Jesus heals a woman suffering from a bleeding diathesis.

Jesus heals a woman suffering from a bleeding diathesis.

(A sermon delivered to the pre-dawn service on October 1, 2012)

Bible verses: Mark 5:25-34

The story in these verses demonstrates with what earnestness and with what fervor Jesus works to rescue a life, to save a soul. In Mark 5, there are three people who were healed by Jesus. First, there was a man in the land of the Gerasenes, who was possessed by a legion of evil spirits.  In order to free this man from the evil spirits, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee and went over to the east side of the sea, the land of the Gerasenes.  Then he crossed the sea again over night and returned to Capernaum on the northwest side of the sea.  Many people were waiting for Jesus’ return and gathered around Him to see if He might heal the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue ruler.  There was such a large crowd, who followed Him on His way to Jairus’s house and pressed around Him. In the midst of the crowd, a woman approached Jesus secretly and touched His cloak.  Although there were a lot of people there, Jesus’ interest and attention was focused on the woman.  In order to save the woman in distress, Jesus stopped His walk and searched her out from the crowd.

In Luke chapter 15, there are three parables that demonstrate how preciously Jesus deems a lost soul in need of salvation.  They are the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of a lost silver coin, and the parable of the prodigal son.  When God repeats the same message in the Bible, we see how important He considers the message to be.  By recounting similar parables three times, Jesus demonstrated how important He considers salvation of a lost soul to be.  These three parables have the same theme and yet are a little different from one another. The parable of the lost sheep is about a soul who, out of his own ignorance, wandered away from the path of righteousness; the parable of the lost silver coin is about a soul who, unbeknownst to his own will or intentions, was lost due to someone else’s temptations or faults; and the parable of the prodigal son is about a soul, who with evil intentions moved out of the realm of grace of God the Father.

Reconsidering the parable of the lost silver coin, we can see to what trouble, to what lengths Jesus would go to find a lost soul.  At the time, a Jewish abode was basically a mud house built with mud bricks.  To reduce dusting from the floor, the Jews laid down grass and reeds on the floor.  The wall was made of mud bricks and there was only a window of about 12 inches in diameter (the size of a pizza), so that inside the house it was dark even during the day. A married woman of the day would chain together ten silver coins and use it as a decoration on her head. The coins were like a wedding ring of today. Perhaps the woman in the parable lost one of the ten coins she had chained together. Lamenting and anguished, the woman lit a lamp and looked for the lost coin among the reeds and grass, no less a challenge than looking for a needle in the hay stack! But she never gave up her search until she finally found the lost coin.

Jesus’ search for a lost soul is much like the diligent and persistent efforts of the woman who searched for a lost silver coin.  To save a soul, Jesus did not hesitate to cross the sea to the land of the Gerasenes. Then He crossed the sea again overnight so that He could meet the woman with the bleeding diathesis.  Jesus always emphasized the value and importance of a little one. “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).  He declared that the life of a soul is worth more than the whole world (Matthew 16:26).  With the parables of Luke 15, He taught that salvation of a soul is a reason for a big celebration and joy in Heaven. And in Matthew 25:40, He promised that whatever is done “for one of the least of these brothers of Mine” would be counted as being done for Jesus Himself.

The woman in Mark 5:25-34 had a bleeding diathesis. There is a detailed description of the diathesis in Leviticus 15:25-30.  While the woman had the blood flow and for 7 days after cessation of the flow, not only she but also anyone she came into contact with were ceremonially unclean.  So the woman would stay out of the public and in isolation, so that she would not contaminate anyone else. But the woman in Mark 5 came and touched the cloak of Jesus.  According to the law of Leviticus 15, Jesus became unclean on account of the woman.  When the woman touched Jesus, He became unclean and she became healed.

Here is the essence of the gospel – the way Jesus heals people.  In Isaiah 53:5-6, it says, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” The way Jesus heals people is this – He aches for our pain, He is wounded so that we are healed, and He takes upon Himself the sin that we committed. In short, He becomes unclean so that we are made clean.  II Corinthians 5:21 even says, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”  God made Jesus sin and instead made us His righteousness.

What was the outcome for the woman healed by Jesus?  Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:34). She was healed from her bleeding diathesis, as she hoped for.  However, Jesus’ healing ministry did not just stop with the physical ailment. Jesus took one step further and gave her a peace of mind. Furthermore, He saved her soul. Jesus heals and resolves the ailments of the body, the sufferings of the mind, and the troubles of the soul.

This morning, what ailments, what sufferings, what troubles have you brought to Jesus? As prophesied in Isaiah 61:1, Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim freedom for the captives whose souls are imprisoned in darkness.  Jesus does not overlook even the most worthless among us and considers each and every soul worth more than the whole world. And when we ask Him, He will bear our pain and burden and will make our body strong, give peace to our mind, and save our soul.  Let’s all cry out to Him in prayer.