What Have She Heard?

Mark 5:27-28
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed."

These verses are part of the passage that talks about the healing of a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 long years. During this time, she not only spent her wealth seeking healing from many doctors but suffered under the care of the doctors of her time.

The most interesting question from this passage is, "What have she heard about Jesus?"

Why? You may ask. Because what she heard about Jesus caused her to seek Jesus out, believing that He heals, receive her healing (v29), and received a blessing (v34) from Jesus, himself. There is much to be gained from knowing what she heard.

She is a Jewish woman. Jesus calls her 'Daughter' (Mark 5:34) as oppose to the Canaanite woman whom Jesus answered with 'Woman' in Matthew 15:28. As such, she is bound by the laws, traditions and customs of her Jewish people.

The Law
Because of her bleeding she is considered unclean (Lev 15:26). Her law then requires her to be kept separated from the people (Numbers 5:2) and therefore should not be in and among the crowd.

What have she heard about Jesus? If it is about the Law, she would not be in the crowd, for the Law would have disqualified her.

Sins
When she approached Jesus from behind, she did so believing that she need only touch the edge of his cloak (Luke 8:44) and she will be healed. She has in a manner of speaking, "stole" her healing, judging from Jesus reaction to her touch. She only confessed after seeing that she could not go unnoticed (Luke 8:47). Is it likely that she feels unworthy to receive healing, because of sins in her life that she has to steal a healing?

What have she heard then? If it was that sins would prevent one from receiving healing, she would not be seeking Jesus out.  Sins in her life would have disqualified her.

Faith
When she approached Jesus in the crowd, she did so from behind. She did not approach Jesus from the front with her faith in boldness, to ask for a healing. Yet, she did receive her healing and Jesus took notice of her one touch apart from the many around him who must have touched him too. It was her faith in Him that Jesus saw.

What then have she heard? If it was that she requires (great) faith to receive healing, she would have just stayed home. If she believe that she has the faith to be healed, then she would had boldly approached Jesus to receive it. But she did neither of the above.

Who You Know
Also, she did not know Jesus. She only heard about him. Had she known Jesus she would have known that as a Jew, she could have just asked for a healing (Matt 15:24). There was no need for her to approach Jesus from behind. She could approach Him from the front and boldly ask.

What have she heard? If it was that she needs to know Jesus first before she can receive a healing, she would have stayed home.  She did not know Jesus.

This is Worth Pursuing
In this passage, the woman with the bleeding represents you and me, believers or non-believers, with some aspect of our life's bleeding in some way. She also typifies the Church, bleeding in some ways.

This passage suggests that the remedy to stop the bleeding, is to hear about Jesus and hearing more of Him (2 Peter 1:2) will be good.

If it is not already done, this is what we, as individuals and the Church, corporately need to discover or re-discover. What this woman heard prompted her to seek Jesus out, raise her faith in Him that brought about a miracle healing in her life, giving her not only peace, but freedom from her sufferings (Luke 5:34). This is worth pursuing.

Now then, what have you heard about Jesus?