Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:33-34)
“Daughter, your faith has healed you.” The word “healed” is the same Greek word (sozo) that is usually translated “saved.” It can refer to both physical and spiritual healing. In this case, it apparently means both.
Though this woman is not even named, there is something unique about her. There is a large crowd of people around Jesus and Mark makes sure to mention that the crowd is “pressing” in around Him. It is one of those scenes where you see a great mass of people and a small contingent of people trying to make their way through. Jesus is obviously being touched by hordes of people. But this one woman reaches out in faith and is healed.
Mark does describe her. She was a woman who knew suffering. First she had the physical problem of bleeding for twelve years. Then she had to deal with the social stigma that accompanied her problem since the OT law dictated that a woman with bleeding outside her monthly cycle would be designated “unclean” (Lev. 15:25-27). This woman also “suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors.” She had sought relief and remedy for twelve years to no avail and apparently many of her treatments were worse than her original problem. Finally she had financially lost everything in the process. So here she is–physically suffering, financially broke, emotionally spent, and socially isolated. But she has hope in Jesus.
I have to wonder what made her different from the others pressing around Jesus. I can only imagine that many in the crowd had needs too. What made this woman different? Perhaps the others in the crowd were more interested in seeing miracles than in really being changed. John describes this group in John 2:23-24: …Many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. Jesus knew their hearts. They were not interested in life change; they simply were there for the spectacle. The heart of man hasn’t changed any in two thousand years. We still gravitate to where the action is, to the “hottest” news, to whatever entertains us, excites us, attracts our attention. The crowd pressing around Jesus was the same–”Show us something Jesus!”
But suffering had broken this woman. She was not there to see a show. She was not there for the excitement. She was there because she had no other place to turn. Jesus was her only hope. And as she reached out for Him, she reached with the heart of faith.
I love Jesus’ words to her. As she is kneeling before Him, trembling with fear, He says, “Your faith has healed you. Go in peace. Be freed from your suffering.” Go in peace. Do not let your suffering define your life any more. Experience God’s wholeness and peace.
That is God’s message to us. When we come broken before Him, He heals us. And He invites us not to live in our suffering but to live in His peace.