Bolder: A Look at the Audacious Faith of Imperfect PeopleSample

Day 6: Woman Healed

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all give an account of this particular woman seeking healing from Jesus. She is too afraid to ask Jesus for healing, so she just touches the edge of his robe, trusting he has enough power to heal in this way. Step into her sandals for a minute. She has been sick for twelve years. Think of someone you know who is twelve, or maybe you are twelve. That’s their (or your) entire life! No matter how old you are, twelve years is a long time to be sick. The woman’s sickness caused her to bleed. Medically, this meant she likely would have been tired all of the time, probably unable to do normal day-to-day tasks often. Religiously, as a Jew, this meant she was “unclean” and couldn’t participate in some of the religious activities—for twelve years. Imagine the exhaustion and loneliness she must have felt. On top of that, no doctor had been able to help her, and she didn’t have any money left to try much else. What else could be done anyway?

Then Jesus strolled through town, having been asked by a rich, important man to come to his house to heal his daughter. The woman had clearly heard about Jesus and what he could do as she hoped that touching his robes would heal her. Whether she was trying not to bother Jesus or was embarrassed to ask him for help (or a mix of both), she went for it--and it worked! Amazed, the woman seemed to want to remain unnoticed, but Jesus stopped what he was doing to talk to her directly.

Now imagine that moment. You’ve been trying to fly under the radar, you get what you came for, and then Jesus stops the crowd and asks, “Who touched me?” If you run, it might be obvious. If you look around as if it wasn’t you, is he going to know anyway, and then make it worse when you’re called out for not saying anything? The woman decides to just own it and, bowing her eyes, she admits it was her—in front of everyone. For those of us that have had a chance to read the Bible and see how Jesus treats people, we're not surprised by Jesus' kind response, but this woman and those around her likely were. Jesus takes a moment as he is being rushed to help someone else and speaks to the woman, praising her for her faith. Jesus says her faith is what made her well. Her faith? She tried to be as anonymous, as hidden, as possible. She didn’t want to draw attention and may have felt desperate; she likely didn’t feel worthy enough to ask for the help. But at the end of the day, she still came to Jesus with what courage she could muster, and it was enough. Jesus doesn’t ask for big faith in comparison to anyone else’s; he simply asks us to come to him with whatever faith we have. That alone takes boldness, but be sure, he’ll take it from there.

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. Is there any area of your life you’ve lacked boldness because you feel like you’re not good enough?

2. Have you ever seen Jesus take something you thought wasn’t any good and do something amazing with it? Explain or share.

3. What is one thing you think you should bring to Jesus even though you’re scared to?