“She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’” — Mark 5:27-28, ESV.
Have you ever been so desperate for something that you'd do almost anything to get it? Maybe you exhausted every option, asked everyone you know for advice, spent more money than you’d like to admit, and still found yourself back at square one.
If so, you likely can relate to the woman in the Gospels who knew that feeling far too well. In Mark 5, we are told this woman had been suffering from a bleeding condition for twelve years. Twelve. Years.
Mark tells us that she had endured all kinds of care from many physicians, spent pretty much every penny she had, and had actually gotten worse (Mark 5:25-26).
And her suffering wasn’t just physical. Under Mosaic law, her ongoing bleeding meant she was considered ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27). That meant she couldn’t participate in religious or ordinary social life and had to limit physical contact.
For twelve years, this woman had lived with a condition she couldn’t seem to escape. She was physically suffering, financially broke, and often isolated, ridiculed, and ostracized from society as a result of her illness.
Then she heard about a man called Jesus. Jesus was on his way to Jairus’s house, where his young daughter was dying. A large crowd had gathered around him, pressing against him as he walked. Not an ideal environment for a sick woman who was considered “ceremonially unclean” to make her way through.
But this woman didn’t wait for the crowd to clear. She didn’t decide to come back on a day when she was feeling better, or when Jesus might have more time. She had heard what he could do, and she believed that if she could just reach him, she could be healed.
“If I touch even his garments, I will be made well” (Mark 5:28, ESV).
She pushed her way through the crowd, fell to the ground, and reached for the edge of his garment.
“Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering” (Mark 5:29, NIV).
Twelve years of suffering, and with one touch, she was healed.
But the story doesn’t end there! Jesus stops and asks,
“Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30, NIV).
His disciples are understandably confused. There are people practically on top of him, and he’s asking who touched him? Probably half the crowd, Jesus!
Yet he continues looking for the one person who had reached for him. And the woman, realizing what had happened, comes forward trembling. She falls at his feet and tells him the whole truth (Mark 5:32-33).
Imagine that moment. She had tried to sneak through and approach him quietly, hoping for nothing more than a touch of the edge of his clothes. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with the Healer—a personal audience with the Son of God. And he so tenderly says:
“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5:34, NIV).
Daughter. Of all the things Jesus could have said to this woman, He addresses her with affection and dignity. He didn’t rebuke her for touching him in her uncleanliness or treat her as someone whose condition made her unworthy of his attention.
She approached him desperate for physical healing, and he stopped, turned, looked her in the eye, and spoke to her personally. This woman didn’t wait until she was well to approach Jesus—she approached him because she knew she wasn’t well and she believed he had all she needed.
How often do we do the exact opposite? We may convince ourselves we will turn to God once we have gotten that particular sin “under control,” worked through a doubt, or become a little more consistent in our quiet time. We allow shame, fear, guilt, pride, or feelings of inadequacy to keep us at a distance from the One offering grace.
But Jesus never told us to pull ourselves together before coming to him.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV).
This woman had every reason to be hesitant to enter that crowd. But she believed Jesus could do what no one else had been able to do, and she acted on that faith. While immediate healing isn’t always guaranteed, Jesus’ compassion and authority are constant. We have the extraordinary privilege of approaching him in faith and, if we are in him, being called daughter or son.
The woman came to him in the middle of her suffering, with nothing to offer and no ability to heal herself. She didn’t need to make herself worthy of his attention first. She simply came. She reached for the hem of his garment and found herself at the feet of the Messiah, who called her daughter.
We don’t have to wait until we feel ready to come to him. We come as we are because we need him, trusting his mercy and power rather than our own ability to make ourselves whole.
If there is something that has been keeping you at a distance, consider the faith of this woman. She didn’t allow her condition, her past, her circumstances, or the crowd to keep her from approaching Christ. She came as she was. So can you.
bytaylormcgee
