Your Faith has Made You Well

Get Your Bible Ready: Mark 5

Faith is a VERB. It is not something that you HAVE, it is something that you DO.

IF I were to define faith using most theological dictionaries it would go something like this:

Faith (in a sense)- strong confidence in, and reliance upon, someone or something; with the object of trust understood.

If I were to give you a Biblical definition, I would simply turn to Heb 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 CSB

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

Faith is Reality and Proof. Or to put it another way: Confidence and Assurance.

More specifically, the Word of God says REALITY/CONFIDENCE of what is Hoped for, the PROOF/Assurance of what is NOT SEEN!

It is not blind, it is rock solid.

If you continue through Heb 11 you will learn amazing thing, as Heb 11 is known as the Great Faith chapter of the Bible.

We won’t spend to much time here, but follow along briefly for example:

Hebrews 11:1–8 CSB

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by this our ancestors were approved. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith. By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.

If you read the whole chapter then you will discover that

“BY FAITH” is used 19 times!

Hebrews 11:2 CSB

For by this our ancestors were approved.

This phrase is much like the bread holding the sandwich together. It occurs in Verse 2 and Verse 39.

BY FAITH our ancestors were approved.

Faith is something so misunderstood, because it is BY FAITH that we find ourselves approved by God; and we use the word like it is something to possess, when every example given in the Word of God shows to us that BY FAITH each person named MOVED!

Abel - By Faith made an offering

Enoch - BY Faith WALKED wit God

Hebrews 11:6 CSB

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Noah - By Faith BUILT an Ark.

Abraham - By Faith WENT OUT

I can continue on. BY FAITH, we turn to Mark 5

Let’s set the stage:

Mark 5:21–24 CSB

When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea. One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.” So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him.

Jesus shows up and a synagogue leader falls at the feet of Jesus and pleads with him to come to his house because his only daughter was dying.

Jesus obliges.

As they are making their way to his house, the crowd is large and the Word of God says: were nearly crushing Jesus.

There is a lot of people.

What does the word CRUSHING imply to you?

They were probably touching Jesus. Perhaps even being pushed in. Picture it. Have you ever been in a big crowd excited to get to one place. You get knocked off balance pretty easy.

Mark 5:25–26 CSB

Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse.

You can look through the accounts of this. She is not named. She is only called “the bleeding woman” or something to that effect.

She had been bleeding 12 years. That is a long time. That is horrible.

But this is not just an uncomfortable bleeding. Like some wound that won’t heal.

This was a cycle that would not stop. And it cost her everything financially.

The Bible says that she spent EVERYTHING she had, but nothing helped; and that she actually got worse.

Now it is bad enough that she was bleeding - that is physical suffering

The she spent everything she had - that is financial suffering

She was also suffering Spiritually.

Do you know why? Because the LAW that she was under would not allow her to go worship in the temple. Jewish law says that a woman in her condition is ceremonially UNCLEAN!

Leviticus 15:25 CSB

“When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, though it is not the time of her menstruation, or if she has a discharge beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, as she is during the days of her menstruation.

We won’t read all of Leviticus today, because it is a lot; but the gist is this:

Not only was she considered UNCLEAN, but ANYTHING or ANYONE she touched would be UNCLEAN as well.

She was suffering physically, financially, spiritually, physclolgically .

She isn’t given a name. Just the bleeding woman. She would be known by her affliction. Shunned.

Mark 5:27–28 CSB

Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.”

If I can Just reach out my hand and TOUCH HIS CLOTHES!

Mark 5:29 CSB

Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

Contact with Jesus resulted in change.

Mark 5:30–31 CSB

Immediately Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

Jesus - WHO TOUCHED ME? -

Peter - (seeing the situation for what it was physically) Everyone touched you Jesus. The crows are Pressing against you.

Peter was looking at the PHYSICAL, Jesus experienced something FAITHFUL!

Why, Because Jesus FELT THE FAITH! The Bible says that Jesus realized that POWER had gone from Him. What does this mean?

Jesus is about to explain it Himself!

Mark 5:32 CSB

But he was looking around to see who had done this.

Why would Jesus go through all of this? He could have just kept walking. Instead Jesus goes out of His way to make sure this moment is noticed.

Psalm 50:15 CSB

Call on me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”

Jesus was determined to see that God was glorified publically in this healing.

How did the lady respond.

Mark 5:33 CSB

The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.

She explained everything. with fear and trembling.

Part of the fear - If I touch him, then HE will be unclean.

Mark 5:34 CSB

“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

DAUGHTER!

YOU FAITH HAS SAVED YOU!

How was she Saved?

BY FAITH!

You can’t steal a miracle from God! Jesus gives them willingly!

Jesus makes sure that HIS DAUGHTER KNOWS - It was your FAITH!

GO IN PEACE and BE HEALED from your affliction.

PEACE!

Why did Jesus make a big deal about the touch? Because the crowd would know who she was, and the crowd would have all these thoughts about all the things she IS -

the label that had defined her for so long

So when she acted so boldly, out of such desperation, stepping out BY FAITH - Jesus wanted to make sure SHE KNEW that the healing was COMPLETE!

Lets go down the list:

Physical Healing - the bleeding Stopped

Financial healing - no more need to chase that rabbit!

Psychological Healing - HE CALLED HER DAUGHTER!

Brothers and Sisters - THAT IS IDENTITY! He gave her something she lost long ago!

Spiritual Healing - the LAW SAID NO; JESUS SAID YES!

Because Jesus reverses the penalties of the law and gives grace to those who desperately need it!

The Bleeding Woman and YOU have something in Common!

By Faith you can be saved!

By Faith you CAN be healed!

What LABEL is defining you?

By FAITH you it can be removed!

That’s what I HATE about most of those 12 step programs, and AA -

“ Hi, I’m Jacob and I’m an addict”

And they wonder why the relapse rate is over 60%!

Because when you spend your life identified by a label, then the psychological effects are devastating! You become the label!

And it is easy to look at Alcohol and drug addicts put yourself on a high horse - “Hey I ain’t one of those”.

But the reality is simple: anything you put in the place of God is your god. It is your addiction.

Alcohol

Drugs

Sports

Cars

Gambling

Pornography

Break the label! Fall at the feet of Jesus! There is power in the name of Jesus.

There is nothing so dirty that it can make Jesus DIRTY. Jesus is so clean, you touch Jesus and YOU ARE CLEAN!

God is moved to action by our faith, even when He’s in the middle of doing something else! Jesus could have healed the woman and kept on walking to His original destination. Only He and the woman would have known what had taken place.

But He didn’t do that.

Jesus stopped what He was doing and acknowledged the result of this woman’s faith

I promise you this: Jesus knows you. Jesus loves you. Jesus has miracles in store for you! And there is nothing you have done, that Jesus cannot forgive. There is no wound that Jesus cannot heal .

And when Jesus does something miraculous in your life:

Psalm 107:2 CSB

Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe

AMEN!