In the Crowd Devotional
Daily Reading: (Mark 5:25-29):
“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”
I guess health care has always been expensive. She went to doctors for help. But there is only so much a doctor can do- what she needed was an appointment with the Great Physician (Mark 5:26).
I am all for getting check-ups, making regular visits to doctors, but if you had on speed dial the greatest doctor in the world, the one who was there as God formed and fashioned your body in your mother’s womb, don’t you think you might reach out to Him first?
She tried everything under the sun and her condition got worse. She gave everything she had and the result was deteriorating health. She had given up the attempt of salvation from man to receive the salvation from the grace of Jesus Christ and is now ready to receive her miracle (Mark 5:27-28).
So, what we know about this woman is that she was just one of many in the crowd who had an issue. Hers was an issue of blood. I wonder about all the other issues that were there in that crowd that day. Everybody has issues. The difference between those in the crowd, that remained in the crowd with their issues, with those that experience the salvation of the Lord, are those who consider what has been said about Jesus and believed that He is the Savior and the answer to their sin problem. Sickness is a result of living in a sinful world.
Jesus is turning to face her to grace her (Mark 5:30). If this unclean woman with an issue of blood touches you, you would be considered unclean too. If she is found out there is only two options for her:
1) stoned to death
2) or ex -communicated from the community and rejected publicly
I don’t know which is worse because I can’t imagine living my life without ever being able to see my family again knowing they are living their lives without me. Even prisoners get visitation rights. 12 years everything is flowing from her and nothing is flowing to her. She is an illustration of what sin does. Sin steals, kills, and destroys. But Jesus has come so that we might have life to the full.
Why in Exodus 33 was Moses not allowed to see God’s face, the full glory of God, but we can? The reason is because he was living under the Old Covenant where man related to God on the basis of rules. When we relate to God based upon Old Covenant living/our rule keeping ability, we completely miss the face of Jesus and we do not behold the glory of God’s grace.
Jesus is scanning the crowd because He is adamant to show His face of approval. The approval that God has for all who by faith receive His free gift of salvation (Mark 5:32). “Daughter, (acceptance language) your faith (approval language) has made you well.” Jesus is revealing in His words and in His face, acceptance and approval for this lawbreaker because she believed in the good news that she had heard about Jesus that He is her salvation.
The reason that only faith pleases God is because only Jesus pleases God and faith is nothing more than trusting Jesus. For when you trust Jesus you are adopted into God’s family and it is impossible not to be pleasing to God. When you put your faith in Jesus, you were given acceptance and approval with God forever (Hebrews 11:6).