Reaching For His Garment

Mark 5:25–34 (NLT)

25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse.

27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

State: This woman would have been seen as unclean

Here is what that would have meant for her.

Leviticus 15:25–27 (NLT)

25 “If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is unrelated to her menstrual period, or if the blood continues beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean. As during her menstrual period, the woman will be unclean as long as the discharge continues.

26 Any bed she lies on and any object she sits on during that time will be unclean, just as during her normal menstrual period. 27 If any of you touch these things, you will be ceremonially unclean. You must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

State: This woman encompasses every form of human suffering for 12 years

1)She was anemic (Physical suffering)

-She would be weak, tired, exhausted, short of breath, and her thinking would be dulled/impaired

-be very pale, and her hair would thin.

-huge effort to care for herself, fetch water, or obtain and prepare food, someone would have had to get her and make her food

2) She was financial destitute ( due to her attempts at healing)

3) She was a social outcast ( alone - mental struggles)

Unable to be with family

Unable to be in the synagogue

Unable to touch anything or anyone

( Tell story of couple in No Frills yelling at woman without mask)

State: Do you think this woman would have thought herself

A failure

Sinful ( desease was seen as judgement for sin- still is)

A mistake

A dissapointment to her family

Ugly and an outcast

Hopeless

State: She heard about Jesus

What did she hear about Jesus?

Mark tells us:

Mark 6:56 NLT

56 Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

State: Not allowed to approach Jesus due to her uncleanness, to talk to him

would be unthinkable

She made Jesus unclean by touching him - hence her fear and trembling

State: Jesus did something very unique here

1) Asked who touched him ( doesn’t Jesus know everything?)

2) Called her out so she could be seen ( BY HIM)

Remember Hagar, maid of Abraham and Sarah’s

kicked out of the home because of Sarah’s Jealousy

God rescues her in the wilderness

Genesis 16:13 NLT

13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”

State: Jesus wanted her to be seen BY HIM!

He wanted her to see his eyes that loved her as a DAUGHTER

Her faith healed her - Jesus had little to do with it (mystery)

Jesus restored her personhood within the community

Jesus restored her body

Jesus restored her self image -

No longer a broken sinful failure

But a daughter of God

Faith requires confession ( speak what you believe God has said or done)