"If I May Touch His Clothes . . ."
Read Mark 5:25-34, the famous account of the woman healed from a distressing malady. Though the story does not portray the woman as a disciple per se, she displayed the kind of faith so necessary for discipleship.
Notice the interesting contrast between how she approached Jesus and how Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, did (Mark 5:22, 23).
What were the differences between their approaches? At the same time, what was the one thing they apparently had in common?
As far as we can tell, this woman had not seen Jesus before. According to the text, it was when she had heard of Him that she came. Someone had witnessed to her, telling her of this Man, and she moved ahead in faith, even without seeing anything for herself. This was her first act of faith (see also John 20:29, Heb. 11:1).
No question; according to the texts, the woman was desperate. Levitical law deemed her unclean. People were not to come in physical contact with her. If she had been married, she would not have been allowed intimate relations with her husband; in fact, technically, she would not even have been able to touch her own children. All this for twelve years!
What was the next great act of faith on her part?
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