If I Can Just Touch His Garment (Mark 5:25-34)

Bleeding for 12 years… Sick, alone, used all money and resources for nothing...

(5th Sermon in our series called Encounters with Jesus)

Mark 5:25–34 ESV

25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 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. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Mark records this encounter between Jesus and this women who has experienced great suffering for 12 long years.

And to understand the seriousness,

of how much her condition would have effected her life,

one must understand what it ment in the context of the place and time in which she lived.

Because she was experiencing a discharging of blood,

she would have been considered by the law as unclean,

which ment that she was not to be in physical contact with people.

Per the religious regulations,

if she was to ever be in contact with someone,

the person she touched would have also been considered unclean too.

Therefore,

She would likely have been either divorced at this time,

or never married at this time,

but certainly would have been single... (Brought shame)

In many ways her condition,

was very similar to a life sentence,

that individuals with leprosy experienced.

As people with leprosy lived as cast offs from society,

she too,

would have had to live as a cast off from society.

When casually hearing this story,

it is easy to quickly recognize the physical suffering from her condition.

But what is sometimes missed,

is the emotional pain that would have accompany her life too.

With all these things in mind,

it makes sense why she was willing to suffer under many different physicians,

and spend all that she had.

It makes sense why she would give up everything,

in order to be healed.

As with many of the people we see Jesus encounter in the Gospels,

she was in a place of tremendous desperation.

Though she was willing to do anything,

and willing to spend all that she had,

her condition only became greater...

her need for healing only became greater...

Sometimes the idea or perception people can have about breakthrough,

is if you just try a little harder,

if you just are willing to put in more work,

then you will see your breakthrough.…

(Self help) [Faith in systems vs Faith in God]

This women’s lack of breakthrough,

was not due to her lack of trying,

but was rather because she had not yet encounter the right Physician...

In her state of desperation,

Marks says that she hears reports about Jesus.

And though she had not yet recieved her breakthrough,

she still clung to hope,

that one day her breakthrough would come.

I believe one major problem that derails us from seeing breakthrough,

is we lose hope that breakthrough will ever come.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Faith and hope our bound together...

Faith and hope,

are like love and unity,

joy and peace… (Cant have joy and anxiety, turmoil)

Faith and hope are knit together,

and therefore when hope is gone,

so faith also is gone...

This women who has suffered for 12 years,

has still maintained a level of faith and hope,

that one day she will be healed.

Which says a lot about this women,

because 12 years of not seeing results,

but rather only witness your situation get worse,

would cause most of us here to give up hope.… (normalize) [give it 3 months and give up]

For 12 years she has suffered,

but when the women hears reports about this Jesus,

hope sparked faith within her heart.

And she said in her heart,

“if I touch even his garments, I will be made well” V28

(If i can just touch his robe… everything will change)

[That is faith]

As faith burning within her heart...

she pursues to touch the robe of Jesus.

(moves through the crowds.. through all these barriers) barriers give up

[risk it all… no one needs to know]

As soon as she comes in contact with Jesus,

and touches His robe,

she is healed.

V29 “And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”

I like to say the years of suddenly...

Testimonies… years of praying...

(Faith of a mustered seed is little but also takes a great deal of time)

Mark says immediately she was healed,

but we cannot forget the 12 years of suffering that took place first.

Through the long season of hearing the word “no” to her healing,

she kept hope within her heart..

And one day finally she saw her immediate healing come…

When she touches Jesus’ garment...

Mark describes this...

V30 “And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?”

The purpose of a miracle is not the miracle in itself,

the purpose of a miracle is to give an invitation to know the Miracle worker....

Thus,

when Jesus said who touched me,

he is wanted to have a personal encounter with the one who recieved the healing.

James R. Edwards writes…

The Gospel according to Mark Faith that Defies Defeat (5:21–43)

In the kingdom of God, miracle leads to meeting. Discipleship is not simply getting our needs met; it is being in the presence of Jesus, being known by him, and following him.

After Jesus said who touched me,

His disciples of course think in the natural…

(who has not touched you…)

In this moment of inquiry,

Mark writes this…

V33 “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.”

The women coming forward and telling the whole truth,

would have taken a great deal of courage.

Remember she was admitting in the cultural context,

that she has just made many people unclean,

including Jesus who was asking the question.

But as I communicated earlier in this series,

Jesus reverses the normative flow...

Instead of becoming unclean,

when coming in contact with things that are unclean.

(That was normative)

But with Jesus,

when Jesus comes in contact with things that are unclean,

he makes them clean.

Jesus was never effected by disease,

but rather the disease was always effected by Jesus…

So this women is coming to Jesus in fear and trembaling,

as she tells her story of what she did.

And in her mind she is thinking,

I could be in big trouble here...

(In cultural standards she did a big no no)

But Jesus responds to her after she tells her story...

Jesus says this to her…

V34 “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

The power of Jesus’ open confesion of her healing,

ment that her life was finally restored.

In hearing Jesus’ powerful statement,

meant that she would now be able to be married…

Family…

Friendships…

Jesus’ powerful statement carried great weight,

As now her life would never be the same…

12 years of pain… encountering Jesus changed everything …

I want to close with Jesus’s statement about her faith…

Faith…

Other people touching Jesus,

but only this women who drew power from Jesus.…