woman with the issue of blood

WOMAN ISSUE OF BLOOD LUKE 8 Luke 8:43-48

Luke 8:43–48 CSB

A woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, who had spent all she had on doctors and yet could not be healed by any, approached from behind and touched the end of his robe. Instantly her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.” “Someone did touch me,” said Jesus. “I know that power has gone out from me.” When the woman saw that she was discovered, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she declared the reason she had touched him and how she was instantly healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

So, women in the day and time this scripture was written couldn't be a witness in a court of law even if they were an eye witness. They weren't counted in crowd's (such as the feeding of the 5k). If their husband died or they didn't have a husband, then the oldest son became responsible for her and if they didn't have any relatives to care for them, they were in big trouble!

They couldn't work so they couldn't survive. Scripture doesn't say anything about husband or family, but it seems like she's all alone. This lady had enough problems due to the culture, but on top of all that she has an issue of blood. Her bleeding made her ceremonially and socially unclean.

They believed that if she touched someone, they became unclean for a period of time. They believed that if they touched anything she touched, they would be unclean for a certain amount of time.

So, it would have been a horrible ailment to deal with on its own, but you add in the cultural issues and the length of time she dealt with it, you can understand her agony and despair!

We see that they don't even say her name, they identify her as the Woman with the Issue of Blood. She's dealt with this so long that it had become her identity.

The enemy does this to us, he makes our problems seem so big that they are our identity. Oh I'm just a ole addict, ole adulterer or I’m just a pornography addict.

So, we can see that the enemy tries to get us to not just have a problem or deal with a sin, he tries to get us to take that on as our identity, because if we believe we've just an addict, then we're going to identify as an addict, and we're going to be that addict.

But if we say I have addiction problems but I’m not an addict. I'm a son or daughter of God, and I will repent and humble myself down to touch the bottom of His tassel, believing and knowing that I'm going to be healed because I'm a Christian.

I’m a son or daughter of God, and no weapon formed against me shall prosper!

Malachi 4:2 CSB

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.

Malachi 4 says He will come with healing in his wings meaning the Messiah will come and there will be healing in the tassels of His robe. She knew the Word of God, and it led to her healing… it led her to the healer… it led her to the one who has what we need, but without knowing what the Word tells us she was cursed with this issue!

Her actions were just as important…Scripture says she touched Him in faith, not fear, not skepticism, not doubt, but faith according to what the Word tells us, and little did she know but she was touching the Word!

Do you believe in the Word of God as the Son of God? Do you believe that your identity isn't in the sin or your problems, but your identity is in God as His children!

It also says that anyone she touched became unclean. When we are having issues, they don't just affect us they affect everyone we come in contact with also.

She was so traumatized and shunned, and despite the fact that she would be destitute if she didn't have any more money, Scripture says she spent all her livelihood on physicians, searching and seeking for the cure. She went from one doctor to another, trying to get better, but it says she only suffered worse and became poorer.

This is a great example of someone seeking worldly solutions for a spiritual problem. She went to doctor after doctor, paid bill after bill, and in the end, she was sicker than when she started, she was flat broke, and all out of luck she thought.

Just like us, we get down and out and we go to Doctor Entertainment but find no cure, we go to Doctor Success and he works for a while but he's not helping in the long run, then we try Doctor Pleasure, Doctor Self-help or even Doctor Religion, but they can't bring any cure, and just like this woman, until we humble ourselves and seek Doctor Jesus we're going to keep going down a road of disappointment.

We, like this woman, try everything the world has to offer before we go to the One who created this world, but once we turn to Jesus things immediately begin happening as we're about to see!

vs 44 says And immediately her flow of blood stops! According to the culture and the thinking of this day and time, when this unclean woman touched Jesus, it would make Him unclean. But because of the nature of Jesus and the Power of God, that's not what happened. When she touched His garment, Jesus wasn't made unclean, the woman was made whole!

When we come to Jesus with our sin and lay it upon Him, it doesn't make him a sinner. It makes us clean. We come to Jesus and He makes us whole… He makes us clean… He makes us perfect in the eyes of God the Father!

Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” And Peter says, “It's crowded. Everyone is touching You. But Jesus says, “Nah power just left me”, meaning you can be in the crowd or congregation and not experience the Power of God. There's so many of us who are in the crowd, and we're in the congregation, but we never experience God's power, peace and love. See they were standing in the crowd, but the lady was down low humbling herself and receiving the Power of the Lord!

When the woman's miracle was revealed, they might say, “I bumped into Jesus; I touched him, yet I was not healed.”

But there's a huge difference between bumping into Jesus here and there and reaching out to touch him in faith.

You can come to church week after week and bump into Jesus. That isn't the same as reaching out to touch Him in faith. Jesus asked who touched me? Not because He didn't know, but because it's not a testimony until you testify! He wanted her to tell everyone there what Jesus had done for her. He wanted her to tell about all the money she spent on doctors and healers, and this and that, and how none of man's cures worked, but when she humbled herself and put faith in Jesus and knelt down and touched a tassel on His robe her 12-year issue of blood was healed by Jesus!

Jesus also wanted her to know why she was healed/ He told her, “Your faith has made you whole!” Jesus called her forth because He didn't want her to think that she stole a blessing, she didn't steal anything. She received it by faith and Jesus wanted her to know that.

Jesus called her forth so Jairus could see this woman's face and be encouraged regarding his daughter… Jesus called her forth because He wanted to bless her in a special way… He called her daughter.

Jesus never called any other person by this name. When Jesus calls us forth, it is because He has something special for us. Jesus may ask us to do things that seem embarrassing at times. He doesn't ask us to do them because He wants to embarrass us. There's always a higher purpose even when we can't see it.