General News
7 December, 2025
In good faith
IN GOOD FAITH: Today, I’m going to be brave and address a Bible story that a lot of people try to avoid. It is the story of the woman with the bleed.
It is found in the Gospels of Matthew (9:20-22), Mark (5:25-34) and Luke (8:43-48) and took place in the Roman city of Caesarea-Philippi, in the Northern Galilee region.
It is unfortunate that this story is so often avoided, because this woman would have to be a solid contender for the greatest example of sheer faith found anywhere throughout the Gospels. And that is what this story is about, faith.
Matthew’s version of the story, which is the most succinct, is as follows,
“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of his cloak.She said to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.”
The disorder that this woman almost certainly had was what we today know as menorrhagia. If you don’t know that is, I’ll let you Google it for yourself. But effectively, she had uncontrolled, non-stop bleeding.
Now, you might be asking yourself “Why is this such an issue?” To understand this, we need to go back to the Book of Leviticus, 15:19-24.
This is the passage that gives the ritual purity law regarding when a woman could enter the temple for the purpose of offering sacrifices.
Remember that in Old Testament times, it was through the offering of sacrifices in the temple that one was made right with God. It was for securing forgiveness and the expiation of sin through the offering of a substitute.
The dilemma that this woman had was that since her bleeding never stopped, she was never able to enter the temple. Because of this, she was unable to offer the required sacrifices, so she feared that she was not able to secure forgiveness of sin in the eyes of God.
This woman was not fearful for her health. She was fearful for her soul! She was terrified that she would be forever separated from her Lord due to a medical condition that was no fault of her own.
Because of this, she had spent 12 years seeking the best medical attention that she could afford.Now, believe it or not, much of the medicine available in Roman times was actually surprisingly good. For example, they knew how to stitch severe wounds and set broken bones and they certainly had a variety of effective medicinal herbs available to them. But at the same time, much of the other medicine that was available could be described as “Hocus-pocus” at best. It’s no surprise that she had no success with the doctors.
Then the day came when she was in the city and saw Jesus. It seems that she made a ‘spur of the moment’ decision.
She would cut loose the old faith which had let her down so badly, and wholeheartedly embrace faith in Christ.
She reached out and simply touched the hem of his garment.
Now, at the hem of the garment of a Jewish person, at each corner was a corded tassel called a ‘TziTzi’.
The command to wear these was given in Numbers 15:37-41, and their purpose was to remind one of the law and the commandments. Her touching this was no accident. The woman was deliberately reaching out to satisfy the law through Christ.
Thus, it was through her huge faith, that Christ healed her of her disorder and made her whole.
I wonder what the world would be like today if more people had even a portion of the faith that this woman had? Jesus taught “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except by me”.
This teaching is clear.
There is only one way to eternity, and that is through faith in Christ, and Christ alone.