This morning at Renovation Vineyard Church I invited one of my favorite communicators to share the message: Lauren Riddei. Lauren is a long-time friend and she and her husband, a called-out servant of King Jesus in his own right, joined us on Aug. 22. Solidly Biblical in her approach and sharing from a personal longing for mercy and hope to pour out on God’s kids, her message is worth the investment. We will have it up on our YouTube Channel later this week; but you can enjoy and be challenged by this message on Renovation Vineyard’s Facebook page at the link: https://www.facebook.com/renovationvineyardsc/videos/137969685160147

PRT (Pastor Rick’s Translation)

vv. 25-26 And a woman was present with a flow of blood who had suffered often at the hands of multiple physicians to no benefit at all; instead, after spending all she had, she was all the worse. And she arrived,

vv. 27-28 After hearing the stories about Jesus, and going into the crowd and approaching him from behind she touched his clothing; for she said under her breath, “If I just touch only his robe, I will be set free from this suffering.”

v. 29 And straight away, in that moment, her flow of blood stopped where it had begun and she knew inside her body that she was healed from this sickness.

v. 30 Then, in that moment, knowing that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched me on my robe?”

v. 31 And his disciples said to him, “Look at this throng pressing against you, and you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

v. 32-34 Then Jesus looked around to discover the one who had done this, and the woman, shaking with awe and knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him; and she told him what really happened. He said to her, “Then, daughter, your faith has set you free; go in peace and be whole from your illness.”

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

vv. 25-26 And a woman was present with a flow of blood who had suffered often at the hands of multiple physicians to no benefit at all; instead, after spending all she had, she was all the worse. And she arrived,

The flow of blood was not only a physical suffering but a spiritual and social scourge. The teaching of the day assumed this was the result of great sin. We have this today, when we pray for someone and then tell them they don’t have enough faith to get healing from God. The Vineyard doesn’t scourge someone, but rather, blesses and deposits mercy and grace, when we pray for healing. Socially, she was an outcast since she couldn’t stop the vaginal bleeding.

She arrived is the word “came” but carries an intentionality to it. She arrived at her intended destination.

Her suffering was not helped by the well-paid doctors; her case was chronic.

vv. 27-28 After hearing the stories about Jesus, and going into the crowd and approaching him from behind she touched his clothing; for she said under her breath, “If I just touch only his robe, I will be set free from this suffering.”

And the reason she arrived at her destination was because the word was out. She heard about Jesus and her faith was such that only a confession of faith under her breath and a swipe at his robe ignited God’s grace and healing. The word means she said, but I read it be mean either in her mind (which it doesn’t say) or aloud, but under her breath. The word for “heal” has to do with being freed from the oppression of an illness.

I can’t find in Mark’s passage that it was the “taliths” or fringes of his robe. If this was so, it means that she was already nearly prostrate when she was discovered, and then she fell down at his feet again; however, Luke and Matthew note the fringe or hem.

v. 29 And straight away, in that moment, her flow of blood stopped where it had begun and she knew inside her body that she was healed from this sickness.

The word is literally, “the plague.” This disease had scourged or plague her due to its duration and many ramifications.

v. 30 Then, in that moment, knowing that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched me on my robe?”

Jesus knew inside that power had left him as a demonstration of the Good News of the Kingdom, just as much as the woman knew inside her body that the flow had stopped “at the source” as the original hints. He knew someone had touched him and his robe. This was a deep healing to the very core of every place this scourge had touched. And he affirmed this deep healing with a word: “daughter” – meaning daughter of the Father, daughter of Israel, one who is beloved.

v. 31 And his disciples said to him, “Look at this throng pressing against you, and you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

The disciples weren’t scornful; they just didn’t imagine what Jesus felt that they didn’t. The throng did what it did, it thronged. The woman did was she came to do, she touched.

v. 32-34 Then Jesus looked around to discover the one who had done this, and the woman, shaking with awe and knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him; and she told him what really happened. He said to her, “Then, daughter, your faith has set you free; go in peace and be whole from your illness.”

Mark’s word is rich here. He turned around, looking and searching for the one. The assumption is that his eyes finally fell on the woman who had been healed.

I chose “awe” because of the context. The word means fear, afraid, etc. But, in light of what had just happened. She knew. She was quite aware of what happened. She may have been afraid that Jesus, a man, would be angry that an impure woman (due to the flow) had touched him. I still would go with awe. And she shook with it and fell at his feet. Reminiscent of Simon Peter after the message from the boat in Luke 5. It says he was afraid and fell at Jesus’ feet. She is painted as a timid, fearful woman; it could be that she was very brave, full of faith that Jesus and only Jesus could heal her.

She told him “the truth” – what really had just happened. I can imagine she couldn’t get the words out rapidly enough.

Jesus not only acknowledged her healing, but her status change, too. Go in peace means go with your life radically altered for the good. Go in shalom, fully in a new way with God.