April 18th, 2023
Last week, we talked about God’s heart for humanity. His passion for people is demonstrated throughout His Word. Time and again, we see His open arms longing to cleanse, heal, and restore whoever will come to Him. One touch of heaven breaks the power of everything else that has ever touched you. Jesus’ touch healed every sickness, restored the crippled, opened blind eyes, and raised the dead and it still does. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).
This week, however, I’ve been thinking about a woman who touched Him. In Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:22-43, and Luke 8:40-56, we read about this woman’s story, right in the middle of another story. A ruler of the synagogue implored Jesus to come to his home and heal His dying daughter. While Jesus, His disciples, and a very large crowd were on their way to the man’s home, an unnamed woman pushes through the crowd and touches Him.
We don’t know a great deal about this woman, but we do know that she had suffered for twelve long years with “an issue of blood.” In that time, she would have been ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27). If she had a husband and family, she wouldn’t have been supposed to touch them and would have felt ostracized from society. We don’t know if she was wealthy or not, but the Bible says that she spent everything she had on physicians to try to be made well. In the natural, she had exhausted her options and was completely without hope. However, her life changed when she heard about a man whose touch had the power to restore. Faith rose up in her heart and she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well” (Matthew 9:21).
See, she didn’t even consider trying to get Jesus’ attention. Think about what it would be like to feel alone for twelve years. She didn’t cry out for His attention, like the blind beggar Jesus healed (Mark 10:46-52). She wasn’t supposed to be in society, and it would have been inappropriate to ask for His touch. She didn’t have friends who pushed through the crowd on her behalf like the man whose friends brought him to Jesus (Mark 2:1-10). She didn’t have family that implored Jesus on her behalf like the man in the same story, who brought Jesus to his daughter. She could have felt like a victim. She could have stayed home and pitied herself when Jesus came through her city and she would have suffered for the rest of her life. Instead, she made a decision to get to Him herself. She made a decision, despite everything that was against her, to touch Jesus.
She pushed through the crowd that was pressed in around Him. She made her way through the people she wasn’t supposed to touch and reached Him, taking hold of just the hem of His garment. The Bible tells us her flow of blood dried up in that very moment. If the story had gone the way she intended, that would have been the end. Her faith had made her well. However, she’d only heard the stories about the miracle-working Rabbi. She didn’t know Him. She didn’t know His heart, His mercy, or His goodness. His power drew her to Him for healing, but that wasn’t the end. Many people touched Jesus in the crowd that day, but her touch stopped Him. Mark 5:30-33 says,
‘Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.’
She came in fear, trembling at His feet, expecting His judgement. She’d pulled on His power, but she didn’t want Him to see her. From the ground, she explained what she’d done for everyone to hear. I can imagine the crowd, quieting down to hear Jesus’ response. Her heart must have pounded in her chest, as she waited for His censure. He looked at her and said,
“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:34)
This is the only record we have of Jesus calling a woman daughter. He referred to the crippled woman in Luke 18 as a “daughter of Abraham,” but this is the only woman He directly calls “daughter.” Can you imagine the loneliness this woman had felt up until this point? She hadn’t had enough hope to get Jesus’ attention, but just wanted to anonymously pull on His power. She didn’t understand God’s love. In front of everyone, in a society she’d been separated from, the famous Rabbi, the important miracle-working Teacher, stopped everything to see her, to affirm her, and to restore her. That would have healed her lonely heart and her place in society. She expected judgement and He called her daughter. She expected condemnation and He affirmed her. God desires to heal body and soul.
Just one touch of heaven has the power to restore anything, whether it’s afflicted you for two months, twelve years, or a lifetime. Whether you have an important place in society like the ruler whose daughter was dying, or you feel absolutely alone in a crowd like this woman, you are fully seen by God. Sometimes, though, we have to allow faith to rise up in our hearts to push through the crowd and touch Him. The Father’s arms are open wide. Psalms 107:20 tells us,
“He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.”
Think about that Old Testament verse in light of the Son of God. He sent His Son, the Word made flesh (John 1:1-4), to heal us. Let faith arise in your heart even now. It only takes one touch, but we may need to push through some crowds. We have to stop thinking about all the things we’ve tried before and all the reasons we should be disqualified. The woman with the issue of blood had every reason to stay in her house, lonely, dejected, and hopeless. She would have been there for the rest of her life. Instead, in faith, she grabbed ahold of Jesus, of the Word that heals, and her story has been told for thousands of years. She’s the only woman Jesus called daughter. Will you push through and touch Him today? When we come to Him in faith, He doesn’t look with condemnation. He stops and sees us with love in His eyes, and He calls us sons and daughters. It only takes one touch of heaven.
