A Woman Healed by Touching Jesus
The story of the woman with a flow of blood is one of the most moving and significant miracles narrated in the Gospels (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, and Luke 8:43-48). This account is intertwined with the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter, demonstrating Jesus’s compassion and healing power.
The Woman’s Condition For twelve years, the woman had suffered from a flow of blood. In the Jewish society of the time, this condition made her impure according to Mosaic Law (Leviticus 15:25-27). This meant she not only suffered physically but also lived in a state of social and religious isolation. She couldn’t participate in the temple, and anything she touched was considered unclean, which relegated her to a life of solitude and despair. She had spent all her resources on doctors without finding relief; in fact, her condition had worsened.
A Bold Act of Faith
One day, the woman heard about Jesus and his power to heal. Despite her condition and the prohibition against being among people, her faith was so great that she believed if she only touched the hem of his garment, she would be healed. She decided to mix with the crowd following Jesus. She approached from behind with humility and determination, extending her hand to touch the edge of Jesus’s robe.
Instant Healing and Jesus’s Power
The very moment her fingers brushed against Jesus’s garment, the flow of blood stopped. She felt in her body that she had been cured of her twelve-year affliction. What is even more surprising is Jesus’s reaction. Despite the large crowd pressing in on him from all sides, he perceived that “power had gone out from him.” He asked, “Who touched me?”
His disciples, bewildered by the question amid so many people, replied that the crowd was pressing in on him. But Jesus insisted, knowing it wasn’t a casual touch but an intentional act that had drawn healing power from him.
The Confession and Jesus’s Affirmation
The woman, realizing she couldn’t remain hidden and perhaps fearing the repercussions of her “impurity” or having acted without permission, came forward trembling. She fell at Jesus’s feet and, in front of everyone, told him the reason she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
Jesus’s response was not one of reproach but of compassion and affirmation. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace.” By calling her “daughter,” Jesus restored her dignity and her place in the community, freeing her not only from her physical illness but also from her social ostracism. Her humble but powerful faith was the key to her healing.
Lessons from the Miracle
This miracle teaches several profound lessons:
Faith as the driving force of healing: The woman did not receive a command from Jesus to be healed; it was her own faith that prompted her to seek contact and believe in Jesus’s power.
Jesus’s compassion: Despite the crowd and the urgency of going to Jairus’s house, Jesus stopped to recognize and affirm this woman’s faith, showing his individual love and care.
Jesus’s transformative power: He not only cured a physical illness but restored the dignity, hope, and social life of a person who had been marginalized for a long time.
Jesus’s availability: He is the source of healing, and his power is available to those who approach him with faith, even in the most discreet way.
The story of the woman with the flow of blood is an enduring testament to Jesus’s unconditional love and the unlimited power that faith can unleash.
