THE UNEXPECTED JESUS
"Healing the Brokenhearted"
Mark 5:21-34
INTRODUCTION: On Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, after having been stabbed repeatedly by a man
named Lewis Paine, Secretary of State William Seward, lay in a hospital bed physically crippled
and emotionally drained. And to top it all off, he had not yet been told that his close friend,
President Abraham Lincoln was dead. So, wanting a better view of the trees that were just
beginning to bloom outside, he asked to have his bed moved closer to the window. As he gazed out
upon the beautiful new life in the outside world, he spotted the flag atop the War Department
building. It was flying at half-staff. He knew immediately what it meant, but it took a few
minutes to sink in. When it did he began to weep and to cry out loud, "The President it dead."
His nurse tried to deny it, but he knew his friend was gone. Overwhelmed by his own situation
and his grief for President Lincoln, he began to cry uncontrollably, shaking and weeping until
the bandages that held his wounds together were soaked with his tears and his blood. Jesus met
many who were brokenhearted, but one that stands out in my mind is a solitary figure whose
faith was greater than her affliction. READ TEXT Jesus had been given the power to heal the
brokenhearted, and this dear lady’s life was is shambles by her physical affliction. Jesus
brought her healing in more ways than one.
I. LIFE IN DESPAIR
A. It is hard to imagine just how miserable this woman’s life had become. I doubt seriously is
any of us could even remotely identify with her physical struggles and shame.
1. She was deathly ill and had been that way for 12 years. 12 years. This was probably a third
of her life, and it had been spent battling an embarrassing affliction that had ostracized her
from everyone she knew.
2. She could not be with her family and friends because she was unclean. No one was allowed to
touch her, keep company with her, even speak to her because of her illness. The Law called for
her to be cast out of the city until she was healed, and she might very well have been cast out
at one time.
3. The only ones who might even dare associate with her were the lepers. They had nothing to
lose. She could not bring them any greater harm that the plague of leprosy had already brought. But they had enough problems of their own.
4. Even the Temple was off-limits to her. If she entered it, she would defile it, and that simply
would not do. So, even God’s house was beyond her reach. Imagine how great her sorrow must have
been.
5. She was an outcast in the middle of outcasts with no one to turn to, no one to share her
sorrow with, and no one to help her in any way. She was all alone in her misery and her
affliction.
B. I can see some of us in her story. No, not everyone has such a burdensome physical illness,
but some of us do. Others carry spiritual illnesses that keep us brokenhearted and separated
from family, friends and more importantly, God. At times her shoes fit us quite easily and
there seems no way to find relief.
C. King David wrote in Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is near those who have a broken heart and saves
such as are crushed in spirit." This lady fits both of these categories, brokenhearted and
crushed in spirit, so Jesus through His power set out to...
II. HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED
A. You have got to admire this lady’s gut and her faith. She had gone out into the crowd knowing
that she did not belong there, knowing that she would have to face more public humiliation as
the crowd would shout, "Unclean! Unclean!" But she went anyway, she needed help.
1. Oh, yes, she had sought help. She had been every where to see every doctor she could find,
but not a one was able to bring her any measure of relief. In fact she was worse and all her
money had gone to pay the medical bills. All she got in return was more pain and increased
sorrow.
2. The Bible tells us that she is in the middle of the crowd and that she pushes her way to the
front to get to this man. A man who it is said can perform miracles, and a miracle is just what
she needs.
3. So pushing and straining through the press of humanity around Jesus, she reached for Him. She
knew in her heart that if she could only touch the hem of His garment, the miracle would be
hers. That she did, and by her faith she got her miracle.
4. This is where the unexpected happens. Jesus knew someone had touched Him. So He stops to see
this person. I believe He knew it was her, because verse 32 tells us that He looked at her. He
looked her in the eyes and then He went to her. She must have been terrified.
5. See the shock she felt when Jesus approached her as the Bible says "she fell down before Him
and confessed." Listen, no one approached her, ever! No one had anything to do with her, spoke
to her or associated with her, but He did. He came right up to her and said, "Daughter, your
faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your illness." In doing so, He not only
healed her body but also her heart.
B. Jesus will do no less for you today. Are you brokenhearted over some illness that afflicts
you daily? It doesn’t matter if it is physical or spiritual, Jesus can bring relief. He will
come to you if you will come to Him in absolute faith, trusting Him and His way.
1. II Corinthians 1:3,4
2. Psalm 147:1-3, "Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and
fitting to praise him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals
the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds."
3. Matthew 5:4
C. Will you allow Jesus to heal your broken heart? Bring your anguish, your sorrow, you
affliction to the cross where He died, and He will give you relief. He will give you reason to
live again through His blood and His grace.