This week, however, I’ve been thinking about a woman who touched Him. In Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:22-43, and Luke 8:40-56, we read about this woman’s story, right in the middle of another story. A ruler of the synagogue implored Jesus to come to his home and heal His dying daughter. While Jesus, His disciples, and a very large crowd were on their way to the man’s home, an unnamed woman pushes through the crowd and touches Him.
We don’t know a great deal about this woman, but we do know that she had suffered for twelve long years with “an issue of blood.” In that time, she would have been ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27). If she had a husband and family, she wouldn’t have been supposed to touch them and would have felt ostracized from society. We don’t know if she was wealthy or not, but the Bible says that she spent everything she had on physicians to try to be made well. In the natural, she had exhausted her options and was completely without hope. However, her life changed when she heard about a man whose touch had the power to restore. Faith rose up in her heart and she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well” (Matthew 9:21).
See, she didn’t even consider trying to get Jesus’ attention. Think about what it would be like to feel alone for twelve years. She didn’t cry out for His attention, like the blind beggar Jesus healed (Mark 10:46-52). She wasn’t supposed to be in society, and it would have been inappropriate to ask for His touch. She didn’t have friends who pushed through the crowd on her behalf like the man whose friends brought him to Jesus (Mark 2:1-10). She didn’t have family that implored Jesus on her behalf like the man in the same story, who brought Jesus to his daughter. She could have felt like a victim. She could have stayed home and pitied herself when Jesus came through her city and she would have suffered for the rest of her life. Instead, she made a decision to get to Him herself. She made a decision, despite everything that was against her, to touch Jesus.
She pushed through the crowd that was pressed in around Him. She made her way through the people she wasn’t supposed to touch and reached Him, taking hold of just the hem of His garment. The Bible tells us her flow of blood dried up in that very moment. If the story had gone the way she intended, that would have been the end. Her faith had made her well. However, she’d only heard the stories about the miracle-working Rabbi. She didn’t know Him. She didn’t know His heart, His mercy, or His goodness. His power drew her to Him for healing, but that wasn’t the end. Many people touched Jesus in the crowd that day, but her touch stopped Him. Mark 5:30-33 says,
‘Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.’
She came in fear, trembling at His feet, expecting His judgement. She’d pulled on His power, but she didn’t want Him to see her. From the ground, she explained what she’d done for everyone to hear. I can imagine the crowd, quieting down to hear Jesus’ response. Her heart must have pounded in her chest, as she waited for His censure. He looked at her and said,
“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:34)
This is the only record we have of Jesus calling a woman daughter. He referred to the crippled woman in Luke 18 as a “daughter of Abraham,” but this is the only woman He directly calls “daughter.” Can you imagine the loneliness this woman had felt up until this point? She hadn’t had enough hope to get Jesus’ attention, but just wanted to anonymously pull on His power. She didn’t understand God’s love. In front of everyone, in a society she’d been separated from, the famous Rabbi, the important miracle-working Teacher, stopped everything to see her, to affirm her, and to restore her. That would have healed her lonely heart and her place in society. She expected judgement and He called her daughter. She expected condemnation and He affirmed her. God desires to heal body and soul.
Just one touch of heaven has the power to restore anything, whether it’s afflicted you for two months, twelve years, or a lifetime. Whether you have an important place in society like the ruler whose daughter was dying, or you feel absolutely alone in a crowd like this woman, you are fully seen by God. Sometimes, though, we have to allow faith to rise up in our hearts to push through the crowd and touch Him. The Father’s arms are open wide. Psalms 107:20 tells us,
“He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.”
Think about that Old Testament verse in light of the Son of God. He sent His Son, the Word made flesh (John 1:1-4), to heal us. Let faith arise in your heart even now. It only takes one touch, but we may need to push through some crowds. We have to stop thinking about all the things we’ve tried before and all the reasons we should be disqualified. The woman with the issue of blood had every reason to stay in her house, lonely, dejected, and hopeless. She would have been there for the rest of her life. Instead, in faith, she grabbed ahold of Jesus, of the Word that heals, and her story has been told for thousands of years. She’s the only woman Jesus called daughter. Will you push through and touch Him today? When we come to Him in faith, He doesn’t look with condemnation. He stops and sees us with love in His eyes, and He calls us sons and daughters. It only takes one touch of heaven.
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