The faith of a woman who believed with all her might
by R. Douglass Mahaffey
I have often told people that I witness to that even the demons in hell believe in God, and they tremble. Do we? There was a woman in Galilee, near Capernaum, who had hear that Jesus was coming to her area. She had heard about the people that Jesus had healed; the leper, the blind man named Bartemeus, the paralytic, the dead servant of the Roman soldier, the dead girl, whose funeral Jesus passed. Word had gotten around that Jesus was a healer with power from God. A comedian referred to Him as a miracle caterer. Jesus only did the will of the Father.
Several people were healed by Jesus by merely touching Him. That was the case with the woman with the issue of blood. She most likely had a chronic, abnormal condition such as a fibroid tumor of the uterus, or what is referred to as a "spring of blood." She was looked at as unclean and was most likely unwelcome by the population of Jerusalem. It can be supposed that many people treated her as though there were some sin in her life that caused the condition. Either way, it was definitely an unpleasant life she lived.
Then out of nowhere, there was Jesus, preaching in her town and ministering to those in need. Jesus was Rabbi to many Jews. He had a life-long, God sent mission and was undeterred in carrying it out. He passed by her in the crowd as many people pressed in to see Him and touch Him. The woman drew near to Jesus. She just knew and believed with all her might that if she only reached out and touched His garment that he wore over His robe, that she would be healed of her condition.
As she finally made her way to Jesus, she reached out and grabbed the hem of his cloak. At that moment, power went out from Jesus and He stopped. Jesus turned around and asked, "Who touched my robe?"
One of Jesus' disciples that was with Him said, "Rabbi, there are many people around you right now, touching you."
Jesus said, "Someone with tremendous faith has reached out and touched my garment's hem. For I felt the healing virtue as it left my body."
The woman felt put on the spot and was embarrassed and scared. She thought that Jesus was about to rebuke her. That is how the mind can be conditioned to believe that we are not worth worrying about, like some kid whose parents have told him his whole life that he is worthless. The woman said to Jesus, "I believed that if I only touched your hem of your garment that I would be healed."
She told Jesus about her condition and that the doctors had done all that they could to try to help her. The people had shunned her because to Jewish standards, she was unclean. Jesus knelt down to her level, helped her up and told her, "Woman, your faith has made you whole. Go and tell no one what you have witnessed today."
Jesus told all of his followers whom He healed not to tell anyone, because His time of betrayal had not yet come to pass. He knew that the Pharisees were watching Him and waiting for the first chance that they could find to kill Him for blasphemy, because He taught the truth, He taught a message that made ruling the people hard for them, and because He taught as the Son of God. But alas, most of the time, people bore witness to others the miracles that Jesus had performed in their lives and their loved ones lives. They didn't do it to be disobedient, even though they disobeyed. They were excited in the fact that the promised Messiah had finally come into the world to save it.
The woman, by today's standards can be compared to the servant woman at a church, who may have a hard time getting around, may be physically or financially burdened, but there they are, week in and week out, serving, giving of their selves, unshaken from their faith and undeterred to show the love of Christ to others from their servant's heart. She may be haggard in appearance. Maybe she has a past history of bad mistakes that follow her. Maybe she is a widow, and is alone, but still giving all she has.
People may talk about her, they may avoid relationships with her in the church, because they just don't understand her. But that doesn't stop her from loving them and praying for them anyway. Then there comes Jesus, giving her a blessing that makes other people notice her for the Christian woman she is, and they begin to recognize her publicly. This type of woman would politely stand up and give the glory to God, who by all her blessings and spiritual prosperity comes from, knowing that it is not about her and never was. Instead, it has been about pleasing God in everything she does, which is what we are called to do in the first place, so that others can see His glory in our blessings.
R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative
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