The Bleeding Woman at the Hem of Jesus​

We find her in:

Mark 5:25, Matthew 9:20, Luke 8:43

“And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”

She had been bleeding for twelve years. She had gone to many physicians. She spent everything she had trying to get better, but nothing worked. Instead of improving, her condition only became worse.

She was tired, exhausted, worried, stressed, and in pain. On top of that, she was considered unclean.

Leviticus 15:19-23 tells us that a woman with a discharge of blood was ceremonially unclean, and anyone who touched her or anything she sat or lay on would also become unclean.

Now imagine living like that for twelve years.

Twelve years of sickness.

Twelve years of being pushed to the side.

Twelve years of being separated from normal life.

Twelve years of carrying the weight of physical pain, emotional hurt, financial loss, and loneliness.

Yet in her helpless situation, she reached out in faith.

She had heard about Jesus and believed that if she could just touch His garment, she would be healed. She made her way through a crowded street. Fear was there, but her faith was greater than her fear.

Mark 5:29 says:

“And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”

The moment she touched Him, everything changed.

But Jesus noticed her. In the middle of a busy crowd, He stopped for her. The outcast, the unclean woman, Jesus cared for her.

Mark 5:30-34 ESV

“And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my garments?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, “Who touched me?”‘ And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.'”

Out of all the people surrounding Him, Jesus saw her.

He was not content to let her walk away unnoticed.

He called her forward, listened to her story, and spoke words of peace over her life.

Her faith healed her.

What do you need healing from today?

Where are you bleeding?

Is it spiritual?

Financial?

Physical?

Emotional?

Jesus is still reaching out to people today. Just as this woman reached out to Him in faith, we can come to Him with our burdens, our fears, our pain, and our needs.

If you reach out to Him in faith, you will find that He is faithful and just. He sees you, He knows your situation, and He cares for you.

To the mother in her waiting season, the Hem Mother, if you are bleeding,  Jesus wants you to know that no matter what you have done, where you have been, what they said or did, He is there for you. Draw closer to Him, close enough to touch His Hem.

Cheering you on!

Shalom,

Natasha Chetty.