A Step Of FaithSample

Faith That Restores

Have you ever broken a bone or had a bad injury? Physical conditions are not only painful, but they can also stop us from doing the things we want to do in our lives.

The woman we meet in this passage was faced with a situation that was much more difficult than what we might think by simply reading her story. Yes, she had been bleeding for twelve years and no doctors were able to help her, that would have been hard enough. But her condition also meant that her community would have considered her to be ‘unclean’, meaning she would have been cut off from the normal Jewish religious customs and would make anyone she touched ‘unclean’ as well. She was a social outcast.

For twelve years she was in this situation. Imagine how embarrassing that must have been for her, not to mention the effect on her health, how lonely she must have been, and the fact she was now poor after spending all her money on doctors.

This woman decides to take a step of faith towards Jesus. She makes her way through the crowd to get close enough to touch Jesus’ robe and when she does,
she is completely healed! Not only was she healed physically, but she would have also been restored back into her community, able to live a normal life again. In this moment Jesus does more than just restore her physically, He restores her sense of dignity, value to her community and her freedom.

Questions

1. Why do you think the woman came to Jesus?
2. Why do you think this woman was healed just by touching Jesus’ robe?
3. What does this passage tell us about how God views faith?
4. Do you think God still values faith today? Why?
5. What are some of the areas in our lives that God wants to restore?