I’m reading through the Gospel of Matthew these days. I love Matthew, it’s one of my favorite books of the Bible. Perhaps it’s because it’s so practical, with Jesus laying out exactly what it means to follow him and what he expects of his disciples. Or maybe because it’s written in story format, almost like I’m reading a novel, with surprising plot twists and turns on every page. Or maybe it’s just because I get to see my sweet Jesus heal and show deep compassion to people who are typically passed by, ignored, feared, hated or looked down upon by those around them. He’s got no time for the hero; it’s the underdog he’s looking for.
Today I read Matthew 9:18-26. It’s about Jesus healing a woman on his way to raising a dead little girl back to life. If you’re not familiar with this story, go read it because it’s incredible. In fact, read the whole book of Matthew because this kind of story is not out of the ordinary in this account of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth.
The scene begins with a man named Jarius, a leader in the synagogue, coming up to Jesus and pleading with him to bring his daughter back to life. This desperate man says that if Jesus could just come back to his house where the dead girl lies, and touches her, she will live. Jesus agrees and if we skip down to verses 23-26, we find Jesus delivers what he promises. He takes the girl by the hand and she gets up. Jesus raises the dead to life.
But hold on, we missed some parts of the story. Although this is all we hear about Jarius and his daughter, another story was playing out in the midst of this miracle.
As Jesus sets out for the Jarius’ home, a woman reaches for him. She had been suffering for twelve years with intensive bleeding (most say it was probably a menstrual disorder), and therefore was considered “ceremonially unclean” and rejected by society. If anyone came into physical contact with her, they too would be considered unclean.
Living with this disease for twelve years, this woman knew the law. She had been told that anything she touched would immediately become defiled. She had experienced exile from everyone in the community because of it. She had found no one who could, much less wanted to help someone like her. She could not heal herself nor find a cure for her suffering.
Yet here is verse 21:”She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.'”
This woman knew her situation, yet something about Jesus awakened her hope. Something about this man who spoke with truth and power, yet walked with such gentleness and compassion, stirred her soul. She sensed that if anyone could, He could make her clean again.
However, unlike many others who came to Jesus for healing, this woman did not walk straight up to him and ask directly. She had faith in his power to be sure, but it seems that maybe those messages of unworthiness she had received year after year had stuck with her. Perhaps being told over and over again that she was unclean and unimportant made her the believe that she had no right to come to Jesus as she was. Who was she to ask for something so miraculous?
But even a little faith can move mountains. The scriptures say that the instant this woman touched the hem of Jesus’ robe, she was completely healed. Twelve years of suffering gone. Twelve years of isolation over. Twelve years of uncleanliness finished. He makes all things new.
There’s more though. This woman’s healing did not immediately stir the people, or cause any sort of scene. So she could have walked away, whole and complete without anyone the wiser, and everyone would’ve continued on to Jarius’ home to go see someone raised from the dead. But that’s not how Jesus works.
Instead Jesus called to her. He wanted to acknowledge her faith. He wanted to confirm her healing. He wanted to give glory to his Father in Heaven. But even greater than these, he wanted her to know that he saw her through the crowd- this woman that no one else could see. He wanted her to know that he loved her, individually and uniquely and ardently. He wanted her to know that he cared for her too much to leave her unclean and alone. He wanted to heal her body, but he also wanted to heal her heart.
“Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed at that moment.”
Jesus didn’t care that he was being interrupted on his way to go bring someone back to life. He recognized that this woman was in need and her need was just as vital as anyone else’s. He saw her as his dearly beloved daughter.
I think this story is beautifully raw and relatable. I think as humans, but as women especially, we can see ourselves as this woman. Whether we have decided to let Jesus heal us or not, we have all been where this woman stood. Maybe we’re there now. We are told that we aren’t worthy, that we aren’t good enough, that we don’t have the strength or the power to do very much. We believe lies that say we don’t have the right to look at Jesus, the one who can fix every broken part of us. Or maybe we think he’s too busy dealing with the rest of the world.
But the truth is, he has never stopped chasing you. In fact, he will search for you in the crowd until he finds you. He sees that small bit of hope you’re clinging on to and says that is enough. You don’t need to clean yourself up for him, that’s his job and his delight. You are the apple of his eye, his treasured daughter. And he’s calling out to you. He wants you to come closer so he can make you new.
As the Race draws near, I’m reminded each day of God’s goodness. He has been such a wonderful Papa to give me the opportunity to share his love in new places over the next year. And I get to do so with some incredible people. Though our wonderful squad of 43 will be traveling together, in each country we will be mainly ministering in smaller teams. I get to be a part of an amazing team of 7 women, and am so excited to see the Lord use us to declare His truth and love. Look out world, here comes Team Teleo! 🙂
