“And there was a woman in the crowd who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors through the years and had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she was worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched the fringe of his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed.”
The crowds that followed Jesus were very large. The Gospels make it clear that these throngs of people often numbered in the thousands. In some places, the writers indicate that entire villages turned out, and in some cases, the residents from several villages showed up to follow Jesus and watch Him as He preached and performed miracles in their area.
On this particular day, Jesus was already on a mission. He was going with a synagogue official to heal his daughter was very sick. The crowd pressed in around Jesus as He moved towards the man’s house. They anticipated seeing another miraculous healing. The feeling of the crowd seemed to be, “We are going to see something incredible!”
There was one person in that throng, however, who had a different mindset. For her, it was not about watching Jesus do a miracle. She needed a miracle for herself. She did not want to be an observer. She set her heart to be a receiver.
Maybe she felt that this was her only chance to connect with Jesus. She knew that the crowd would help her get close to the Lord and touch Him unobtrusively. The woman had a faith-filled mindset. She anticipated her own healing.
What she did not anticipate was Jesus’ reaction. Her faith brought Jesus and the entire crowd to a stop. The woman’s faith diverted Jesus from His primary mission to take the time to stop and speak with her.
I can’t but help wonder how many other people in that crowd had significant needs. How many of them had family members who were suffering through some type of serious illness? How many of them had their own serious issues that maybe Jesus could have helped them with?
Yet, in this large crowd of people, there was only one woman who managed to get through and “touch” Jesus. Sure, like Peter said, “Lord, they are all pressing up against you and touching you.” This woman’s touch however, was the touch of faith. It was the touch of anticipation. It was the touch of desperation. When she touched Jesus, something happened that changed her life.
Where are you at today? Are you one of the crowd following Jesus hoping to see Him do something spectacular? Or you in need of really touching Him so that a miracle can happen in your life?
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