[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 5:25-34 ESV)
The grace and power of our Lord Jesus has no parallel in human history. The greatest kings and emperors have commanded armies of great warriors, but only our Lord Jesus can command the indestructible angel armies of heaven as well as the very winds of the air and the waves of the sea. The greatest of friends may sacrifice their lives in battle for their loved ones, but only our Lord Jesus so loved even his enemies that he suffered the wrath of God for their sake. No other life was so marked by amazing grace and divine power as that of Jesus Christ’s. And here in this passage, we see a microcosm of the saving grace and power of our Lord in the life of a poor, helpless woman.
Though we are not told exactly what her illness was, we know that she suffered terribly from it. She suffered physically under the care of physicians whose wisdom and skill were powerless to relieve her of her symptoms. She suffered financially as a result of spending all of her money on seeking a cure. And she must have suffered emotionally as her constant flow of blood would have rendered her ceremonially unclean, making her unable to worship in the temple or even share the chair she sat on with others lest her defilement render them unclean.
And in her complete and utter helplessness, she turned to Jesus. We do not know exactly what she thought of him, but she knew enough about Jesus to know that the divine power of the God of Israel flowed through him. So magnificent was Jesus in her eyes that she knew that if she but touched him and experienced a fraction of the mighty power of God, she would gain healing that no doctor could ever hope to give her. And so in faith, she reached out and touched him.
And in that moment, something marvelous happened! Though she was a woman who contaminated everything she touched, she did not defile him. Instead, the radiant power and purity of God flowed through Jesus and infected her disease with divine healing. How unlike us Jesus is! We cannot pass our good health to someone by touching them, but we certainly are in danger of contracting whatever illness they might have! Yet, a touch of our Lord Jesus does not result in two sick people, but rather two who are whole! And when we think of this desperately ill woman’s life-changing encounter with Jesus, are we not reminded of how we too reached out for Jesus and found healing for our souls?
We were filthy because of our sins and spread our germs of lawless rebellion to all whom we interacted with. But when God opened our hearts to receive his Gospel, we cried out to him for a fragment of his grace with mustard seed-like faith. The precious blood of the Lamb washed over us and instead of defiling us, washed us white as snow. At that moment, the immovable mount Everest of our sin was drowned in the infinite depths of the grace of God and was swallowed up forever.
Christian, are you grateful that when you were horribly diseased with your incurable sin and cried out for grace, your Lord’s power overwhelmed your disease and healed you forever? Do you think about the fact that after our Lord restored us prodigals, he did not treat us as hired servants? Though we might tremble as this woman did to be a recipient of his grace and power, he addresses us not as servants, but instead slaughters the fattened calf and clothes us in the robes of a royal son or daughter! And if our God would do so great a deed for us, can we trust him with the other troubles of our lives?
Though our problems may confound the knowledge of the wisest doctor, overwhelm the finances of the wealthiest banker, or exhaust the patience of our closest friend, nothing is beyond a mere touch of God’s grace. So reach out to your heavenly Father, and receive his unlimited and matchless grace for you this day. To the one whose great light shone into our darkness, be glory forever and ever. Amen!
