Known and Loved

Four different authors wrote accounts of Jesus’s life (called Gospels), and three of them recorded one of my favorite stories about Jesus: His interaction with a woman who bled for twelve years. This woman had spent over a decade suffering physically, but on top of that, in that culture she would’ve been considered “unclean.” She probably felt isolated, lonely, and hopeless. But then, she saw Jesus in a crowd. She edged her way toward Him until she was close enough to touch Him. She thought, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed” (Matthew 9:21). So she touched Him. The Gospels of Mark and Luke tell the rest of the story in a similar way. After the woman touched Jesus’s cloak, she was immediately healed. Jesus knew someone had touched Him, and He asked, “Who touched me?” Then the woman fell at His feet and shared the truth with Jesus and with the crowd. Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace” (Luke 8:48). Matthew’s Gospel gives us less detail. In his account, after the woman touches Jesus’s cloak, Matthew writes, “Jesus turned and saw her” (Matthew 9:22), then told her that her faith had healed her. I like to think Jesus knew right away who had touched Him. That He wanted the woman to come forward, but He saw her through the crowd. He saw her years of suffering. He saw her need to be healed, but also her need to be seen and known and loved. Have you ever felt like this woman? Like you’ve been waiting for healing for so long, but you’re not sure it will ever come? You are not alone. Jesus sees you. He’s waiting for you to fall at His feet and give Him your hurting heart. He is the God of healing. He fills our broken places with peace and love. All we need to do is reach out and touch His cloak. • Becca Wierwille • Have you ever experienced a time of loneliness, isolation, or suffering like this woman? What fears or anxieties do you think she might’ve had? • While we can always ask God for healing, sometimes it won’t happen the way we want it to right away. But God always meets us with love and compassion when we come to Him. And we can know with certainty that when Jesus returns, He will fully heal all our hurts. Where do you need hope today? How might God be inviting you to reach out to Him? Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:22 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Matthew 9:20-Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:25-Mark 5:34; Luke 8:43-Luke 8:48