The story of the woman with the issue of blood is found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here is a 9000 word overview of the meaning and significance of this biblical account:
The story begins by setting the scene. Jesus had been ministering in the region of Galilee and was now traveling to the region of Judea. Large crowds were following him, pressing in on him to hear his teaching and be healed.
As Jesus walked, a woman who had suffered from constant menstrual bleeding for twelve years pushed through the crowd in hopes of secretly touching Jesus’ cloak. She thought that if she could just touch his clothes, she would be healed. Upon touching his cloak, her bleeding immediately stopped. Jesus, perceiving that power had gone out from him, asked who had touched him. The disciples were surprised by this question since the crowds were pressing in on every side.
The woman, knowing she could not go unnoticed, came and fell at Jesus’ feet trembling with fear. She explained that she had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years and had spent all her money on doctors who could not help her. But as soon as she touched Jesus’ cloak, she was healed.
Jesus responded by calling her “daughter” and telling her that her faith had made her well. The woman was healed from that very hour.
This story is rich in meaning and significance. Here are some key insights:
1. Jesus cares deeply about individual needs in the midst of the crowds. Though surrounded by crowds, Jesus perceived the touch of one desperate woman. He did not ignore her or dismiss her as just another face in the multitude. He cared about her specific and pressing need.
2. Jesus does not recoil from human brokenness or suffering. The woman’s chronic bleeding would have rendered her perpetually unclean under Jewish law. Her condition meant isolation and shame. But Jesus allowed her to touch him, undeterred by her uncleanness. He was willing to identify with her in her suffering.
3. Jesus has compassion on those who suffer silently. The woman’s condition had socially isolated her for 12 years. Her need probably went unspoken until this encounter with Jesus. But even unspoken, her suffering moved Jesus to compassion and action.
4. Jesus honors courageous faith. The woman displayed remarkable courage and faith to push through the crowds and risk public shame by making her need known. Jesus affirms this courage as the means of her healing.
5. Jesus cares about women. In a society where women were often marginalized, Jesus shows equal concern and compassion for this woman’s suffering. Her gender was no obstacle to gaining Jesus’ full attention and care.
6. Jesus has power over suffering and sickness. Unlike physicians who could not heal her, Jesus healed the woman instantly and completely with just a touch of his cloak. His power proves his divine identity and authority over infirmity.
7. Jesus is the Messiah with power to make unclean clean. The woman’s bleeding would have rendered anyone who touched her ceremonially unclean according to Levitical law. But instead of being polluted, Jesus’ power cleanses her and makes her whole. This shows his authority to fulfill Messianic expectations.
8. Salvation comes by faith alone apart from works. Unlike other biblical healing stories, Jesus heals this woman without any action or statement of faith on her part prior to her healing. By her faith exhibited in touching his cloak, she allowed Jesus’ power to flow to her. This illustrates that faith alone, not works, obtains God’s gracious blessing.
9. Salvation brings peace with God. The woman was trembling with fear until Jesus spoke words of affirmation and comfort, calling her “daughter.” This personal touch reflects the peace and reconciliation with God that she now possessed due to her healing by faith.
10. Healing brings obligation to glorify God. Jesus tells the woman that her faith has saved her, or made her well. Salvation brings the responsibility to then live for and testify about the Source of that healing – in this case, Jesus. Her healing was to lead to glorifying God.
In summary, this passage provides a vivid demonstration of Jesus’ compassion, power, and mission. It shows Jesus affirmed women, cared for outsiders, sympathized with sufferers, and saved by grace through faith. It gives glimpses of his power to conquer sin, offer reconciliation with God, and foreshadow his work as the Messiah who makes the unclean clean. This story captures the heart of Jesus’ ministry and mission.
The accounts of this story in the three Gospels have some slight variances:
Matthew 9:20-22 – Briefest account. Mentions her 12 years of bleeding. Says she touched his “cloak.” Records Jesus’ statement that her faith had healed her.
Mark 5:25-34 – More details. Says she had suffered “much” from many physicians and spent all she had without benefit. Records Jesus’ question about who touched him. Notes the disciples’ surprise at the question. Describes Jesus looking around carefully. Notes her fear and trembling as she came and fell before Jesus.
Luke 8:43-48 – Similar details to Mark. Notes no one could heal her. Adds detail that she approached from behind and touched the “fringe” of his cloak. Records Jesus’ affirmation that her faith had made her well.
The differences between gospel accounts are minor. They echo the variance between eyewitness accounts one would expect from this event. The core details and meaning remain consistent in all three.
This story provides a portrait of Jesus’ compassion for a socially isolated, destitute sufferer. It shows his power over sickness. And it underscores the blessings of salvation by faith alone. Jesus cares intensely about desperate individuals who courageously reach out to him in faith.
