Luke 8:40-48

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

⁴⁰ So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. ⁴¹ And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. ⁴³ Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴ came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

This was not a new miracle, (Mark 6:56), but this specific recording is significant because it tells us that when we seek the Lord in faith for our needs, power comes out of Him for provision and resolution.

The woman, whose name we don’t know, was part of another nameless, faceless, pressing throng as Jesus walked through the crowd. He did not see her until after her healing took place. Indeed, with the surge of power that came out of Him, it was such that it compelled Him to stop and ask.

Her fear was such that she merely slipped back into the crowd, seeking renewed anonymity. She did not rejoice, or say anything to anyone. But this was Jesus asking, and she was probably feeling, in some way that she was going to be, and deserved to be, reprimanded for being sneaky, as some would have judged her.

He waited, and watched her trembling as she told Him her story, and its result.

But what He tells her is something unexpected, something kind and merciful, and encouraging: “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Why her, and not others? Were there not other sick people there who bumped into Him?

Likely, but here’s what Jesus tells us, and this is why faith continues to be the key that brings the miracles to us:

Luke 4:23-30

²³ He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” ²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.²⁷ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, ²⁹ and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰ Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

From the very beginning of His ministry, the evil in the hearts of men were stirred to kill Him because they got convicted by the presence of the holiness in their midst, but it wasn’t His time. Their minds were on material wealth, political control, and a smug attitude that because they were the Chosen, their entrance into the afterlife was automatic.

Jesus cautioned them it wasn’t. (Matthew 21:28-32)

It is only through faith, obedience, humility, fear, and patience that we see our blessings manifest. The healed woman had been broke, powerless, without family (that we know of), and was likely suffering the culture’s judgment on her life as having a ‘special’ kind of sin that so cursed her life. Her affliction had been with her for twelve years, and she’d probably given up hope.

She had a choice to make. Go to Jesus, or stay afflicted, and she actively moved through the crowd to get close enough…

Are we going to turn to Jesus as believers, or stay in afflicted, conflicted silence on the sidelines, with a nameless, faceless, pressing mob that came out to see what was going on, but not really being a part of it?

Would Jesus stop to call you from the crowd if You turned to Him today?

Search within, be honest, and then choose. He longs to say to you,

“Be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, 

Keep us mindful of being fearful, humble, patient, faithful and obedient servants of the Kingdom as we seek the Father’s will through You for our lives, for you’ve said to us that if we’ve seen You, we’ve seen the Father.

Let the light of the Gospel shine at our feet, as the lamps our bodies read it, and the temples of our bodies perform it, in faith believing, in repentance of besetting sins, in renouncing of spiritual strongholds where our enemy contends strongly, and repeatedly, against us. 

Unite us, that we may be stronger together. Bless us, that we may be a blessing to others. Let us spiritually touch You, that power, boldness, peace, and love quicken us to speak of You, unashamed and unafraid, to the mob that seeks to throw us from the cliffs.

As Your people, we ask that You speak to us, that we may know Your voice, and abide in You, under Your protection as we go out wise as serpents, and harmless as doves, and let us enter with rejoicing into our Father’s realm and rest, to be with You forever, free from spiritual and physical afflictions, every tear dried, every question answered, and redeemed in the sight of the Father through Your blood.

Let us be ready, in fear and trembling, as You call us out of the crowd to give the reason why we sought Your presence in our lives by faith, and give an accounting of what we’ve done. May it stand the test of fire in the day of judgment, that it would be good in the Father’s sight. 

Thank You, Lord Jesus.

May it be done to us as You have said. 

Amen.