Overheard

September 22, 2024

September 22, 2024
Dave Stephens

Big Idea of the Series: This series invites us to listen in on four conversations Jesus had with people.

Texts: Luke 8:43-48; Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34

Imagine living in isolation for twelve long years, cut off from society, family, and friends. Today, we will explore the life-changing conversation between Jesus and a woman who experienced just that.

This woman’s story is found in 3 of the Gospels…Matthew, Mark and Luke 8:43-48. Each of the three accounts varies in detail, but together they give us a great deal of insight into this woman and her encounter with Jesus.

Luke 8:43-48 43

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’”

In ancient Jewish culture, a woman was considered ceremonially unclean during her menstrual period and for seven days afterward. This meant she couldn’t touch anyone or anything without making them unclean as well. Imagine the isolation and stigma this woman faced, not just for a week, but for twelve long years.

Without exception, prolonged physical illness affects everyone physically, mentally, and spiritually. Although we can’t know this woman’s specifics, many common effects of chronic illness can give us an idea of the life she might have endured.

Physically
Was this woman in constant, tormenting pain from her issue? The Bible doesn’t say that she was. Nor does it say that she was dying from blood loss. But, an everyday life would have been impossible for her because of her condition and Jewish law.
Regardless, she suffered at the hands of the physicians. Even without their help, blood flowing from your body for 12 years would sap your strength and leave you with a host of other physical complications.

Emotionally
For twelve years, this woman lived without the simple joys of human connection…twelve years of no hugs, no kisses, no handshakes, pats on the back, or shared meals. She couldn’t go out in public, couldn’t get together with the other women to draw water from the well, and couldn’t venture out to worship at the temple. Nothing. For twelve years! I don’t care how strong you think you are, 12 years without human contact would take a toll on anyone’s emotional state.

Spiritually
As part of the Chronic Illness battle, Satan likes to mess with our minds, taunting us with horrific lies that sometimes leave us feeling unworthy, especially when our body is betraying us, and we don’t understand why we haven’t seen our breakthrough.

No two spiritual battles are the same, and there isn’t a set time they last. Satan’s end game is always the same; to get us to doubt God’s love and character. When we doubt Him, we pull away from him and try to hide. Satan tries to get us to focus so much on ourselves and our chronic illness that we don’t think about God, talk to Him, read His Word, fellowship with other Christians, etc.

Looking into the culture of the Jewish community during that time, a common belief was that if a person suffered in any way, the affliction was an outward sign of inward (hidden) sin. In other words, they got what they deserved.

John 9:1-3

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
3 “‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”

We also know (from the text) that she believed Jesus had something she needed.

The Bible says that, “When she had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment, for she kept saying, ‘If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.’” Mark 5:27-28

What we know for sure is that she had faith. How do we know that?

For her to understand that she only needed to touch Jesus to be healed means that she believed Jesus was the healer…not the church leaders, doctors, or the apostles.
With just one touch of Jesus’ garment, her physical symptoms, the flow of blood, immediately dried up. After twelve years of symptoms, She knew that her body had changed. She was healed physically!

Two things are so important here:

1) This woman hadn’t touched or been touched in years.
2)Jesus only did and said what the Father in Heaven told him to do or say (John 5:19-20).

Why is number 2 so significant?

Father God saw this woman still cowering and trying to hide. She still had emotional wounds that only God could see, feelings of shame, fear, and anxiety that hadn’t been transformed yet. God loved her so much that he couldn’t let her walk away with emotional wounds still festering. So Jesus immediately responds…

Instead of condemning her, He took time and acknowledged her. He called her daughter; publicly claiming her as his own. I love how the KJV puts it; He told her “Your faith has made you whole.”

Q: How are you doing with whatever you are still struggling with? Are you going to the Lord’s door and knocking? Are you staying close to God in Scripture and prayer, even when you don’t feel like it? Have you been honest with God about your feelings, hopes, and desires, or are you hiding those things from the only one who can make them possible?

Just as the woman with the issue of blood reached out in faith and found healing, You can find wholeness in Jesus.

We believe that through Jesus you can find hope, strength, and increased faith from this amazing account of the woman with the issue of blood.

Action Steps Based on the Sermon

1. Young Single Adult (18-24)
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2. Early Career Professional (25-34)
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3. Newlywed (25-40)
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4. Young Parent (25-40)
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5. Mid-Career Professional (35-50)
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6. Parent of Teens (35-65)
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7. Empty Nester (50-65)
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8. Early Retiree (60-70)
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9. Late Retiree (70+)
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10. Single Adult (18+)
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11. Single Parent (25+)
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12. Widowed
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13. Divorced (30-60)
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