25 Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years 26 had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. 28 For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.”

Mark 5:25-28

Reaching for a Promise (Mark 5:25-28)

In the second week of our Questions, God Asks series, we investigate Jesus' question in Mark 5:30, "Who touched my clothes?" Verse 25 begins our introduction to this woman:

• Nameless - Her name is never revealed
• Identified by her ailment- "The Bleeding Woman."
• Physically Bleeding for 12 years - This may have been a chronic menstrual disorder or a uterine hemorrhage.
• Social Outcast for 12 years - Her physical ailment would have made her ritually unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27), thus excluding her from normal social relationships.
• Poor - she had spent all she had to be made well to no avail.

Verse 28 is this passage's crucial verse: "If I just touch his clothes, I'll be made well." This woman's determination to touch his clothes is most likely tied to the ancient concept that the power of a person extended to one's clothing. This notion is played out in Mark 6:56, Acts 19:11-12, and Acts 5:15. Most importantly, the woman is reaching out in FAITH. (Jesus even compliments her faith in verse 34). She is convinced that Jesus is the healer, that Jesus is the messiah who can make her well!While we may not have a physical ailment like this woman, we do have an internal sin ailment that is killing us nonetheless. And in the same way that this woman reaches for Jesus' clothes to be made well, we too can reach to Jesus by faith to be made well.Today, if you feel nameless, defined by your brokenness, or spiritually poor, reach for Jesus. Reach out to him by faith, for He is the one who can heal you and make you well!