The woman with an issue of blood was an outcast. Declared UNCLEAN, she was cut off from society. After 12 years, her resources were depleted, and her hope was almost gone. Then, she heard about Jesus. She said, If I can just touch his garment, I will be made whole.
Learn more about this miracle below.
Many have attempted to diagnose what was wrong with the woman. But that is really irrelevant to the story. It was painful, continual, and everything man attempted to fix the problem only made it worse. And because of Jewish purity rules, she was excluded from every day life, and declared unclean. If someone even touched her, they would remain unclean for a day and would have to purify themselves. In such an intensely religious environment, this woman was worse than a leper. And now having exhausted all her funds on doctors and treatments, she couldn’t even afford to buy someone who could help.
Doctors do their best with the training and experience they have obtained. But they are also just practicing. Every body is different. The slightest change in diet, or the introduction of a new chemical, can have both positive and negative side effects. If you are not ready to Believe God for your healing, at least pray for the doctors, pharmacists, and health care providers to have the Wisdom to properly diagnose and treat your condition. As you pray, listen for the Holy Spirit to guide you in diet or lifestyle changes that may make a difference. We are all fighting the same enemy, so its better to have God on your side.
A woman was there who had been suffering for 12 years from a disease that caused her to bleed. She had spent all her money on doctors to treat her condition, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
Think of all the hurdles and obstacles she faced to reach this point. All the rejection of family, friends, neighbors, and even strangers. All the primitive cures and treatments suggested by the medical community of the 1st century. She likely visited a few mystics, since her religion had rejected her completely. She was poked, prodded, treated as a test subject without any success. With each attempt, she was lighter in her purse, and even more discouraged.
And then she heard about Jesus. There were reports of people being healed by Him, of all types of diseases. She also discovered that He was in Capernaum, which was very close to her. Finally, she had some hope. Maybe just a sliver, but enough to get her moving. She said to herself, “If I can just touch his garment, I shall be whole!” She continued to meditate those words and speak them to herself. And then she saw a crowd ahead.
“If I can just touch his garment, I shall be whole!”
She was close enough to confirm that Jesus was present. But standing next to him was the ruler of the Synagogue, a man who could deal harshly with her if she approached the crowd being unclean. The purity laws were meant to set Israel apart from the nations, to keep pagan practices out of worship, and also to help mitigate the spread of disease. Even the best intentions can be applied cruelly. The ruler’s name was Jairus, and He asked Jesus to come and heal his daughter, and of course Jesus immediately went with him. The crowd that swarmed around him, pressing in on every side stayed with Jesus the whole way. But inch by inch, the woman made her way through the crowd, every step getting closer to Jesus.
“If I can just touch his garment, I shall be whole!”
Then, she reached out for the hem of his garment (a symbol of a person’s power and authority). She thought, ‘If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was free of her suffering.
The woman was bent over, almost crawling through the crowd to avoid being noticed. If she could avoid eye contact, she just might get her miracle, and avoid all scandal. She slid past one person, and then quietly squeezed in front of another. Suddenly, she found herself facing the back of Jesus. She was where she needed to be. There was just one final step.
“If I can just touch his garment, I shall be whole!”
It was time to release her faith, and as a point of contact, reach out and touch Jesus. Saying the words one last time, “If I can just touch his garment, I shall be whole!” She grabbed the hem of his garment. Like touching a live wire, or the flick of a light switch turns your home lights on, POWER rushed through her body. She felt something she had not felt in 12 years. She was no longer in pain. Her flow of blood stopped. But there was something more that she could not put into words. She drifted back and out of the crowd, taking inventory of what just happened. And then she heard Jesus ask.
“Who touched me?”
Jesus stood still and looked over the crowd. He knew exactly what happened, but He wanted the woman to come forward to confirm what had just happened. This was no secret miracle, God was going to get the Glory. The disciples were confused. It seemed like the entire crowd was converging on Jesus to touch Him. The difference was someone made a faith demand, and He noticed the release of power into the woman’s life. And it needed to be acknowledged.
