Christian Photographers Community

Mark 5:25 - 34
The Kind Of Faith We Need

The key to this incident is in verse 27.  Mark says, "Having heard about Jesus . . . she touched His garment." Think about that for a moment. Doesn't this at least tell us that real faith had begun to blossom in the heart of this woman?  Having heard about Jesus, she was apparently deeply impressed by what she had heard. She was moved enough to believe that even the slightest contact with One like THAT would result in her healing!  He was her Messiah!  He was awesome!  He was full of power and caring! So she came to Him, she reached out, and she touched His garment.

Her words and actions show that she had come to believe that He had power from God and compassion toward men.  She had at least the beginnings of a belief that Jesus came from God, that He came to bring God's love, compassion, mercy, and wisdom.  In fact, Jesus said she had faith!

She obviously comprehended the wonderful character of Jesus  in what people were saying that did did. She heard it in what they told her He said, and she was moved to believe that He was so full of the mercy and love of God that, even if she barely touched His cloak, it would be enough for her complete healing! Jesus commended her for that kind of faith, and she was healed. She had what we need!

To be Christians at all, in fact, we have to have at least a measure of that kind of faith. If we aren't impressed by Who and What Jesus is, then – I'm sorry to have to say it - we probably don't really have any faith at all. The description of this woman's faith, then, is a description of the very essence of all true faith in Christ.

We're told that she had "heard about Jesus!" Obviously, she heard with much more than her ears - she heard with her heart, and her heart was deeply impressed with Him, with One Whom she would later realize was rightly called the Son of God! I think we can see that, in her deepest being, she was already moved to begin to know Him as having the very essence of God's loving, merciful, yet just and powerful Nature. The point of all this is that she not only got something from Jesus - she also came to know Jesus. How does He impress you? Do you know Him, or do you merely want something from Him?

Even after she was healed, Jesus wasn't finished with this new believer! We can begin to see that as we think about His question about who touched Him. It's certainly understandable that His disciples were bewildered as to why He would even ask such a question while they were in the midst of a bumping, jostling multitude! But what they didn't realize was that it wasn't just bodies, but it was someone's faith that had touched Him. He could distinguish that touch from all the rest.

Besides, it wasn't as if He didn't already know the answer to His question. He knew who touched Him. He knew her perfectly - even long before she came. But He wanted her to know that He knew. He wanted her to be fully aware of what had happened, and He wanted her to enter His kingdom. He wanted her faith to mature and her whole life to be changed. Jesus' response to her faith is therefore an illustration of what Paul said in Phil. 1:6: "For I am confident of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." A good work had already begun in the heart of this woman, and now Jesus intended to continue it.

Imagine yourself in her place. Her heart was pounding. She had been healed of her disease of twelve years by a single touch! Miraculous deliverance! She now knew that all she had heard of this Man was true! He was full of grace and power.

And now He was confronting her! He turned, looked her right in the eye, and asked, gently, knowingly, yet firmly, "Who touched Me?!" With that tone of voice, and yet with that obvious compassion, she suddenly felt free to tell Him all. Confession poured from her.

She probably told Him how she had heard of Him, how impressed she had been as she heard of this One Who healed people, yet Who was not self seeking, this One Who had immense power, yet Who seemed so gentle and caring, this One Who seemed so loving, so powerful, and so good. She probably told Him how she had longed for healing, how she had tried all the doctors, and how she had only become worse. She probably told how she had determined to come to Him, and, how, finding Him surrounded and pressed by the multitudes on all sides, she had realized that just touching the fringes of the garments of such a wonderful, powerful, caring One as Himself - would meet all her need. We're told that she "told Him all the truth." In other words, she poured out her heart to Him.

Jesus was glad. He simply added the finishing touches to the Spirit's work in her.  He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you! Go in peace, and be (made) well of your disease." The term He used in addressing her is significant. He called her "daughter." It's likely just a shortened form of "daughter of Israel."

If we Realize that Jesus never used terminology loosely, it seems evident that He was calling her this because of her faith, a kind of faith that saw Him as the longed-for Messiah. That kind of faith that she had, therefore, not only saved her from her disease, but it also made her a true "daughter of Israel!" It was a rare kind of faith in Jesus' day. Paul the apostle tells us that only Jews who had it were truly "of Israel." (Rom. 9:6)

In only five words, Jesus next proceeded to teach this woman the basics of what she needed to know for time and eternity! He said to her, "Your faith has saved you!" In other words, the kind of faith she had, the kind of faith that moved her to seek Him out, the kind of faith that made her believe strongly enough in His care and power to be convinced that merely touching His garment would be sufficient for her healing - that kind of faith had saved her.  Jesus thus confirmed her previous estimation of Him, confirmed that what she had heard of Him and of His love and power was indeed true! Such confirmation, along with the overwhelming exclamation point supplied by her healing, was calculated by our Lord to make her a permanent and growing believer.

Our Lord followed this short but wonderful instruction by telling her to "Go in peace." She needed to hear that!  She had trembled with fear when He turned in the crowd and asked who touched Him, but now, having been confirmed in her belief in His care and power, she could cease her trembling and be at fullest peace! If we have similar faith in Him, then we too may cease to fear His holy justice and may instead trust in His love.

But our Lord also said something that seems strange. He said, "Be (made) well from your disease!" Wasn't she already made well when she touched His garment? The answer is in this woman's background. She came trembling and afraid. She'd been ill for twelve long years, and Her whole life had revolved around her malady. Yes, she had experienced instant healing - but she would naturally wonder whether it would last. She would wonder whether it could be real and permanent. It would seem impossible to her.

But our Lord is concerned, not only for bodily healing and belief in Him as Messiah, but He's also concerned  about a lifetime of comfort and joy. He wanted her – and He wants us - to have joy and assurance. He cares about our feelings.

The tense of the verb He used was calculated to help her. "Be made well" just means, "Be continually well!" In other words, He's saying, "It's REAL! You're going to keep on being well! Go! Celebrate! Rejoice!"

He cares about our feelings, too. He wants us, too, to rejoice in a very real salvation and in His very real love! If we have come to know Him, if we've come to really believe in His love and power, if we've come to believe that He is all He says He is - then, if we've reached out to touch Him with our faith, He says to us, "Go in peace. Keep on trusting in Me, for I love you!"

Has it happened for you? Have you become fully aware of the hopelessness of your condition? Have you tried everything else? Have you heard about this Man Who really cares, and have you come to Him believingly, reaching out and touching Him by faith? Then for you it's real - and it's lasting!

Al, would it have been unusual for a woman to touch a Rabbi, a pharisee or saducee in those times, would they have felt unclean by her touch  due to the Mosaic law, if so this woman had great faith and courage, and I guess also great desperation, but then again she must have seen something in this Jesus of Nazareth which gave her the sense of grace which would grant her prayer answered.

QuoteAl, would it have been unusual for a woman to touch a Rabbi, a pharisee or saducee in those times, would they have felt unclean by her touch  due to the Mosaic law, if so this woman had great faith and courage, and I guess also great desperation, but then again she must have seen something in this Jesus of Nazareth which gave her the sense of grace which would grant her prayer answered.

Had she touched Him on the hand, arm, etc., yes - it would have necessitated the rabbi, etc. to go through a cleansing ritual (if they confessed it).  But in a crowd and touching merely the hem of His garment - no problem.
But you're certainly right - she displayed great faith.