to endure and suffer much. They
sucked her dry, but they did not help. We need to learn from this
woman’s experience. The worldly “physicians” cannot help us.
Please, understand I am not speaking about issues of physical
sickness. Rather, this story is a parallel for us not regarding
physical healing, but spiritual, mental and emotional healing. The
guys in the locker room and the girls around the water fountain
will not benefit us. The advice of popular culture and the worldly
wise, will not provide the blessing we crave. “Chicken Soup for
the Soul” may make us feel warm inside, but it will provide no
lasting satisfaction. Drugs, alcohol, pleasure, worldly wisdom,
etc. will all fall short of making us find wholeness, healing and
blessing. There is only one we can truly call the “Great
Physician.” Proverbs
14:12 explains the ways seeming right to men lead to
death. Jesus, however, has the words of eternal life (John
6:68). We must put our faith in Him. II.
The
crowds will not distract Jesus from you.
We watch the news and learn about floods, hurricanes, tsunamis,
wars, terrorist attacks and issues of worldwide importance. We
know there are thousands and thousands of Christians worldwide all
letting their cares be known to God. As we wallow in our struggles
day after day, week after week, month after month and even year
after year, sometimes we stop praying either consciously or
subconsciously determining that God must not have time for us.
After all, we are only one person in the midst of millions. Our
struggles must be trivial in His sight compared to sustaining the
world and the millions in it. Yet, this one woman, blending into
the crowd stood out to Jesus. The crowd did not distract Jesus
from this woman and the masses do not distract Jesus from you. I
Peter 5:7 says we may cast our anxieties on God, because
God “cares for you.” God does not just generically care for
the general “mass of yous,” He cares very specifically for
you. The crowds have not distracted God from you. We must put our
faith in Him. III.
The
officials do not supersede you.
Far too often we come to the assembly and look at everyone dressed
up in their Sunday best, wearing their smiles and think these are
the important servants of God. They do not struggle like we do. In
fact, we are afraid they might see us for what we really are.
Further, we are convinced if Jesus is going to listen to anyone,
it will be them. They are the ones He is interested in blessing.
We hope we can blend in to the woodwork. Romans
2:11 reveals there is no partiality with God. There is
neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free man, male nor female; we are
all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians
3:28). He cares for us; the officials do not supersede us
in that. We must put our faith in Him. IV.
Your
uncleanness will not stop Jesus from healing you.
I recognize the woman’s uncleanness was not of a sinful nature
but of a ceremonial nature. Such ceremonial uncleanness, however,
was used under the Old Law to demonstrate how impossible it is to
approach God on our own merits. In similar fashion, our sins have
separated us from God (Isaiah
59:1-2). God
sent Jesus into the world to bridge that gap. Yet, too often we
forget that. When we have been struggling, especially with
temptation and sin, we begin to believe Jesus doesn’t want us.
He knows we are unclean, certainly His people in the assembly are
starting to pick up on that. We know they don’t want to touch us
lest our uncleanness rub off on them. We begin to move through the
crowd trying not to touch them. We don’t spend time with
Christians outside of the assembly. We arrive late and leave
quickly. Eventually, we begin to avoid it all together. Do you
remember how Jesus responded when the Pharisees questioned Him
about spending time with the unclean sinners and tax collectors in
Mark
2:15-17. “It is not those who are healthy who need a
physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.” Jesus did not come into the world to
rub elbows with the righteous, but to touch the unclean sinners
and bring them to righteousness. What you have done does not
change Jesus’ mind about you. He died so you could be made
whole? He wants to touch your life. We must put our faith in Him. V.
Jesus
wants you to be healed, whole and heading for heaven. From our perspective, we wonder why the woman came to Jesus with fear
and trembling after she had been healed. But keep in mind she had
been trained that she was not supposed to be there by 12 years of
being shunned. Here was a Man that was more holy and powerful than
the Pharisees, Sadducees, priests and rulers. If those men looked
down upon her, ritually washing if she even so much as looked at
them, how much more would this powerful One despise her and bring
down wrath upon her for what she had done. Yet that is not Jesus.
Jesus is the tender and compassionate Shepherd, who loves and
cares for His sheep. He wanted this woman to be whole and healed.
He wanted her to go in peace and no longer suffer from her
affliction. Jesus wants the same for us spiritually, mentally and
emotionally. II
Peter 3:9 explains that the Lord is waiting patiently to
bring in judgment because He wants us all to repent and head for
heaven. He wants us to be healed and whole. We must put our faith
in Him. VI.
Jesus
has His reasons for blessing us on His timetable.
I have no idea what it must have been like for this woman to
endure 12 years of this weakening condition. I can imagine how
many times she cried to God wondering why He wouldn’t do
something about her condition. Jesus had been on the scene between
one and two years. She had suffered for 12. Why did God wait so
long to provide this blessing for her? I can’t say for certain.
Perhaps it was because this means of blessing her most glorified
God by demonstrating the power of Jesus. Whatever the case, we
must remember God’s wisdom is far above our own (Isaiah
55:8-9). Therefore, we must wait on the Lord with patience
and faith. He will give us the blessings we need on His timetable
(Psalm
27:11-14). We must put our faith in Him. VII.
Jesus
expects us to act on our faith.
This is perhaps the lesson most overlooked by modern religion. God
knew this woman. Just as Jesus was aware of Nathanael while he was
under the fig tree in John
1:47-48, Jesus saw this woman in her home, saw her walk to
the crowd, saw her walk through the crowd. Yet, He did not wait to
heal her until the moment He knew this woman had faith. He waited
until she acted on her faith and reached out to Him. As James
2:14-26 demonstrates, faith alone accomplishes nothing, it
must be accompanied with action resting on that faith. That is
true of the initial moment of salvation, being baptized based on
our faith in the working of God (Colossians
2:12). However, it is also true regarding every blessing
of God. We must act upon our faith to receive the blessings God
promises. Therefore, we must keep our faith in Him. Conclusion: If you have ever wondered whether Jesus really cares about you, look to this woman. Do not just look at her moment of healing, but remember her 12 years of endurance capped off with faith in God. Believe me, the worldly physicians to whom you are tempted to turn do not care about you, but Jesus does. The crowds do not distract Jesus from you, the officials do not supersede you and your uncleanness does not deter Him. He wants you to be healed, whole and heading for heaven. If you haven’t received the blessing you were looking for yet, God has His reasons. You must simply keep your faith in Him and act on that faith. He does care for you and at the proper time will exalt you (I Peter 5:6). May we ever keep our faith in Him, no matter what we face or endure.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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