Luke 8:40-48: “Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you." But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me." Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Then He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
Consider what her life had been like up until that moment: The twelve-year span of uncleanness that this woman experienced meant that she must have lived with so many unanswered questions about herself: "I am at the end of my resources, now what am I supposed to do? Where is God, and why doesn't He answer my prayers? Why doesn’t He heal me? Am I unworthy, have I done something to deserve this? I am forced away from God’s presence, forbidden to go into the temple for a time to worship with my family and fellow believers, I cannot participate in the annual festivals, the sacrifices, how can my sins be forgiven if I am not allowed go to the temple with my offerings?" and she must have also worried for her future… “What will my life be like next week or the week after if I continue at this rate, will I even survive until next week?” We do not know her age, but if she had been young, this ailment would have also meant she was without the ability to have children, yet another social stigma to bear. Her heart and soul must have been broken in so many ways.
The background for this story is from the Old Testament, Leviticus 15:25: "When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period." This was the condition of the woman before us. We will discover that she had lived for twelve years with a menstrual flow that could not be ended. The “modern medical techniques” she would have been subjected to by both doctors and folk medics of her day would probably have made things worse! I discovered some historical information regarding Jewish customs of the day, by Alfred Edersheim, an orthodox Jew who became a Christian. He gives an example of one of the eleven “medical directives” that this woman would have been offered as a cure: "...The ashes of an Ostrich-Egg, must be carried in the summer in a linen, in winter in a cotton rag; or barley-corn found in the dung of a white she-ass, ..." How this could have possibly stopped her condition is beyond me, and yet I would imagine that she would be willing to try anything just to have any type of relief!
Now that you understand a little more of our woman, place yourself next to her on that crowded street where the people were pressing in all around Jesus and the disciples. Look at how Peter responds when Jesus senses someone has touched Him… it almost seems that Peter was being sarcastic here with the Lord, as if to say, “oh come on now, Jesus…. You can’t be serious with that question… There are hundreds of people touching You… how ridiculous for you to ask about just one!” (consider too that she probably heard his caustic remark and only felt more humiliation after realizing she had been discovered breaking the Law in touching the Master). This is not how God wants us to see others who pass us by every day. We need to learn to think and feel as the Lord does. We can learn to expect that there are people everywhere who want Him more than they are able to articulate, who are reaching out on some level for the life-restoring power of God. They don't know how to ask for help. They may not know what to say, what to do, or where to go, but they desperately want God to love them and they want the freedom to love him back. We can learn to see what's going on in people's hearts and lives. We should be more tender, more caring, more expectant, more compassionate. More Christ-like… CHRISTian.
It is also significant to remember that Jesus had stopped his urgent errand to heal the daughter of Jarius. There was a little girl dying and her father was an important man in that city urging him, "Come quickly!" But the Lord knew that somebody else needed Him in that moment. He felt power go out from Himself, and He knew that this appeal for help was more important than everything else at that moment. Jesus heard the crowds, but He felt and heard the desperate plea of a heart wounded and slipping away into hopelessness. Every honest cry for help receives God's full attention. You remember the story of the one hundred sheep (Matthew 18:12; Luke 15:4). The shepherd left behind ninety-nine sheep that weren't lost so that he could find the one that needed him. Each one of us is the object of his searching love.
So I ask you today:
Do you relate to the woman? Are you someone who has been wanting to reach for the Master, but unsure if He will turn you away? Then be assured that He already sees you, and knows what is needed to revive you and bring healing to your heart and soul. He sees that tiny mustard seed of faith as you reach for Him, and He is eager to turn and SEE you and hold you and love you for eternity.
Do you relate to Peter? Are you frustrated with others instead of feeling the compassion of our Lord? It is time for you to repent of such a hard heart and ask the Lord to show you the world from HIS viewpoint.
Or, are you Jarius, expecting Jesus to work on your need, and then seeing other needs being met before yours? Do not worry, simply understand that God is in control, and His timing is perfect…. And He is more than able to meet your needs and the needs of others, just as Jesus healed both the woman and brought the daughter of Jarius’ back to life.
Is Jesus asking “Who Touched Me?” because you are reaching for Him? I know I am, and I know He is turning and holding me close to His heart, and that He will never let me go. This is the place I find rest when the road behind and before me seems so very long in my life. And I hear Him ever so gently say to me, “Go in Peace.”
Shalom, sister Lahoma
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