When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’
Jesus’ eyes locked on the woman. She knew she could no longer hide. She came forward and kneeled in front of Jesus, not knowing what to expect. She was set free from her plague, so whatever punishment they gave her would be worth it. She told her story, the 12 years of suffering, and how she had been freed from the disease. Jesus and the crowd listened carefully to her testimony.
Jesus looked at her tenderly and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole!” Those words transformed her life completely. She was no longer just some unclean woman, but a precious DAUGHTER, child of God. The tormenting plague and the evil spirit behind it were banished from her life. And all the evil that came with it, the broken relationships, poverty, depression, distress were set aside by His Words – “Daughter, your faith has made you whole!”
According to the Law, if an unclean person touched a clean person, the person touched would be unclean for a day. But nothing evil, no darkness, sin, or even uncleanness bothered Jesus. He stopped their spread cold. He was the cleansing agent for all that separated man from God. The time had come to raise the people from spiritual death, to Life – making the status of the outer man far less important.
Both miracles, Healing The Woman With The Issue Of Blood, and Raising The Daughter of Jairus are uniquely connected, and emphatically stamped with the number 12. The number 12 in Scripture usually indicates perfection in government. It should be noted that the first recorded words of Jesus were when we has 12 years old and had stayed behind at the Temple asking questions of the teachers. When His mother demanded to know where He had been, and why He treated them that way, Jesus responded, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
Twelve is also the age a young Jewish girl reaches accountability. Just as she is approaching the moment she is free from her father, Jairus’ daughter gets sick and dies. The Woman, after 12 years, had lost all family, rejected from both physical connections and religious. They all are needing healing and restoration in different ways. Jairus represented an additional barrier, as he could have protested the presence of this unclean woman, or taken more drastic action to remove her. Also, during the delay it took for Jesus to minister to the woman, messengers arrived to inform Jairus that his daughter was dead. This news could have undermined his faith. He could have blamed this woman for the delay. Jesus quickly stepped in to keep him from undermining his faith.
It has been suggested that the woman was a Gentile, and not from Capernaum. This might explain her ability to navigate the crowd without being stopped for being unclean. If this is accurate, it makes for an interesting possibility. Both the woman and the daughter experienced their plight during the same 12 years. Both desired to be healed and restored, but their righteousness was as filthy rags in the presence of Jesus. (Isaiah 64) Neither, by their own actions, had earned God’s Love, because it is a FREE GIFT. It is His nature – God is Love! (1 John 4:7-12) It was not the Woman’s good deeds, or the severity of the crisis, but the faith in her heart that pleased God. (Hebrews 11:6) Her faith connected with the Anointing on Jesus, accessing the power necessary to make her whole. Jesus was simply doing the Father’s business.
When folks find similar stories in the Gospels it is immediately assumed they are identical. When discrepancies emerge, they then claim there is something wrong with the Bible. It is quite possible during His time on Earth Jesus could have cured several women with an issue of Blood, and even raised more than one Synagogue Ruler’s daughter. But these three accounts are so very similar, so intertwined, that it is unlikely in this case. But we can closely examine each account and note what the Holy Spirit considered important for each writer.
Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience about their King, includes just three lines, hardly diverging from the account of Jesus interacting with Jairus. The Woman comes on the scene, is healed, and dismissed before we learn much at all. And note, in male dominated Israel, how little space is allocated to Jairus’ daughter being raised. Mark’s account is far more thorough, giving voice to her thoughts and her exchange with Jesus. Luke falls between the two. He includes enough information to understand the miracle, but not nearly as much background as Mark. But take the three collectively, and you have a pretty thorough account of both miracles from three perspectives.
