“And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.” Mark 5:24-27
As I began to read this familiar passage, I glanced down at the notes in my study Bible to see how they expounded on it. They say that the woman’s physical condition made her ceremonially unclean based on Jewish Law, and technically her touching Jesus’ garment would have made Him unclean as well. I love the next line they write in the study notes: “but Jesus is greater than any purity laws, for he makes her clean by his power instead of becoming unclean himself.”
It’s just so amazing to me that we can come to the perfect, pure, holy, righteous God of all and be cleansed from all unrighteousness. We are purified in Christ. All we have to do upon realizing our hopeless, sinful state, is come to Him and trust in the power of the cross and the grace of our Lord to save us. His power is so great that no matter what we have done or where life (and our choices) has taken us, He will make us clean. He will make us whole.
So often I think we try to heal ourselves through other means. To deal with our sin and brokenness in our own power or by following the advice of others. But even “experts” in a field can lead us astray. We can spend all that we have—all resources, all energy, all time—searching, only to come up empty. Because what we really need is Christ. Only He has the power and ability to heal us. Draw near to Him. Draw near to the cross. It was His actions at the cross that made our healing possible. Reach out to your Savior, displaying the strong faith that this woman had, believing that He can and will heal your soul, mend your brokenness, and lead you into a free and abundant life.
“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” Psalm 40:1-2
“Your pain is incurable…your guilt is great…your sins are flagrant…I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 30:15, 17
“While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him.” Luke 5:12-13
In Pleasant Places 