The Woman Who Touched Jesus’ Garment: How Radical Faith Unlocks Your Miracle
Watch what happens to a desperate woman who humbly makes her way to the feet of Jesus.
When she grabs hold of the hem of His garment, witness what happens next.
Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped (Luke 8:43-44).
Unclean, Untouchable, and Incurable
This woman has been slowly bleeding to death for the past twelve years. Her condition makes her unclean and untouchable in society. It says here that she spends all her livelihood. There’s nothing left, and I believe it cost this woman her dignity as well. You see the devil is a thief, and Jesus makes it plain in John 10:10 that this robber comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy us. Sickness and disease are mass weapons of destruction that he designs against all people. This suffering lady is no exception to his twisted ways. So, in this verse we find out that this bloody woman is unclean, untouchable, and incurable. As we continue to read her story, we also discover that she is desperate.
A Desperate Plan is Conceived
Desperate people do desperate things, and within this woman’s heart a desperate plan is conceived. She says within herself, If I just touch the fringe of the hem of His garment, I’ll be healed. Her plan does not consider the obstacle she will face, the crowd. This wild following is out of control. They are thronging to get to Jesus, pulling on Him, and pressing in hard to get a chance to be healed.
She thinks that she will bow low at His feet, hidden by the crowd, reach out and just touch the hem of His garment, and that her touch will go unnoticed. I fully believe this woman in the beginning of her healing adventure is like the rest, she is coming to Jesus for what He has, healing. She does not understand the power of her own faith, let alone the healing virtue that is about to overpower her own being and transform her life.
Like a little child, she doesn’t understand the meaning of fire until she touches the flame. And that’s a lesson one does not forget, nor will she ever forget what happens to her next.
Why Secretly Touch the Hem of His Garment?
Not only does she think her touch will go unnoticed, but I believe she hopes it is inconspicuous too. Why do I think this? It has to do with traditions and beliefs at the time. As stated, the bleeding makes her sociably unclean. And just as it is with the leprous man we talk about in Miracle 7, the people are taught that if she touches them, they too will be unclean. So, this is more than a physical crisis for her, it’s a social one too. This is why I share that she is untouchable and unclean.
She’s aware that her plan is a risky one. But she believes in her heart that if the religious law does not allow her to touch another person, she will then settle instead to touch the hem of His garment and be healed.
Unclean and Untouchable
People often believe they are unclean and untouchable because they feel guilty for a sinful lifestyle, and they need to repent of their sin. Sometimes, many times, people ask Christ to forgive them, but struggle to forgive themselves for past wrongs and struggle to believe that they are forgiven after they asked for forgiveness. Other people have been abused or bullied and believe the lies that were spoken over them, that they don’t measure up, and they deserve all the terrible things that happen to them.
If this is you, don’t believe the lie. If you have done wrong, confess your sin to Jesus. He is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9). If you were abused or bullied, you did not deserve this evil that was done against you. The power of the blood of Jesus forgives us of our sin and makes us spiritually clean again. And this same power heals us and makes us touchable and acceptable. It’s all about His power and what He has done for us. Believe.
Misplaced Faith
You will hear me mention from time to time throughout this work, the term misplaced faith. What am I referring to, and why do I bother to bring it up now? This woman is a prime example of someone who has misplaced faith before coming to Jesus with her need. She went from one physician to another, spent all that she had. She tried everything, so she thought, and was not cured. She was not healed until she made the decision to put all her trust in Jesus. I agree, it’s a risky decision, but it was not until she came to this place in her faith that she was healed and made whole. Holy Spirit, minister to our hearts about misplaced faith.
Who Touched Me?
And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately (Luke 8:45-47).
As mentioned earlier, the crowd is unruly, with people pushing and shoving and in a frenzy. Hey, there’s a whole lot of touching going on. This is why Peter and the others respond to Jesus the way they do, “Jesus what do you mean, ‘Who touched Me?’ Everybody here is touching you!” As usual they look at things in the natural and therefore miss the point of what He says. But Jesus overlooks their ignorance and repeats Himself, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” And this woman who thinks she is going to just grab a little of this healing power for herself, comes to the realization—He sees me, He notices me.
A Special Touch
This woman isn’t remembered because she did some valiant act of faith, but because of a special touch.
Surely Jesus knows who reaches out and touches Him. He’s all knowing, and nothing is hidden from Him. He just doesn’t see with His physical eyes but with His heart. He is perceptive and sees into the realm of the Spirit. He knows our every thought and the intentions of our hearts as well. He possesses all knowledge, He’s all-knowing, and He’s omniscient.
