This is probable the most well known Scripture in the Bible. It is one of the passages in the Bible that are more used by preachers, evangelist and teachers than other passages. And yet through all these years nobody knows what this woman’s name is. Nobody knows what she looked like. Nobody knows if she was tall or maybe short. No one knows the color of her hair or eyes. She is only known as the woman with the issue of blood.
We all know this miracle very well, but the question I want to put to you today is, was the issue of blood really the only issue in her life?
We must remember that throughout the whole Scripture, the Church of God is referred to as a woman. We must also remember that the Word of God teaches us that life is in the blood of a person or animal. For this reason God forbid the people of Israel to eat or drink the blood of any animal. That is also the reason why Jesus shed His blood, for by giving His blood he gave His life.
With this in mind lets for a moment spiritualize this passage. If this woman then represent the church of God, then it means that the church is slowly bleeding to death and the only hope for the church is to touch Jesus again. For this same manner we can put ourselves in the place of this woman. There are people here today, and in this community of ours, that are bleeding to death for several years now. There is only one hope and one answer to them – touching Jesus again. Church of God let us become once again a touching church – touching Jesus and touching others.
I have said that this woman not only has an issue of blood. You see, today we can place ourselves in the pace of this woman because all the issues she had is also the issue we have.
1. A physical issue.
The issue of blood was a physical issue. For twelve years this woman was sick. Every day, every hour, every second she was aware of her physical condition. We as men will never know what this woman went through. All the woman in this congregation will have an idea because you can relate more to an issue of blood than we.
Maybe you are sitting here today also with a physical condition. Maybe it is also for more than a year now. The worst part is that the Bible say that this woman’s condition grew worse and worse every day. Just imagine being sick for twelve years and every year, every month, every week, hour, minute and second your condition are becoming worse and worse. Imagine the feeling of hopelessness and desperation. I believe this woman was at a point were she was ready to give up. She was ready just to sit and die. Not even all the physicians could help her. She was at a point of no return. Maybe you are felling the same way. For weeks, months or even years you are sick and have a physical condition. I have good news today. Touching Jesus is all that matters and your life will never be the same again.
You must understand something important here. God is never late. I believe in a Divine appointment. You must realize that we are living in the natural and the natural is controlled by time. God lives in the supernatural where there is no such thing as time. The Bible teaches us that for God one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day – 2 Peter 3:8. God has a perfect time and the impossible becomes possible when God’s perfect time meets our natural time.
For 12 years this woman prayed, maybe even believed God, has done all she could do, but her divine appointment was on the way. Remember God does not work within our time frame. All that we must do is keep on believing and wait upon the Lord for He has a divine appointment for us in store.
2. A financial issue.
Secondly she had a financial issue. Verse 26.
The medical art in Judea in that age was in a very crude condition. Lightfoot gives, from the Rabbinical books, the remedy for a female hemorrhage: ``Let them dig seven ditches, in which let them burn some cuttings of vines under four years old. Let her take in her hand a cup of wine; let them lead her away from this ditch and make her sit over that. Let them remove her from that and sit her over another. At each removal you must say to her, "Arise for thy flux".’’ This is an illustration of what this woman suffered. The tragedy of it was that she "was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse" Her money was gone, her disease was gaining on her, her one chance came now with Jesus.
In our days we can say she sold her TV, her VCR, her couch, her jewellery, all she had. She had nothing left. Everything was gone. No more money. No more resources. Nothing left. She had one big financial issue.
We definitely can relate to that. We have a new saying, to much month over at the end of our money. I do not know about you, but I can do with a financial breakthrough. I am not preaching prosperity; I am preaching reality. All the treasures of this earth belong to God and I am an heir and a joint heir of God and that means that all that also belongs to me.
Grace = God’s Riches At Christ Expense.
Mercy = the passion, the power, the ability of God to treat us far better than we ever deserve.
That is why Jesus died on the cross. He became poor so that we can be rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9.
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
We must understand that this verse is not only for the spiritual realm, but for every facet of your live, be it spiritual, physical or material. God wants to treat us more and better than we deserve.
3. A family and friends issue.
According to the Bible in Leviticus 15 a woman with an issue of blood was regarded as unclean and anything she touched were unclean. Leviticus 15:19 – 27.
For twelve years she was regarded as an outcast. She knew loneliness. She knew how it feels to be cast out of a community. She knew how it feels to be ignored by people. If she were married, for 12 years she could not touch her husband or her children, if she had any. She was not allowed to walk in the streets were there were people. She was not allowed to sit on anything. Nobody dared to come and visit her. She was all alone in this world.
How many of us can relate to this, today. In fact the law degreed that if she was caught in public, they had the right to kill her.
4. A faith issue.
Lastly, she had a faith problem. How many of us today realize that after 12 years her faith was very low. With each passing year and month and weeks and days she grew worse and her level of faith smaller. But thank God, He is only looking for faith as big, or rather as small, as a mustard seed to perform a miracle in your life.
Maybe you also have a faith issue today. Maybe you also feel it is not worth it to believe anymore. Maybe you are also just going through the motions each day. Listen, touching Jesus is all that matters, and your life will never be the same again.
What was this woman’s secret? I want to close by giving you two important keys.
1. She was at the end of her rope and therefore desperate.
She had nothing to lose. What she could have lost, she already did. She could not lose her self-esteem anymore. She could not lose her dignity anymore. All that she could lose was her life and she was prepared to sacrifice it. She was prepared to put her life on the line.You must remember, she was not allowed in public. Therefore, it was not a case of walking upright down the street and touch Jesus. She had to crawl on her hands and knees. She had to disguise her face, so that they do not recognize her. Then, the Bible says, that there was a big crowd around Jesus. She had to crawl beneath their legs in order to touch His garment.
2. She dared to touch Him.
We must understand again that anything she touched became unclean. However, she knew, if there is One Person she can touch, it is Jesus. Her uncleanness will not make Him unclean. In fact, His purity will purify her; His cleanness will make her clean; His holiness will make her holy.
Today it does not matter how your life looks like. It does not matter what issue you have. It is impossible for you to change Him by touching Him.
Hebrew 13:8.
James 1:17.
You see, when He died at the cross He has brought us perfect atonement. So His forgiveness will bring us forgiveness because He called out “Father forgive them”.
His cleanness will make you clean.
His stripes will bring you healing.
His presence will bring you fullness of joy and comfort and companionship. You do not have to be alone anymore.
His peace and wisdom will bring you prosperity for every facet of your life.
Just dare to touch Him. He has already done everything for us on Calvary. No amount of money or programs or whatever can give us, what He can give us freely.
Just dare to touch Him.