The woman’s ailment would have had serious social consequences in Jewish culture of that day. According to Old Testament law, her constant bleeding would have rendered her perpetually unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27). Anything she lay on or sat on would become unclean. Anyone who touched those things would have to wash their clothes and bathe. If they touched her bed or chair, they would be unclean until evening.
This uncleanness meant isolation. Anything she touched or sat on had to be washed or purified. Contact with other people would ritually defile them. This made normal human connection and relationships impossible.
This social isolation was exacerbated by the fact that her bleeding had persisted for 12 years. She lived over a decade as an outcast, cut off from ordinary human fellowship and contact. Her suffering was unceasing, her isolation inescapable.
In addition to social isolation, her condition also meant impoverishment. The Gospel of Mark notes she had spent all she had on physicians who could not heal her. Not only was she socially cut off, but also financially bankrupt from fruitless efforts to find a cure.
This woman’s plight was devastating on every level – physical, social, financial. Her nonstop bleeding imprisoned her in a lonely existence without relationships or hope. She had exhausted every option until she encountered Jesus.
Against this backdrop of extreme affliction, her courage in approaching Jesus becomes even more remarkable. In her culture, pressing into a crowd with her condition would be unthinkable. Contact with others would ritually contaminate them. By making her need known, she risked embarrassment and rejection.
Nevertheless, she determined to push through the crowds in faith, believing that just touching Jesus’ clothes would be enough to heal her. Where medicine and money had failed, Jesus alone gave her reason to hope.
This desperate hope empowered her courage. She risked further isolation and shame because she expected Jesus could do what no one else had achieved in 12 long years of suffering. Her faith in Jesus gave her the confidence to confront her fears and limitations.
Many other biblical stories depict Jesus healing the sick. But this woman is unique in taking initiative to reach out to Jesus, rather than waiting passively for his help. Hers is a healing story driven by courageous faith, not Jesus’ unsolicited compassion. Her bold faith in Jesus’ power to heal impels her risky action.
Why does this woman believe so strongly that merely touching Jesus’ clothes will heal her? Her faith may have been shaped by Jewish traditions about the power of a holy man’s garments. The Old Testament records similar healings coming from touching the clothes of Elijah (2 Kings 2:14) and Elisha (2 Kings 13:21). Just as the prophets’ mantles contained residual holy power, this woman likely expected power to remain in Jesus’ clothes.
Alternatively, as a woman with an impurity discharge, she may have thought touching Jesus’ garment could symbolically transfer her infirmity to him. She may have drawn a parallel between touching his cloak and the scapegoat in Leviticus 16 which carried Israel’s impurities away on the Day of Atonement. Just as the scapegoat received Israel’s sins, she hoped Jesus’ garment could absorb her illness.
Whatever her specific line of thought, she clearly expected tangible healing from physical contact with Jesus’ clothing. Her faith filled in the gap between merely touching fabric and the miraculous end of a 12-year medical ordeal.
Jesus does not rebuke this woman for thinking his cloak contains magical healing powers. Though her understanding of how divine power operates may have been limited, he honors the sincerity of faith behind her touch. For Jesus, confident trust in him is more determinative than theological sophistication.
This story offers insight into Jesus’ high view of women. In first century Jewish culture, women occupied a secondary status with limitations on public interactions. Yet Jesus shows no hesitation in engaging publicly with this anonymous, impoverished, ritually unclean, and socially marginalized woman.
By calling her “daughter”, Jesus affirms her dignity as one loved by God. He commends her faith, despite faith being considered less important for women at that time. His care for her is personal and intimate. Her gender is no barrier to being recipient of his love and healing.
This openness to women was unusual for a Jewish rabbi of Jesus’ day. But the gospels record Jesus speaking with women freely and even depending on their financial support during his ministry (Luke 8:2-3). He engaged individual women like Photini at the well (John 4), Mary at his feet (Luke 10:38-42), and Martha grieving the death of her brother (John 11:17-27). The marginalized status of women was no hindrance for Jesus’ compassion and care.
Still today, this story inspires faith in Jesus’ heart of compassion for women. It appears in collections of “women’s Bible stories” for its portrayal of Jesus caring personally for an anonymous, impoverished woman. This story reminds that Jesus sees and honors the faith and courage of women, across lines of culture or gender limitations.
The woman’s social isolation due to her perpetual uncleanness also elicits Jesus’ compassion. As noted already, her nonstop menstrual bleeding cut her off from normal human relationships and contact. Anyone who touched her or her bedding would become ritually impure until sunset. She was forced into a lonely existence with minimal human touch or kindness.
Jesus does not shrink back from this woman in her ceremonial uncleanness. He allows her to touch his own garment, undeterred by concerns of defilement. In this simple act, he begins to restore her to community. Rather than perpetuating her rejection, he engages her in a personal conversation. He affirms her dignity as God’s daughter.
Moreover, the healing Jesus provides has immediate social impact. By stanching her flow of blood, he ends her isolation at once. He frees her from the social restrictions that segregated her from human fellowship. His compassion brings instant restoration of relational life she had been denied for 12 long years.