So if Jesus is all-knowing, why does He stop the chaos to publicly confront the woman? Knowing the Law, He knows that due to this woman’s issue with blood, she is declared as unclean. And not only does this woman need physical healing, but she needs restoration spiritually, physically, emotionally, as well as restoration back into the community. In this part of the story, Jesus is publicly doing just this, restoring her back into the community, declaring her clean, touchable, and acceptable.
Another reason is that He makes the most of every opportunity to teach and instruct us. Here He teaches that faith is not meant to be private or secret. We are to openly share our faith with others.
If her healing had remained hidden, many people, and possibly us as well, would have missed this important point concerning our faith in Jesus, and that it is our faith in Him that heals us as well.
Perhaps some not familiar with this passage of Scripture think what I say here is blasphemous. It’s not, and here’s why. The very next verse Jesus says this to this woman, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace” (Luke 8:48). Our faith, when placed properly, in the redemptive work of Jesus is very powerful, has no limits, and produces great works—miracles.
Similar Situation
Maybe you are in a similar situation like this woman. Perhaps you have even been sick longer than this woman. Because of a disease or ailment you find yourself in a tough spot. You may be financially broke, or you may have spent all you have and are not any better. A wretched health issue makes you feel unclean, untouchable, and they say, “incurable.” And more damaging than any of this is that you may feel desperate; you’ve lost your hope.
I can sense within my spirit that this message speaks to you. If this is you, like this woman, humble yourself before Jesus, and reach out and touch His heart. You do so by faith in Him. Even if you do not understand it all. It’s apparent this woman did not understand the power of her faith, or the healing virtue that Jesus possesses, or how being open and honest concerning her faith in Him would transform her life—as it will transform your life too.
Like this woman, when we come into His presence something wonderful happens. We touch Him, we touch His presence, and we become intertwined with Him. “But the one who is united and joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17 AMP). And we are transformed from the inside to the outside. This is where you may need to begin.
Prayer of Salvation
If you need to take this first step of faith and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and ask Him to become your Savior today, then pray this simple prayer of faith from your heart:
Dear Lord Jesus, I ask for Your forgiveness for all the bad thoughts, words and deeds I have done. I thank You for forgiving me of my sin. Jesus, I believe that You are who You say You are, the Son of God, who died on the Cross for my sins and rose on the third day from the dead. I believe this with all my heart and confess with the words of my mouth, that Jesus, You are my Savior and Lord. This I pray, amen.
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
This Scripture says that we are to believe in our heart. We are to put our trust in Him, and trust is another way to say we have faith. We are also told to confess with our mouth, in other words, we are to tell someone that Jesus is our Savior. This might sound scary to you, but back when I was 18 years old, I prayed a similar prayer in front of about 8,000 to 10,000 people in the Jesus People Church on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And I tell you the truth, it was the best decision I ever made. This was my beginning with Jesus.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This verse is filled with promise for a future of good things to come in your life.
The Riches of Jesus on Display
Jesus’ love for the unclean, untouchable, and incurable is pure and priceless.
He goes the extra mile to publicly restore those who have been declared unclean and untouchable.
Jesus heals the incurable.
He restores hope to the desperate. Jesus rewards faith openly.
Crack the Miracle Code
No matter what others say about us or about our situation, when faith is properly placed in Jesus, healing happens.
Faith Assignment
Ask Holy Spirit to show you physical ways to demonstrate to the unclean and untouchable people in your community that Jesus really does love and care for them. If you take this to Him, He will give you creative ways; and whatever you do, always do it in the name of Jesus. Get out there and win the Lost for Jesus.
Prayer of Faith
Oh, Father God, as usual Your Word touches the depths of my heart. It convicts yet encourages me at the same time. It is true, this ailment has left me feeling unclean, untouchable, and doubtful about a cure, but more than anything I feel desperate. My faith is not where it should be. At times I have tried to keep it hidden, when I now know that I must be open and proclaim I am a believing believer. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for the revelation about this special touch that I must have with Jesus. And Jesus, I am reaching out and touching Your heart today, amen.
Questions for This Miracle: A Special Touch
This woman’s issue of blood makes her what to society?
We also discover in this story that this illness is what?
What do desperate people do?
Does this woman believe she can touch Jesus unnoticed?
What does she settle for since the religious law does not allow her to touch another person?
What is the realization that this woman comes to?
This woman isn’t remembered because she did some valiant act of faith, but why?
What do we mean when we say Jesus is omniscient?
Why was Jesus publicly calling this woman out for touching His garment?
According to Luke 8:48, what heals this woman?
Our faith, when placed properly, in the redemptive work of Jesus is what?
