Risking it All

“A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.” Mark 5:25-34

The doctors said that there was no hope.  There was nothing else that could be done.  This woman had heard the worst news possible.  She was going to have deal with her health condition until it ended her life.  The odds were not in her favor.

However, at some point, she heard about Jesus.  Maybe she heard about him healing leprosy or restoring sight to the blind.  People were always talking about Jesus on the street and at the market.  She probably went to bed at night and woke up in the morning thinking about the ‘what if’.  What if she met Jesus and He could heal her?

She finally realized that she had nothing to lose.  All of her earthly possessions amounted to nothing.  But simply the thought of meeting Jesus gave her hope that she hadn’t allowed herself to formerly hold.  She probably heard the commotion outside of her house and people shouting that Jesus was coming that way.  As hope welled up in her heart, she didn’t even need to talk to Him.  If she only touched Jesus, she knew that she would be healed.

Her faith was great and as she extended her hand in a crowd of people, it changed everything. Can you imagine her frozen in place as the crowd pushed forward, shocked and amazed that she was healed.

³⁰At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

³¹His disciples said, “What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you!”

^32-33But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story.

Oh no. The woman thought that Jesus would never know.  But, Jesus, who cares about every detail of our lives, was interested in personally conversing with this woman.  The disciples didn’t understand.  They probably had touched Jesus the entire time because they were walking so close to him.  However, they didn’t have a need that only Jesus could meet, so they couldn’t understand Jesus’ question.  But the woman knew.  She knew that it was her.  Although fear shook her body, she knew that she could not hide, not even in the crowd of people.  She laid her case before Jesus, waiting for him to shame or rebuke her.

³⁴Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”

What!?! Jesus blessed her? Yes, Jesus indeed blessed her and commended her on her risk of faith.  Jesus, then, walked on but she stood there with His dust surrounding her, and everything was different.  All the words that the doctors had said that she would never be healed just dissolved.  All the pain that she had known for years no longer existed.  She had been up against the wall, but encountering Jesus changed everything.  A normal life just knocked on her door.  No more doctors appointments and medical bills that she couldn’t pay.  However, her “normal” life would always be permeated by the day she met Jesus.

The risk was worth it.  She would have rather touched Jesus and not have been healed versus never touching Him at all.  Step out and take a risk of faith. It will change everything.