"As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped." - Luke 8:42b-44
In other manuscripts, it was written that she spent all she had on doctors. Here was a poor and sick woman. For twelve years she was unclean, and according to Jewish law she could not touch anyone, and everything she touched was unclean and not touchable as well. If she was walking in public she needed to inform the people and consciously avoid having close contact with others.
"When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening." - Lev 15:19-23
In fact, the Scriptures recorded that she only touched the edge of his garment, not Jesus himself, probably fearing of being stoned.
Imagine doing that for twelve years. Imagine the guilt and shame that were binding her. She dared not approach Jesus but that was the only hope. Desperation.
There was another reason why she touched the edge of the cloak, or tassels. In Hebrew, the garment is known as "tallit" and its edge is known as "tzitzit" - or wings. It is the same reference used in Malachi 4:2
"But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall." - Mal 4:2
The sun of righteousness meant here is really the Son of righteousness, the Messiah. The tzitzit in Leviticus actually represented the 613 laws of Torah which would be fulfilled completely by the Messiah. Hence by faith in our Saviour, we will be made clean because the curse of the law was nailed at the cross. The woman believed that by touching the cloak of the Messiah, she will be made clean. True enough, the bleeding immediately stopped. Jesus commended that indeed "Your faith has healed you". In essence, it was not the tzitzit that healed her, but her faith in God.
Maybe you need to touch Jesus today. You need not touch just the edge of His cloak, but you can embrace Him today. The bleeding of sin will be stopped and you will be healed from the inside out.
Jesus did another thing.
"Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." - Luke 8:47-48
The Scriptures pointed out that she wanted to slip away - quietly. Why? Because she was afraid to be caught. Although the bleeding was stopped, but the shame remained dripping from her heart. She felt guilty of touching Jesus because she was unclean. She didn't want anyone to know.
But Jesus gave her an opportunity to testify in front of the crowd, how she was healed. As a result she was vindicated, and everyone then knew she was no longer unclean. She was set free from shame! Then Jesus said "Go in peace" Indeed it is such a peace to be free from guilt and shame.
Maybe today, you need to be free from shame as well and experience of God. Shame has pierced your heart, and you felt dirty and unworthy of love. Jesus came to die so that you may be set free to experience the forgiveness of God and abundance of life. Come and touch Him and let Him clean you from the inside out.
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