Mark 5: 25-34

Interpretation:

verse 21-24: Describes Jesus and His disciples arrival on the eastern side of the sea of Galilee. Jarius, a ruler of the synagouge comes and petitions Christ to heal his dying daughter. This story will be covered in more detail tomorrow.  Let’s focus on the woman who interrupts Jesus’ travel to Jarius’ daughter.

Look up Leviticus 15:19-27.

The woman who is healed was suffering from a ‘discharge of blood for 12 years!’ This poor woman was a walking impurity factory. People who touched her would be considered unclean. Going to temple was out of the question. In fact, whenever she entered into the  public she had to announce that she was unclean. But what do we see her do?

She sneaks through the crowd, everyone she’s touching is becoming cermionaly unclean, and then who does she touch? JESUS!! But instead of Christ becoming unclean He makes her clean. Both spiritually and physically … allowing her to roam in public without shame. There is a joke to go along with this idea of Christ not becoming unlean. When Chuck Norris jumps into the pool he doesn’t get wet – the water gets Chuck Norris. When she touched Christ He did not become dirty but He made her clean.

Application:

Mark 5: 33 – 34 points out an interesting attitude for us to examine. Despite every threat around her, and despite a good reason for her to stay away from Him, this woman pursued Christ in way that was honest and risky.

Letting the ‘throng’, or gathering crowd, of Jews surrounding Jesus know that she had rendered many, maybe all, unclean from her presence would not of gone over well. Especially not with Jesus’ disciples and Jarius, a ruler of the synagogue. In fact, she may have even incited some kind violence.

Maybe we could say she was wrong in her approach to Christ. That there is some validity to the frustrations caused by her failure to announce that she was unclean. That it was selfish of her to forsake everyone else’s worship for her own. It is probably down right stupid of her to risk Christ’s cleanliness for her own healing. But what is behind it all is what Jesus finds most valuable from us: reckless abandon. Faith driven, God powered, reckless abandon.

Holy and Reckless Abandon (3 parts)

Fear and Trembling:verse 33 ‘But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling.’ The woman is not afraid of the crowd but of Jesus. She recognized His authority. We are to fear God but we should also be faithful to push through the crowd to get to Him anyway.

Submission to Christ’s Authority: verse 33 ‘…and fell down before him…’ This is the classic submission pose. She recognized that she was healed and was amazed. She fell to his feet. She was at his command and at his mercy. She recognized that she was cerimonially unclean but she also knew His power had healed her. We should also recognize our own cerimonially uncleanliness (daily sins, failures, etc.) and submit ourselves to the power that has healed us.

Confession: verse 34 ‘…and told him the whole truth.’ She explained everything. The uncleanliness, her sneaking approach, her purusit of touching His cloth. She was honest about her cerimonial uncleanilness , she confessed it.  We cannot come to Christ without confession of what we have done.  In order to be healed we have to admit to God we are sinful – otherwise we make it look like we don’t His grace.

Because of her reckless and intense faith He heals her in verse 35 .