Luke 8:43, commentary and pictures

A woman had suffered a debilitating flow of blood for twelve long years, spending all her means upon physicians yet growing worse and pronounced incurable and near death. Hearing of Jesus as the great Healer her hope revived, until she was certain that pressing through the throng to touch even the hem of His garment would make her whole. In that moment of believing touch she was immediately and perfectly healed, the power coming from Christ Himself and not from the garment, unlike the mere crowding of the curious multitude which received nothing. Jesus stopped, drew her forward to confess openly before all, and commended her trust, calling her Daughter and bidding her go in peace for her faith had made her whole. Her bodily healing shows how the repentant soul defiled by sin receives pardon, by personal, living faith that takes Christ as its own Saviour, looks right away to Him instead of to its wounds, and claims His power.

Story Setting and Context

The healing belongs to the story of Jairus' daughter, told also in Matthew 9:18-31 and Mark 5:21-43. It takes place right after the return from healing the demoniacs at Gadara, while going with Jairus to his home. The way moves slowly because the crowd presses on every side, and stops are made to minister to their wants. There the woman meets her one chance for relief in the presence of the great Physician, coming to the seaside where teaching is going on and seeking to press through the encompassing throng. Amid the confusion she cannot be heard nor catch more than a passing glimpse, with her way continually hedged up until despair begins before the way opens within reach. The same account is one in which the daughter of Jairus is raised to life, showing power to raise the dead to life during the earthly ministry.

Twelve Years of Hopeless Suffering

For twelve long, weary years the woman suffered a debilitating issue or flow of blood, a grievous malady that left her for years an invalid and a stranger to perfect health. Her disease made life a burden with pain and weakness, long and painful suffering that wore her down.

She spent all her living, substance, means, and resources upon physicians and remedies in seeking a cure. Yet she could not be healed by any, it was all in vain, and no earthly physician's power could heal her. She was not made better but grew worse under their care.

The physicians pronounced her incurable, gave her up to die and left her to die. She was regarded as near death, reduced to poverty and helpless, desperate need, a poor woman come near to losing her life.

Hope Revived Toward Jesus

After twelve years of vain expense and failure, her hope revives when she hears of the wonderful cures wrought by Jesus as the great Healer. She believes that if she can only come into His presence He will take pity on her and help her, and she determines to reach Him and waits for her opportunity in the dense throng. She comes suffering with pain and weakness to where He is teaching, even to the seaside, and seeks to press through the encompassing crowd, though her way is continually hedged up until she begins to despair.

Her confidence grows as she fixes her mind upon that hope until she becomes certain that merely coming into His presence and barely touching His garment will relieve her illness and make her whole. She settles it that if she but touches His garment, the hem or border of it, she will be cured. Contact with His garment, she believes, can bring healing.

Suffering still, she comes behind Him where He is and presses forward through the crowd that throngs Him on right and left. Amid confusion where she cannot be heard nor catch more than a passing glimpse, fearful of losing her one chance for relief, she steals the opportunity to put forth her hand. She barely touches the hem of His garment as He passes, with the touch of faith, concentrating all the faith of her life in that one touch. That reaching is genuine, believing faith, not the merely casual contact of the crowd.

Instant Healing by Faith

In that one touch she was healed at once, immediately and perfectly, in a moment of time. In that moment she felt herself healed, with health and strength taking the place of feebleness and pain. Her pain and weakness disappeared after twelve weary years of suffering.

The cure came not through any virtue in the simple outward act of touching the clothes, for there was no healing power in the garment itself as a means. It came through strong faith reaching out and claiming divine help, answered by divine power granting her prayer. The healing power came from Christ Himself, through faith in His divine power.

Her touch of faith is to be distinguished from the casual contact and common press of the careless, curious crowd pressing close on every side. The multitude's crowding alone brought no accession of vital power or blessing, though they pressed close about Him and received nothing from the contact. Hers was genuine, living faith closely connected with Christ, making actual contact and receiving His healing power and virtue with immediate reward.

What the physicians had not accomplished in twelve years Jesus accomplished instantly through her faith, bringing her more in one touch than they had in all those years. Those who had suffered many things of many physicians and had grown no better but worse were perfectly restored by Him in a moment of time. So complete was His healing that human physicians could find but little work to do in the cities where He healed.

