Belief and Healing (5:24b-34)

[Stephan Choe]

2024.11.09

Key Verse 34: “Jesus said to her, ‘My daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed of your disease!’”

We all know that we need food, home, cloth, education, and a job. The Bible adds that in addition to these things, we absolutely need faith in Jesus Christ. Without faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot have inner healing or eternal life.

Today’s healing story emphasizes us the necessity of faith in Jesus. We will learn about the blessing of faith through this healing story.

Jairus asked Jesus to heal his daughter from her illness. So Jesus began to go to Jairus’ house with Jairus. A large crowd followed Jesus.

Among them was a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years.

Every woman wants to be complimented on her beauty. To say to a woman, “You are not pretty!” is an insult to her.

But this woman suffered from chronic bleeding (hemorrhages). Once the bleeding began, it did not stop quickly. So she had to change her clothes frequently. She was always afraid that she would smell or that her clothes would turn red.

According to the law in Leviticus 15:25, she was considered unclean and was not allowed to attend church services or have contact with other people.

She had suffered from this chronic disease for twelve years! Many doctors tried to cure her, but to no avail (v. 26).

Some doctors probably made money by making her keep coming for treatment. So she sold all her possessions to pay for her treatment. Now she had lost everything.

Then she heard about Jesus. When she heard this, she did not want to miss this opportunity. But she did not have money for treatment. So she wanted to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment secretly and be healed. She thought, “If only I could touch his garment, I would be healed!” (28). She firmly believed that Jesus had the power to heal her illness.

Jesus was walking along, surrounded by a large crowd. If she had said to the crowd, “Please make way for me. I want to go to Jesus and be healed of my bleeding,” the people would surely have said, “You unclean woman, get out of here!” So she decided to act like a healthy woman in order to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. She pushed her way through the crowd, approached Jesus, and touched the hem of his garment from behind.

What happened when she touched Jesus’ garment?

Verse 29 records, “Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”

What a wonderful and beautiful news!

If we believe in Jesus, we will be healed, and our beauty will be restored, and we will receive eternal life! That is the miracle of Jesus! However, we do not necessarily have to touch Jesus’ garment to experience Jesus’ help. We just have to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior and ask Him. Anyone who believes in Jesus and asks Him can experience the healing power of Jesus. Then we will be freed from all the diseases of sin and become children of God! This is good news for everyone. That is why we must believe in Jesus Christ.

When the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, Jesus immediately felt the power coming from him. He turned and asked the crowd, “Who touched my garment?”

The disciples answered, “The crowd is crowding around you, so you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

Still, Jesus looked for the one who had touched his garment. Finally, a woman with a bleeding disease came forward from the crowd and confessed the truth.

Did Jesus rebuke the woman for touching his garment in secret? No.

Or did Jesus ask her to pay for his treatment? No.

Verse 34 says, “Jesus said to her, ‘My daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace! Be healed of your affliction!’”

Jesus did not ask for any compensation from this woman, but rather blessed her faith.

Why did Jesus ask the healed woman to confess to him and many others that she was healed through Jesus?

I think there are three important reasons.

First, the woman could thank God and Jesus by confessing her healing.

After the healing, the woman thought she had achieved her goal because she was physically healed. However, Jesus felt that she had forgotten something important: thanking and glorifying God for her healing.

Anyone who has been saved and healed by the help of the Lord should thank and praise the Lord.

In Luke 17, there is a story about ten lepers. Jesus healed ten people, but only one of them returned to thank Him. Then Jesus said, “Were not the ten healed? Where are the nine? Have none returned to give glory to God except this Samaritan?”

We must be like this Samaritan, and thank to God.

Second, Jesus wanted to help the woman’s faith become complete.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans, “If a person believes with his heart, he is justified; if he confesses with his mouth, he is saved” (Rom. 10:10).

If a person believes only in his heart and does not confess, his faith often becomes unclear. However, if he confesses with his mouth, what we believe becomes clearer. Our faith becomes complete when we believe with our heart and confess with our mouth.

I came to believe in Jesus as my Savior through Bible study. When I was about to be baptized at a Baptist church, the pastor asked, “What is the Bible verse that assures you of your salvation?”

I answered, “John 1:1, 14, 18.” After this confession, the basis of my salvation became more certain.

It is good for every believer to clearly confess with his mouth the Bible verses or events that led to his belief in Jesus and his salvation. This is because this confession establishes an inseparable love relationship between Jesus and the confessor. This confession is like a marriage vow between Jesus and the confessor. Through this confession of faith, we obtain eternal life and heaven.

Third, Jesus encourages others to believe in Him through our confession of faith.

Many people in the crowd touched Jesus’ clothes. However, only this woman was healed because she touched him with faith in Jesus’ power. Jesus wanted the woman to confess her living faith so that others would believe in Him, experience His power, and become children of God. So he encouraged the woman to confess her faith.

All Christians should confess their faith so that as many people as possible can believe in Jesus Christ, experience Jesus’ power, and become children of God. Through confession, God’s blessings will flow through us to others so that they too will be saved. Through confession, we can participate in God’s redemptive work toward the world. Through his confession, St. Peter was able to participate in Christ’s redemptive work in the world. When Jesus heard her confession of faith, he was greatly pleased and said to her, “My daughter, your faith has saved you. You have been healed of your illness. Go in peace!” (34) Jesus blessed her confession of faith and gave her peace, healing, and salvation! She has been a great blessing to countless people who have heard her story of self-healing.

Our Jesus Christ came to the world to give us healing and heavenly blessings. We all need to come to Jesus Christ and have a love relationship through faith in Him!

Now we don’t need to go to Jesus geographically. No matter where we are, we just need to believe in Jesus as Christ and Savior. Then we will be healed and saved. Then we will confess Jesus with our mouths and spread the gospel so that many people will receive Jesus’ healing and eternal life. Hallelujah, Amen!