CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #34: THE BLEEDING WOMAN

 

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: MIRACLES

BLEEDING WOMAN (MARK 5:21-34)

 

In God’s Kingdom, the nobodies become somebodies.

 

Location of Miracle: Near Capernaum, northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee

 

Set the Scene: 

 

·      Jesus was often impressed with people who took enormous risks to find Him and reach for His grace: Samaritans, lepers, the poor, women… He looked for those on the outskirts of society. 

 

·      Jairus pleaded with Jesus to heal his daughter. (Jairus was the leader of the synagogue. He had been elected by the people to this “esteemed position.” He had responsibilities to arrange synagogue services and oversee the building.)

 

·      Jesus was interrupted by another daughter, a woman living on the outskirt of society. The contrast between the two – a daughter of the prestigious local mayor and the unclean woman. 

 

·      Twelve years of shame and frustration are resolved in a momentary touch of Jesus. 

 

Read MARK 5:21-34.

 

Big Take-Aways:

 

1)    The woman TOUCHED Jesus! Her uncleanliness would make Jesus unclean. This would make Him unable to heal Jairus’ daughter, according to Jewish law. But she was desperate! 

 

·      How did Jairus feel? Did he lose an opportunity to save his daughter?

·      How did the woman feel? She was DESPERATE! She had been isolated, lonely, feared by others. She reached for the one source of hope – the tassels of Jesus’ garment, which is traditionally thought of where the Rabbi’s authority resides. (Numbers 15:37-39)

·      How did Jesus feel? Whenever Jesus has contact with people like this, he doesn’t pause a moment. Jesus stopped the parade because Jesus wants contact with this woman just as much as she desperately needed him. Jesus was the only rabbi with the capacity to make the unclean clean. This reverses the rule of Judaism. He made the unclean clean and remained clean. 

 

2)    Jesus speaks of “your faith”; it is important that the woman understand that she hadn’t been cured by magic; her cure had been the result of a mighty power of Jesus, but it came to her because of HER FAITH, not because of the magic of the touch. 

 

3)    The word translated “healed” is literally “saved.” The result of the miracle is both physical healing and theological salvation. The miracle restored her health; the kindness of the encounter restored her dignity!

 

 

Call to Action: Who are the unclean people in our lives who need to encounter Jesus? How might we be able to reach them?