Editor’s Note: In honor of International Women’s Day (March 8), Women’s History Month in the United States, and the Lenten season, we will be publishing devotions written by women about the women who Jesus ministered to during his time on earth. This series will be called, “The Women Jesus Loved.”
I remember being incredibly challenged while reading through the miracle narratives of Matthew 8 and 9 as a college student. I was particularly challenged by the verses that showed faith led to healing:
“Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” (8:13)
“And when Jesus saw their faith…” (9:2)
“According to your faith be it done to you.” (9:29)
‘How does one acquire such faith?’ I thought to myself. I read these passages almost with a sense of envy because I just could not figure out what they were doing that I wasn’t!
Even within all of the miracle narratives, Matthew 9:18-26 captured my heart the most.
“While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.” (Matthew 9:18-26)
Something about the two contrasting stories of the ruler’s daughter and the bleeding woman felt more special to me. The best part was that the bleeding woman wasn’t just commended for her faith but that Jesus called her daughter. How could I have a faith like her and be loved by Jesus like her?
A decade later, I’ve had some realizations about this passage. It’s taken me some time but I see now that the astonishing thing about the bleeding woman is not what she did or how great her faith was. What is noteworthy is her absolute clarity about who she had faith in.
She Knew In Whom She Believed
This woman had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years. This meant that in addition to physical turmoil, she was deemed ceremonially unclean and unfit for religious life. In other words, she was likely an outcast, unable to fulfill the religious duties of a devout Jew.
Matthew also lets us know that this woman believed just touching the edge of Jesus’ outer garment would heal her. Many commentators suggest that she likely had a level of superstition mixed in her understanding of Jesus, assuming that somehow power would flow out of his garment like magic. Whatever her specific beliefs were, we have enough to see that this woman likely did not have a perfect understanding of Jesus.
But we do know one more thing about the woman. Being labeled unclean meant that she likely had very little regular social interaction because if someone came in contact with her, he or she would become impure as well. It is not difficult to assume that this woman would have lived her life avoiding crowds in order to prevent trouble. However, she deliberately put herself in a vulnerable situation because she was convinced Jesus could heal her. The surety she had in the person of Jesus far outweighed the possible social and physical consequences of her entering this crowd.
However irreligious this woman had to be, however flawed her understanding was, however imperfect her faith was, the one thing that was sure was the object of her faith. She knew in whom she believed; her confidence came not from anything she could fix or add to herself but from the person of Jesus Christ that she trusted in.
Jesus’ response is to turn and say to her, “Take heart, daughter. Your faith has made you well.” It is worth noting that this is the only place in the gospel of Matthew where Jesus is recorded calling someone thugatér, meaning “daughter.”
This significant gesture of affection towards the woman shows that Jesus knew that she had faith in him. Jesus showed compassion to this woman who had been suffering for so long and not only healed her but gave her the identity of his daughter. Matthew did not name this woman in his narrative but in a sense, she was given a great name because her faith was placed in the right place – the person of Jesus.
Do I Know In Whom I Believe?
Being a vibrant member of a local church is so important. Having traditions, proper theology, and even church membership are necessary.
Yet, our hearts are quick to deceive and forget. We often confuse our thriving church lives with a thriving relationship with Jesus. We often mistake doctrinal understanding for greater faith. We fail to remember that it is not church involvement or knowledge that save us but the person we trust in, Jesus, the Son of God.
Of course, we need the local church and good theology. They are both God gifted means by which God sanctifies us, grows us, and uses us. However, like we see with the bleeding woman, we need to remember that Jesus doesn’t demand perfect religion nor perfect understanding. He demands our purest worship – all of our hearts and an unwavering trust in him.
Jesus did not have a check-list of religious to-do’s or a measuring stick to see where the woman’s faith lied. What he desired was genuine faith: a sure trust and belief in him. What good is it if we puff ourselves up with things God gave us if we don’t trust in God in the first place? All the vibrant church life and theology we understand is useless if we aren’t growing to be like the bleeding woman – willing to bank our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.
Our efforts to attend every bible study and small groups are just time fillers if inside we’re trusting in our standing as good churchgoers to save us. Our devotion to studying theology is meaningless if internally we’re trusting in our plans, careers, and finances and only outwardly trusting in Jesus with our words.
Perhaps the current situation with COVID-19 has been a means by which these things have been revealed in your own heart. Now that we cannot keep ourselves busy with “doing church” do you find that the substance of your faith has dwindled? As you see your stocks lose value and face potential career setbacks, do you find yourself captive to anxiety and fear?
If you answered ‘yes’ you’re not alone. The story of the bleeding woman repeatedly challenges me to ask myself: Do I know in whom I believe? Everything comes back to Jesus. My faith is only as good as the person my faith resides in. And too often, my “faith” in Jesus is actually “trust in Jesus plus so many other things” because I don’t actually believe Jesus is the source of my healing, my happiness, my stability, and my comfort. I’m convicted of the lack of clarity I can have regarding whom or what I trust and I ask God to give me single-mindedness like the bleeding woman.
Jesus, Who Calls Me Daughter
This story definitely leaves me wrestling with my sin and longing to be like the bleeding woman. Thankfully, like most things God uses to grow us, the flip side of the conviction is a deep and profound sense of comfort. I realized that though in one sense I want to be like the woman, in another sense I already am the bleeding woman.
Though I have many days when I am forgetful or distracted by my idols, as a Christian, I have already put my faith in Jesus and declared him as my Lord and Savior. That means the moment I had genuine faith, Jesus has already looked upon me and said, “Your faith has made you well.”
Like he did with the ruler’s daughter who had been declared dead, Jesus already took me by the hand and raised me from my spiritual death. That means that he has already gifted me with the great name “daughter” and given me the identity of his adopted child. That means that like the blind men, Jesus has already touched my eyes and removed the blindness of my soul. That means that like the paralytic, Jesus has forgiven my sins and I am able to rise up, no longer bound to the weight of my guilt and shame.
The present reality is that I live in this already not yet where it takes effort to keep the focus of my faith on Jesus. Too often I don’t live with the boldness and freedom of the bleeding woman to reach out to Jesus. There are long stretches of praying, waiting, and repenting to have the focus of my faith recalibrated. But this doesn’t diminish the very real fact that I am indeed healed; I am saved; and I am loved by the one in whom I fight to have faith in. The more I believe this, the more I am motivated to patiently endure and pursue a life of growing faith. The more I am convinced of my identity as a daughter, the more I want to live up to it and receive God’s discipline as love when he exposes my idols. The more I realize that Jesus is my savior who can never be taken away, the more I want to depend on him to change me.
The tension I live in of wanting to be like the bleeding woman and knowing I am she at the same time is just evidence of what is to come. As promised, one day I will live freely with the spirit of the bleeding woman: completely single-minded, completely trusting in Jesus, and completely unafraid to give up everything to pursue the one who calls me daughter. I sure cannot wait until that day is here.
Read more of our “The Women Jesus Loved” series here.