“Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, who touched Me?” It is Peter and those with him who are asking the question.
Jesus is on His way to Jairus’s house, a house that is filled with sorrow because Jairus’s little daughter, his only daughter, is dying. He has come to Jesus in his distress, and falling down at His feet he has begged Him to come and heal her. “My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.” And Jesus goes with him, and so do His disciples and lots of other people.
Among the crowd is a poor suffering woman. She has been ill for years. It is not the same sort of illness as Jairus’s daughter, for her sickness has not made her die. But she has gone on from year to year, never feeling well and always suffering. At first she had hoped to get better and had been to one doctor after another. But all her money has been used in doctors’ fees, and still she is no better and has only gotten worse. But as she goes along in the crowd following Jesus, hope has sprung up once more, hope that has gotten stronger and stronger, because it is founded on faith, faith in Jesus.
If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be healed, she tells herself. Then coming up behind Him, she reaches out her hand and touches the hem of His garment.
At once she feels herself well, not just better, but well -cured of her disease!
And then she hears Jesus asking, “Who touched Me?”
No one is coming forward, and Peter and the others are surprised that Jesus would ask that question when all the people are crowding and pressing around Him. But Jesus does not mean the kind of touching they are thinking of. It is the touch of faith He is speaking about, the touch that has drawn healing from Himself. So He says, “Somebody hath touched Me: for I perceive that virtue [good] is gone out of Me.”
And when the woman sees that she cannot hide, she comes, trembling, and falling down before Him she explains to Him, in front of all the people, the reason she has touched Him, and how she has been immediately healed.
Why is she so scared that she trembles? Because she does not know the heart of Jesus. She knows something of His power to heal her body, and if He allows her to slip away into the crowd, she might never learn any more than that about Jesus. She might never know that the One who healed her also loves her. It takes a lot of courage to tell Him why she has touched Him, especially in front of all those people. But what a reward she gets when she hears what He says to her: “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
We do not know her name. She is only one poor suffering woman in a crowd, but she has faith in Jesus. She touches the hem of His garment and she is healed; she confesses to Him and receives comfort, assurance and peace. (Read Luke 8:49-5649While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. 50But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. 51And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. 56And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. (Luke 8:49‑56) to learn what Jesus also did for Jairus and his daughter that day.)
Have you come to Jesus for the healing of your disease of sin? It only takes a little faith to come to Him, confessing that you are a sinner and in need of His healing touch. He loves you so much and says in Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28), “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden [with your sins], and I will give you rest.” If you will take that step of faith, He will say to you just what He said to that woman: “Thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” Luke 8:4848And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. (Luke 8:48).
ML-12/19/1993