A Woman Is Healed

Jesus and His disciples came back across the lake in the boat. A big crowd of people was there to meet them when they arrived. One man came straight away to Jesus and fell at His feet. This man's name was Jairus. He was the leader of the synagogue (place where the Israelites met to worship God). Jairus told Jesus that his twelve year old daughter was very sick, and he asked Jesus to come quickly and heal her, or else she would die. Jesus and His disciples set off with Jairus to go to his house, and a big crowd of people went with them.

There was a woman in the crowd who was very sick. She had suffered from severe bleeding for 12 years. She had been to many doctors and had spent all her money trying to get better. Instead, her sickness only got worse. She had heard about Jesus and came to see if He could help her. Now she had seen Jesus she felt sure He could help her. But she was too embarrassed to speak openly about her sickness. (The Israelite law said that she was ritually unclean, and any one she touched would also be ritually unclean for 7 days.) This woman believed that if she could just touch a part of Jesus' coat, then she would be well again. She thought she could do this in the crowd and no one else would know.

So as the crowd moved along the woman moved closer and closer to Jesus . Then she reached out and touched Jesus' coat. Straight away her sickness was cured (the bleeding stopped). The woman was very happy that she had been made well, and she was also pleased that no one seemed to have noticed what she had done. Then Jesus stopped and looked around. He knew that power had gone out from Him to heal someone. Jesus said, “Who touched my coat?” Jesus' disciples were surprised to hear Jesus ask this question, because so many people were crowding around Him and touching Him. However, Jesus kept looking at the people around Him.

The woman realized that she could not hide herself any longer. She came trembling with fear and knelt at Jesus' feet. She told Jesus everything that had happened. Jesus was not angry with her; no, He was very pleased to hear what she had done. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, (suitable greeting) because you believed in Me (that I could heal you) you have been made well. So, don't be upset (concerned). Go home in peace and be free from your trouble (sickness)."

Well, all this had taken some time. Some people from Jairus' house arrived and told him that his daughter had died, and said not to trouble the Master any more. But Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid, but only believe." Then, they walked on to his house. When they got there, yes, Jairus' daughter was there, lying dead on the bed. The Lord Jesus Christ send all the people away except for her father and mother. He took her by the hand and said, "Daughter (little girl), I say to you, arise (get up)." Then the girl came back to life, and sat up!

Jesus showed the people that He had the power to cure sickness and even death. God knows the secrets of the heart. Jesus Christ knows all about feminine needs and longings, and even the things we may want to keep hidden; and He wants to help us. Jesus Christ knows us very well, and He loves us. The woman with a problem of bleeding had a strong faith that even if she could only reach out and touch the edge (hem) of Jesus' clothes, she would be healed. We can come to Jesus, touch Him in faith, and ask Him to take away our sins. We must have faith in (believe in) Jesus, just like the woman did.