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. Luke 8:47
As a child, my voice was rather silent. Being a child of divorced parents, my security of what I knew before had been stripped away from me. When I asked my sister recently about this time in my life, she shared that I changed dramatically after the divorce. No longer was I a bubbly, happy, playful young child. I became sullen, withdrawn and silent. This did manifest itself in an unusual way in school at the time. My penmanship became so miniscule that my second grade teacher had to ask me to write bigger because she could not read anything I was writing. It was in her class that I wrote my first-ever book (the launching of my writing career) about a little boy who wanted to be taller so he allowed himself to be subjected to the pulls of a stretching machine.
The woman with the issue of blood had been silenced too. In a society that thrived on community, open air markets, and life in a bustling metropolitan town, she was considered unclean and anyone who touched her was deemed unclean until evening (Leviticus 15:25-33). Undesirable. Outcast. Forgotten. Alone. She had been robbed of a ‘normal’ life. For twelve years she lived shelling out money in the hopes of finding a cure, only at to be broke and worse off than she was before. She was tired and tired of being alone. She was a desperate woman.
She had heard about this man Jesus. She lived in Capernaum, Jesus's ministry headquarters. One can assume that she lived there because of her impoverished state. She risked being one of the crowd when she heard that Jesus was back from across the lake. She was there with the others when the boat landed on shore. Jairus, a prominent citizen in that community, came into the crowd and asked Jesus to go to his house to heal his daughter. It was at this junction the woman made her move.
In her desperation she touched Jesus. What she wanted, longed for, needed; happened. She was immediately healed. In her seeking she came up from behind, trying to go unnoticed. Her plan was to remain invisible in the crowd and in society. That was her place after all. For twelve long years she could not interact with her people. To be in public, let alone in a crowd, was a great risk. In her last-ditch effort, she reach out and touched the Messiah.
Imagine the healing that washed over her. No longer was she bleeding and she knew it. Thinking that only she knew of this miraculous phenomenon, she was ready to make her way home. But Jesus felt the power go out of Him. Now, instead of one involved in this healing as she had hoped, there was two. Power went out of Him and healed the woman. And He wanted to know who touched Him to cause it. Jesus questioned the crowd, including this one of the crowd.
For the one who had been silenced and outcast from society, it was time to speak up and she knew it. She spoke.
She testified about her ill health, hopes and immediate healing. For a woman that had been quiet far too long, the words came tumbling out. She was given her voice back and her voice was heard. No longer was she on the sidelines watching, she was now in community with the Saviour of the world and her people. He heard. They heard. But Jesus was not content to let her speak to Him to His back, He wanted that face-to-face encounter. In His questioning, He wanted her to know she was given a voice and she had the privilege to use it to testify to others in the crowd.
Remember who was in the crowd? Jairus. This crowd, Jesus and he were on their way to attend to his beloved daughter. The interruption was not part of his plan, but rather a part of God’s. Her testimony spoken out loud was heard by the one who needed it most. The one who just heard that his daughter had died while they were in route. Her words of faith were still ringing in his ears when he received the horrific news no parent wants to hear.
A once-stilled voiced spoke volumes in a crowd. A humble woman encouraged a wealthy synagogue ruler to have faith and to press on. Two seemingly different healings intersect at common ground. Faith in Jesus.
Has God given you an experience that He wants you to testify about? To a crowd, or maybe to just one. Whatever the number does not matter. What matters is obedience to the Master, and to use the platform He has given as a testimony to His grace, power and love.
PRAYER
Father, I do thank You for all the experiences You have given to me. Yes, I am willing. Use me. I will speak of Your work in my life.
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