Mark 5:24b-29, CEB - A swarm of people were following Jesus, crowding in on him. A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot under the care of many doctors, and had spent everything she had without getting any better. In fact, she had gotten worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. She was thinking, If I can just touch his clothes, I’ll be healed. Her bleeding stopped immediately, and she sensed in her body that her illness had been healed.
This is my favorite healing story. I’m blown away by this woman’s faith. Jesus was too, but we’ll talk about His side
of the story next time. But right now,
let’s just dwell on the faith of this remarkable woman. She has been afflicted by her condition for
twelve years. That’s as long as Jairus’s
daughter has been alive (Mark includes that detail on purpose). It’s longer than I had been alive when I
first heard this story. Spend a moment
thinking about how much life you’ve lived in the last twelve years – twelve
birthdays, twelve Thanksgivings and twelve Christmas days. . . trips taken. .
.work done. . . babies born. . .friends and family that have died. For 4,380 days, this woman has been
bleeding.
In that very long time, she had been to doctor after doctor,
probably getting her hopes up each time, but each time the treatment was worse
than the condition. Still, she had spent everything she had hoping that “this
time, things might finally work out.”
But now, she was broke and out of options. And she was still bleeding.
Because she was bleeding, those twelve years were spent as an
outcast. Religious law at the time separated women who were bleeding in
significant ways. She would have had
restrictions placed on her daily activities for all of those years. Most of us have had at least a taste what it
feels like to be treated as “different” by those around you. Imagine if that were the feeling you had
every day for a dozen years.
Still, she hears about Jesus and a faith that should have
disappeared long ago is reawakened in her.
After doctors had failed repeatedly, she still believes she can be
healed. After being pushed to the
margins of life for all of that time, she still believes she deserves to be
healed.
Not only that, her faith has whispered to her that she only
has to touch Jesus’s clothes and the healing that has escaped her for so long
will finally happen. I should note that,
in her condition, touching a Rabbi or even his clothes was forbidden. So she not only believes Jesus can heal her,
she believes that it will happen without Him even knowing or even consenting. She believes that HER FAITH in God will heal her
whether Jesus does anything or not. In
the next part of the story, we will hear Jesus state that clearly (“Your faith
has healed you”). More than forty years
after I heard about this woman, I am still astounded by her faith. I long to have faith like this.
The truth is that I don’t have faith like this. My faith is so much stronger than it was when
I heard this nameless woman’s story for the first time, but I’m not where she
was spiritually yet. But her faith has
always been my measuring stick. And
somehow, I believe that someday, I will have faith like that. I hope you believe that about yourself as
well.
Questions: Do you
have faith like this woman? If not, do you believe that someday, you will?
Prayer: Author and
Finisher of our Faith, we thank for every bit of faith we have in our
heart. We look forward to seeing how You
will grow our faith deeper and stronger in the years to come. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for people with chronic health conditions.
Song: My Living Hope –
Phil Wickham