Christ's Compassionate Response

Though pressed by the crowd and weighed down by the great work of redemption with its taxing of mind and body, He is awake to the slightest touch of the afflicted and humblest, hears every cry of need, knows all the circumstances of this sufferer, perceives that virtue has gone out from Him, and recognizes genuine faith and need as distinct from mere casual contact. Her reaching for His garment is actual contact that receives His healing power, while the crowding of the multitude alone brings no accession of vital power or blessing. He compassionately approves the faith that led her to touch Him, knowing her long and helpless suffering and her great need for relief, and He helps her to exercise that faith.

He stops, and with all the people halting He asks who touched Him, unwilling to let such confidence and trust pass without comment. His question brings her forward so that her healing and grateful confession can encourage others and show before all that faith brought the healing. He publicly affirms that faith so that she will leave with comfort and peace and not with fear that she acted presumptuously. He never passes by a movement done to do His will, for He recognizes the motive of every action and judges its worth by that standard.

He is not angered at her presumption but commends her trust, calls her Daughter, and bids her be of good comfort and go in peace because her faith has made her whole. His words of comfort are a well-spring of joy to the humble woman, showing compassion for her suffering and approval of her trust in His power to save all who come to Him. He makes clear that her faith brought her deliverance.

Finding concealment vain after seeking to retire unobtrusively with a thankful heart, she comes forward trembling and kneels at His feet. There she weeps out her affliction and tells before all the multitude the simple story of long suffering and instant relief, interrupted by grateful tears at the joy of perfect restored health after twelve weary years. Her open acknowledgment glorifies God, confirms that she has been made whole, and makes the impression He intended, giving healing workers an example of living experience in Christ joined with tenderness, sympathy, and comforting words. He desired her to acknowledge the blessing received, because the gifts the gospel offers are not to be secured by stealth or enjoyed in secret.

Saving Faith and Its Meaning

As her body was healed, so the soul defiled by sin is dealt with, for the same Jesus who healed bodily infirmity grants pardon to the repentant soul that calls upon Him. The touch of faith brings the coveted pardon, and that pardon fills the soul with gratitude and joy. Her bodily healing is therefore a lesson of encouragement to sinners that they will be met in like manner when they reach out in simple trust.

The faith that receives wholeness is personal, praying for itself instead of depending on others to pray. It comes into close living connection and covenant relation with God, taking Christ as a personal Saviour who died for the individual. It personally embraces Him, receives His merits and saving grace, and trusts that He will save to the uttermost all who come to Him. It is not casual religion, mere intellectual agreement, or belief about Christ, nor merely accepting that He is the world's Saviour, but receiving Him personally as Saviour.

That availing faith expresses supreme preference, perfect reliance, and entire consecration. It works by love and purifies the soul, and works in the follower true obedience to the commandments through vital connection, so that love to God and love to man result. As living, confiding trust it joins the believer to God in covenant and gives spiritual vigor, trusting strength, and power to overcome. Received in this way, Christ's virtue prepares believers for His service and kingdom and brings healing and life to body and soul.

True Christian faith is simply taking God at His word and reaching out to connect with the Saviour. It does not require feelings wrought up to excitement, noisy petitions, physical display, or waiting for complete knowledge before trusting, for Jesus answers even the silent prayer of faith with blessing. Waiting for complete knowledge prevents blessing, while relying on His power to save, rather than merely being near Him or feeling intense emotion, receives it. Strong cries and tears involuntarily forced out by conflict with doubt and temptation, and cries and groans from agony when penitent guilt brings repentance, are heard by the compassionate Saviour with pity, but they are not essential to the exercise of faith.

The meaning is to look right away to the Saviour instead of looking at and deploring the wounds and bruises that sin has made. Looking to Him by faith brings His healing power of grace to heal the terrible wounds of sin, giving freedom and life and blessing, just as those bitten in the wilderness were healed as soon as they looked. The healing shows humanity connecting with divinity and receiving the blessing, for He came to bring divinity to humanity. That divinity is needed by young and old, and is taken hold of by living, active faith that comes to Him just as one is, helpless and dependent.

Touching Him in the midst of life's crowds and suffering brings wholeness, and her story gives lessons of encouragement to all sufferers. Living faith closely connected with Him claims the promises of God and receives His mighty power and virtue to bless all who come. Such faith can hold fast through suffering to victory. Those who have infirmities should therefore not dwell on them but talk of His power, move out by faith, and trust that He lives to make whole.

Her healing was a gift that brings life into right relation with Him, and life brought into right relation saves trouble for self and for others. He recognizes the motive of every action and judges its worth by whether it is done to do His will, and He never passes it by. Touching His garments in faith brings His healing touch to revive mind and body for work, yet those needing strength and energy must not stop with the touch but walk with Him as companion.