This mirrors other examples of Jesus’ compassion reaching out to those marginalized by illnesses that bred fear or avoidance. He touched lepers and restored them to community (Matthew 8:1-4). He healed demoniacs, reintegrating them into social life (Mark 5:1-20). Time after time, his compassion extended to the hurting outsiders shunned by others.
The woman’s story reminds that Jesus cares deeply for those who suffer silently, outside the sphere of human compassion. Social stigma and shame often breed such silent suffering. What human sympathy denies, Jesus’ care provides. As he did for this woman, he sees and loves those who hurt in the shadows.
This story also provides perspective on persevering in faith when prayers seem unanswered. The woman had endured 12 years of constant affliction without relief. She spent all her money on physicians who failed to cure her. To outward eyes, it may have seemed her prayers went unheeded for over a decade.
Yet she pressed on in faith, believing Jesus could do what medical science could not. She did not allow the silence of the past 12 years to undermine her confidence in Christ’s healing power. Though healing tarried, her faith endured.
This woman’s story calls for persevering prayer when answers seem absent or delayed. It invites continuing to bring needs before Jesus in faith, rather than losing heart. Her testimony encourages patient trust that Christ remains able to meet needs, no matter how long they have persisted.
Persevering faith remembers that God’s ways and timing differ from our hopes and expectations. But, as for this woman, persistent trust positions us to receive his grace the moment his appointed time arrives. Her long-awaited blessing came because she did not grow weary in looking to Jesus.
This account provides insight into Jesus’ high view of faith itself. When the woman fearfully confessed she had touched his garment, Jesus affirmed, “Your faith has made you well.” Her healing came not through a magical cloth, but through faith alone in Christ alone.
Jesus honored the sincerity and boldness of her faith, despite its imperfect understanding. What mattered was her confident trust that Jesus could accomplish what no one else could. This faith-filled touch released his power to make her whole.
Unlike other biblical healing stories, only this woman’s faith is highlighted as the means of her restoration. Jesus healed many who lacked faith but met other qualifications. Yet for this woman, uncomplicated trust in Christ was sufficient to be made well.
This underscores that faith itself brings blessings, apart from other virtues or merits. As Paul later wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not a result of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Like this woman, salvation is received through faith alone.
When Jesus proclaimed her faith had healed her, he confirmed that faith itself has power to unleash God’s saving grace. She became the recipient of blessing solely by confident expectation that Jesus could meet her need. Her story reminds that childlike trust in Christ opens channels for his power to flow into our lives. Saving and healing grace come by faith alone.
This woman’s healing highlights the peace with God that faith brings. When first approaching Jesus, she likely feared condemnation or rejection due to the public shame of her condition. But his compassion turned herfear to peace.
By calling her “daughter”, Jesus assured her of her accepted status. His approval silenced her anxiety over how her bleeding might be perceived. His care for her as family brought comfort in place of fear.
This peace comes from the reconciliation with God that faith provides. As Paul wrote, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Faith brings pardon from sin and a spirit of adoption into God’s family.
Like this woman, the faith that justifies also brings emotional peace in our relationship with God. It confirms our Father’s unconditional love for us as his children. We can approach him without fear of rejection because we have been accepted in Christ. As Jesus restored this woman’s peace, so faith brings assurance of belonging in God’s family.
The healing this woman received from Jesus carried an implicit responsibility. Having experienced God’s grace and power through Christ’s touch, she now was called to live for him. Her life was to reflect honor and thanks to the One who made her whole.
Jesus highlighted this obligation by telling the woman, “Your faith has made you well.” The word translated “made you well” can also mean “saved you.” Her healing pointed to the wider salvation that faith in Christ brings. With blessing comes duty – the call to follow Jesus as an expression of gratitude for the salvation received.
Likewise, those who experience God’s grace today take on a lifelong yoke of discipleship. Faith that saves also compels us to live for the glory of God. His unmerited favor summons us into a life of faithful obedience, witness, and service.
This woman’s dramatic healing equipped her to testify about Jesus’ power and compassion. Her experience could build faith in others to seek Christ’s help. For the rest of her days, she bore witness through her gratitude and godly living that Jesus alone could provide what no one else could give.
This account adds vivid color to the Gospel portraits of Jesus caring for women and other marginalized groups. It shows his compassion for lonely sufferers and readiness to restore them to community. It celebrates faith itself as sufficient to unleash divine blessing apart from works or merit. It testifies to the peace with God and call to discipleship that faith provides.
Most centrally, this episode highlights Jesus’ authority to conquer every form of brokenness and make whole. In a beautiful drama, it captures the essence of Christ’s gracious power to save all who reach out to him in faith. This woman’s story remains a testament to Jesus’ compassion and power to redeem any desperate soul who dares to believe in him.