And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment.
For she said, “If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole.” And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said,
“Who touched My clothes?”
And His disciples said unto him, “Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. And He said unto her,
“Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.” Mark 5:25-34
This is an event tied with the story of Jairus’s coming to Jesus to ask healing for his twelve year old daughter. Matthew gives little attention to Jairus in chapter 9 of that gospel account. Mark gives more detail of the event with Jairus, and Luke give account of it in chapter 8.
This woman is not named, neither her nationality, but either way she is “unclean” according to Leviticus 15:25. She has suffered not only from this disease like a scourging of continuing grief, weakness, and the physicians taking all that she had (v. 25). She had heard of Jesus and longed but to touch the hem of His garment. O that we would all long to touch Him in our sicknesses, weaknesses, pain, scourging sin, and longing from Him to receive cleansing and forgiveness.
Remember, Jesus is on the way to Jairus’s home. He is surrounded by a mass of people bumping into one another, some brushing up against Him, and here is this woman in pain who deliberately reaches Him, touches His garment, and she is immediately made whole. The bleeding stops, and she is now clean.
On the way to another place Jesus is touched by a woman who was afraid, timid, and may not have wanted Him to know that it was her who touched Him; but Jesus sensed that someone with faith in Him had touched Him. Jesus asked who it was that had touched Him. I think He already knew. He was calling the one out so that the miracle of her faith would be known, and would be an enabler for others too.
Are you on the way somewhere right now? If you have a need for hope, trust in Jesus. He is the only source of genuine hope and faith. On your way stop at Jesus, and in your pain, sin sickness, uncleanness and disease reach out and touch Him. He is waiting.