Mark 5:25-34
In the Gospel of
Mark there is a story of a woman who was suffering from a debilitating
disease. Mark 5:25 reads, “Now a certain
woman had a flow of blood for twelve years.”
For twelve years she had suffered from a continual problem of
hemorrhaging blood. This disease kept
her in a weakened state and prevented her from her duties as a wife and a
mother.
This flow of blood
not only handicapped her physically, but it also hindered her spiritually. Leviticus 15:25-26 reads, “If a woman has a
discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs
beyond her usual time of impurity,
all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every
bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed
of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness
of her impurity.”
Her hemorrhaging
caused her to become ceremonially unclean according to the law of Moses. This meant that she could not go to the
temple or the synagogue to worship and pray. The mat she slept on was unclean
and had to be burned every day. She was
a woman in desperate straits. She was ostracized from the place of worship and
sacrifice.
Her diseased body
kept her from the normal functions of life.
Her husband might have divorced her.
She would have had to depend on others to help with the basic essentials
of life. In Mark 5:26 we learn that she had
tried numerous doctors and specialists.
Verse 26 reads, “And
had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had
and was no better, but rather grew worse. “ She tried everything that
medical science had to offer to only be left in a desperate situation. She had exhausted all her financial resources
and her health continued to deteriorate.
Her condition
seemed hopeless, but things were about to change. We learn in Mark 5:27 that she “heard about
Jesus.” This woman was desperate for a change. She was determined to receive something from
the Lord as He passed by. She struggled
through the discouragement and distractions that the enemy placed in her path.
She pushed her way through the crowd that thronged Him and pressed upon the
Lord.
She had to overcome
the attitude of the disciples around Him. She refused to be hindered by the
importance of His mission. Which was to go to the house of Jairus to pray for
his dying daughter. This dear lady who
was sick and suffering, overcame the embarrassment of her own appearance, which
was pale and poor because of the illness that had attacked her body.
What did she
do? Verses 27-28 give record of her
determination. “She came behind Him in
the crowd and touched His garment. For she said,
“If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Luke’s Gospel reads, “touched the border
(hem) of His garment.”
What
happened? Verse 29 reads, “Immediately
the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body
that she was healed of the affliction.”
When Jesus realized that power had gone of Him, He turned to the crowd
pressing on Him and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
This desperate
woman, who had suffered for twelve years came and fell down at the feet of
Jesus in fear and trembling. She told
him all that happened. Listen to His
reply, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of
your affliction.”
Like this woman
you might be in desperate circumstances today.
All we have to do is to reach out and touch the Lord. May the Lord say to you, “Your faith has made
you well.”
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