Jump Start # 3990
Mark 5:34 “And He said to her, ‘Daughter, our faith has made you well, go in peace and be healed of your affliction.’”
I love the Gospel of Mark. If I had to pick only one Gospel to have in my Bible, Mark would be my choice. Heavy in action, simplistic in teaching, and illustrations of incredible faith, as found in our verse today.
Jesus is being hurried on the road to Jairus’ house. His twelve-year-old daughter is dying. There is no time to wait. A massive crowd surrounds Jesus. This only slows things down. And, through all of this, a hopeless and helpless woman makes her way to Jesus and she courageously reaches out and touches Him. She believes that just a touch will do what no doctors have been able to do. She believes she can be cured. Jesus is the answer.
Our Lord knows immediately what happened. He stops, turns and immediately, the woman falls, trembling and scared. She has been caught. She likely believes that she is in trouble. The Lord may scold her. With a crowd all around, now everyone knows. What she hoped to accomplish in secret has been revealed. Jesus has a welcoming conversation with her. Jairus must be frantic by now. Time is running out for his little girl and Jesus is having a conversation with this woman.
The verse for today reveals multiple levels of truths. First, Jesus called her “Daughter.” His daughter. Heaven’s daughter. A daughter of Israel. Not a diseased outcast. Not one unclean and unfit. She is someone’s daughter. She is the Lord’s daughter. Second, it was her faith, not the touch that cured her. Many were bumping into Jesus. No one else got cured. There is a difference between a touch and a touch of faith. Third, Jesus affirmed that she was healed. Right then, right there. Immediately.
Fear and embarrassment keep many people away from church services. Done too many things wrong, some would say. One guy told me that it had been so long since he was in a church building, that if he showed up the roof would collapse. I told him that’s ok, I’d get a better office out of that. What I like about this woman, is that she seemed focused upon the Lord. She didn’t seem to be concerned what others thought or what others might say. She had to get to the Lord and nothing was stopping her. Love that determination.
Now, consider a few thoughts from this:
First, in the mass of humanity, Jesus stops for us. God is not too busy for you. God does not think that you are too insignificant for Him to hear your story.
Second, in the mess that is your life, Jesus takes you are you are. Technically, this woman was unclean by Jewish law. The Lord didn’t cringe and shout, “Don’t touch Me,” nor, “How dare you touch Me. Do you know who I am?” Jesus didn’t tell her to go get cleaned up first. Those we meet and those we invite often have very messy lives. The Samaritan woman was like that. Multiple marriages and now just living with someone. What a tangled mess. We are pretty good at messing up things. We must let God straighten out all the tangles that we have created. He can do that. He’s good at that. The Corinthians were a mess before they heard the Gospel message. Dishonest. Thieves. Drunks. Idolaters. Fornicators. Homosexuals. Most today would say that you just have to accept a person like that because they cannot change. They did. They became sanctified, justified and cleansed.
Don’t discourage messy people from worshipping God. I think some places would put up a “No Vacancy” sign if they could get away with it. What would we do with a Zaccheaus or the Samaritan woman, or the Canaanite mom, of this woman with an issue of blood? Love them is what we would do. Invite them is what we would do. Include them is what we would do.
Third, for God to really repair us and make us whole, we must give the Lord all the pieces. That’s hard for some. We want to hold on to some things and are not ready to turn the keys of our hearts over to the Lord. And, as long as we are like that, we will never fully be healed. It’s risky to do that. It’s an honesty that many cannot get to because they want to keep some things secret.
In Luke’s account of the woman with the issue of blood, she tells Jesus the whole story. He knew. She revealed. She had nothing to fear. The Lord was there to help. He wasn’t judging. He wasn’t condemning. He knew her faith and He knew her heart.
And, in this beautiful encounter, Jesus shows that she was just as important as the needs of Jairus.
Wonderful lessons that ought to shape our faith and change our ways.
Roger