Enjoy Mark 5 today.
Mark 5:25-34
She is alone. Banned from society because she is “unclean”. She has tried to make herself well by going to all the doctors she could but none of them were able to heal her. All of her money was spent trying to find a cure that never came. 12 years……bleeding. 4,380 days. Never clean. Always waiting….hoping the next day would get better. Silently suffering. The dark circles under her eyes tell the story of loss. That’s what bleeding does…..it depletes you of life. She was being depleted daily……of nutrients, relationships, and connection. Hope was gone.
Or was it?
She heard about Jesus performing miracles. Maybe this was her chance. She was so desperate and tired. So sick of feeling sick. She decides to reach for Jesus, at least the edge of his garment. Just the edge….just a piece of his clothing……something……anything. She doesn’t come to him with a big speech. She doesn’t even ask him for help. She approaches her healing as the outcast she had been for the past 12 years. She comes from behind……reaching through the crowd of people, for a scrap of healing.
“If I just touch his clothes I will be healed” Mark 5:28.
She reaches until she feels the rough texture of his clothes on the tips of her fingers. Amidst people, animals, dust, and dirt she feels his clothing in her grasp. Hopeful. Trusting.
And then…….it happens…..healing. The bleeding and suffering stop. And Jesus stops. He asks who touched him and the disciples remind him of all the people around him…..everyone is touching Jesus! But He knew the difference. This was a touch of faith. A purposeful touch. Jesus felt the power go out of Him. She fell to his feet knowing she was healed.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” Mark 5:34.
Jesus knew exactly what was happening. It was monumental to heal this woman and acknowledge her. In a culture that put men first and sent women away when they were “unclean”……this was a big deal. And everyone saw and witnessed his care for this woman.
I love this story. I love that he called her daughter. He healed her physically and called her his own. All while walking in a crowd of people, heading to raise Jairus’s daughter from her death.
This is our Jesus! Oh that we would have the faith to reach out and touch the edge of his garment.
Shelly