faith was not the faith of Jairus, where he said, "You come to my home." This woman said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be healed!" What kind of faith is that? Doesn't it border on superstition? It is like saying, if I can read a chapter a day, I can keep the devil away. In this woman's weakness, she comes in a crowd of people. Can you imagine how this frail old wo man struggles in a mob? This speaks to me of her determination, even though she was a bit super stitious. Now we have the phrase, that she "touched Jesus." In verse 44, "she came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak." The word touched does not mean that she touched as a hot pan on a stove, she did not touch and then withdraw quickly. The idea is that she grabbed, she held it, and then let go. She did not even want to be observed, is the implication, because she is touching only the fringe of his cloak. She knew im mediately that she was healed. She was instructed. How would Jesus treat this kind of a person? Jesus said, "Who touched me?" Peter says, "Look at this mob, ev eryone is touching you!" But Jesus was sensitive enough to know the difference between the jostle of the crowd and the touch of faith. Power and dynamic had gone from Him and healed the woman. A touch of faith. Jesus would not let her go in that condition, however. Why? Because she was saying, / touched the fringe of his clothes. I was healed. Jesus had to do some correcting. Sometimes in our im mature faith, God must do some correcting with us. We might say, Cod, if you help me in this situa tion, I promise to . ..
Jesus accepted the woman's faith, but He also corrected her. She had to go through quite an experience in order to be corrected. Notice the way He did it. She knew she was not able to escape the atten tion of Jesus. Verse 27 says, "And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trem bling." Now Jesus had healed her, and yet she came trembling. Why? Because she was unclean. Notice what she does. "And she fell down before him and declared in the presence of all the people the rea son why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed." Perhaps she was afraid of the defilement and the stigma which would be attached to her, but the power of Jesus was not the kind that was defiled. Rather, He cleansed or He healed, or He lifted those around Him. And this was true in her case. What would you say to such a person if she were in your church? What could Jesus say to this poor woman, penniless, healed, but fac ing tremendous problems and sus picions from her own family and those who knew her? Jesus said to her, "Daughter." (Vs 48). Here is a woman at least middle-aged, and He says, "Daughter." What does this mean? For the first time in twelve years, this woman has a re lationship with someone else. He called me daughter! This is the first time in twelve years that I have had any sense of belonging to any one. I don't have to run away from Him. He called me "Daughter" — not "unclean." I belong to Him. Tremendous acceptance. Jesus is very sensitive with this person. He said something else which helps and corrects her faith. "Your faith
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