The Bleeding Woman

The Bleeding Woman - Mark 5:21-35

An Impossible Situation

She had no idea what would happen, but she was desperate and had run out of options. She had tried everything else, but the awful bleeding would not stop. For twelve long years, she had been to dozens of doctors, healers, and magicians. They were all glad to take her money and make vague promises, but no healing.

She had discovered in the worst way that in the Jewish community, if you were bleeding, you were an outcast. Her family had shunned her. Her friends had abandoned her. Her rabbi had turned his back on her because he did not want to become “unclean.” She was forced into the streets all alone to beg for scraps.

An Outrageous Plan

She had heard that Jesus was a different kind of healer. That when he touched you, you were instantly cured. So she quietly sneaked into Capernaum, intent on finding him. She thought that if she could just touch his garments, she could be healed quietly, without drawing attention to herself. She hated attention because it was always embarrassing.

She waited in the shadows. Then she saw him in the street surrounded by people. But just as her excitement rose, her disappointment returned. He was hurrying away with Jairus, the wealthy synagogue leader, whose daughter was near death. Jesus would never turn his back on this important man to help her.

A Powerful Result

But she persisted and pushed her way toward him. She reached through the crowd and grabbed the rabbinical tassels of his cloak. Immediately, she felt something change. She felt warmth unlike anything she had ever felt. She instantly knew her bleeding had stopped, and she was healed. But there was something else. Something deeper. Something spiritual.

The Teacher stopped. “Who touched me?” he asked. His disciples laughed, “Everyone is touching you.” “Yes,” he replied, “But this was different. I felt power leave my body.” (Mark 5:30-31) As he looked around, he saw her trying to sneak away, terrified she would be found out and rejected again.

But when she looked into his eyes, she fell at his feet. Trembling, she told her story before all the people, fearing he would be angry at her impudence. Instead, he touched her tenderly and called her daughter. Not woman or ma’am, but an intimate family name she had longed to hear for years. And he told her that her faith had healed her.

Lessons for Our Journey

We don’t know what happened to this woman that Mark 5:21-35 tells us about. I like to think she went home, reconciled with her family, restarted her life, and told others about her amazing encounter with Jesus. Perhaps if we heard her tell her story, we would take these truths with us as we face our own impossible situations.

Faith - Jesus responds to our faith regardless of how feeble and desperate it is. Many others in the crowd were jostling him and reaching for him, but they did not experience a miracle. Jesus said her faith was the catalyst for her healing. It is one thing to hang around Jesus. But it is quite another thing to fully trust him in faith.

Power - Jesus and the woman both felt a transfer of power from his body to hers. We cannot possibly understand what that means. But we can know that same power on this side of the cross through the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 3:20 tells us “… we can do immeasurably more than all we can ever ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.”

Peace – Jesus wants to be more than just your healer or fixer of problems. He wants to have a personal relationship with you based on faith. When he said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.” He added, “Go in peace and be free from your suffering.” (Mark 5:34) That’s the same promise of peace he offers us when we place our faith in him.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)