| Matthew 9:8-26 | Mark 5:21-43 | Luke 8:40-56 |
| 21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. | ||
| 22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, | ||
| 23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. | ||
| 18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. | 24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. | 40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. |
| 19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. | 25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, | 41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: |
| 20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: | 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, | 42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. |
| 21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. | 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. | 43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, |
| 22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. | 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. | 44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. |
| 23 And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, | 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. | 45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? |
| 24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. | 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? | 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. |
| 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. | 31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? | 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. |
| 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land. | 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. | 48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. |
| 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. | 49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. | |
| 34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. | 50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. | |
| 35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? | 51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. | |
| 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. | 52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. | |
| 37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. | 53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. | |
| 38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. | 54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. | |
| 39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. | 55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. | |
| 40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. | 56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. | |
| 41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. | ||
| 42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. | ||
| 43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. |
When the woman heard about Jesus healing the sick, even after a long 12 years of suffering, she finally had some hope. The first step was to get her mind off the problem, and get focused on the Solution, Jesus. The next step was following Jesus’ teaching in Mark 11 – Have faith in God, speak to the mountain, receive what you say, if you believe it in your heart. So that was exactly what the woman did. She continually spoke what she believed. “If I can just touch his garment, I shall be whole!” No doubt the enemy flooded her mind with thoughts of failure. “Its been 12 years, and you have just gotten worse.” and “You are unclean. If you touch Jesus, the religious will stone you.” But she cast down every thought, every contradiction to what she now believed. “If I can just touch his garment, I shall be whole!” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) When she finally grabbed the hem of His garment, POWER was released, and both the woman and Jesus KNEW IT.
Some folks may object that we can no longer physically touch Jesus. Correct. He is no longer limited to one physical area. He is wherever He needs to be. Inside Believers, in the midst of two or three, ready to do what is needed to set you Free. But are you ready to receive? Is your faith built up and fully charged? Is it based on God’s Word? Do ALL your words match what you believe in your heart? If all that is true, Praise the Lord, you have your miracle! (Psalm 103:1-5, Matthew 17:20, 18:19-20, John 8:31-32, Romans 10:17, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 4:4)
Healing the Woman With the Issue of Blood – Matthew 9:20-22 – Mark 5:25-34 – Luke 8:43-48
Check out all the wonderful Christian content linked below and learn more about this miracle.
The Hem of Jesus’ Garment – A very brief version based on Mark for both this miracle and Jairus’ daughter
The Girl Who Lived Twice – Slide show that includes both healing miracles: the bleeding woman and daughter of Jairus
Touching The Garment – A coloring page
Hem of His Garment – Activity pages and brief lesson
Jesus Heals the Woman With an Issue of Blood – A lesson outline
There Is Power In A Touch – Brief lesson
Jesus Heals Jairus’ Daughter – Bible lesson that includes Jesus healing the bleeding woman
The Woman With The Issue Of Blood – A post by Jimmy Swaggart
Jesus Heals the Sick – Additional resources related to Jesus and healing including this miracle.
Jesus Healings – Some resources that might be useful for teaching about Jairus and the bleeding woman
The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter – Study by Hampton Keathley IV includes discussion on the woman that touched Jesus
Why Is the Story of Jairus Interrupted by the Hemorrhaging Woman? – A brief answer to the question
Jesus Heals Woman With the Blood Issue – Some observations based on this miracle
Touching the Hem of Jesus’ Garment– Some observations based on this miracle by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
The Finger of Faith – A devotion on the woman that touched Jesus
Woman Grabs the Hem of Jesus’ Garment and Is Healed – An outline of both miracles from Matthew 9:18-26
The Tallit and Tzitzit – An article from Jews For Jesus on the garment worn by Jesus and its significance
Matthew 9:9-26 – Additional resources for adult study
Mark 5:21-43 – Additional resources for adult study
Capernaum– A good summary of Capernaum’s role in Jesus’ ministry
Since these miracles are so closely linked, see also Healing The Daughter of Jairus
Meme Source Bible Verses To Go
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Suggested Search Terms: Miracles of Jesus, faith, healing, bleeding woman, issue of blood, woman who touched Jesus, hem of his garment, Capernaum, Matthew 9, Mark 5, Luke 8
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Trying to print some of these activity pages and they don’t fit on the paper. Have other people had this problem or am I not doing something correctly?