Mark's Gospel, chapter 5 and
verse 25. And a certain woman, which had
an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things
of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing
bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus came
in the press behind and touched his garment. For she said, if
I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway
the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her
body that she was healed of that plague. 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? And his
disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging
thee, and sayest thou who touched me? And he looked round about
to see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing
and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down
before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her,
Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, and
behold of thy plague. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. During the ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Saviour was often treated as a celebrity. And I know it's true that there
were times when the gospel narratives tell us that all men forsook
Him. There was an occasion when a
mob turned violent and might have thrown Him from a clifftop. But mainly, the crowds followed
the Lord. Mainly, there was a curiosity
about Him. mainly they were eager to see
and to hear what the Lord Jesus Christ would do and say. Do you remember Zacchaeus? That
little man who had to climb up a tree in order to witness what
was happening in the street below. There was this curiosity, there
was this celebrity that attached to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, I hope that we realise
that that popularity was not spiritually driven. Rather, it
arose from a fleshly, carnal desire and curiosity. The mob was fickle and changeable. It praised Jesus one day and
it scorned him the next. And the Lord Jesus Christ knew
this. We know that the Lord knew all men's hearts and indeed that
is why he did not commit himself to all men and women. We find on occasion that the
Lord is very blunt with these people, like when he was in Capernaum
and and called down the judgment upon the people for their lack
of faith and lack of belief. And there was an occasion in
John chapter six and verse 26, when Jesus said, verily, verily,
I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles,
but because ye did eat the loaves and were filled. What the Lord
was saying to the people there was that you had no real understanding
of what my ministry is about. All you were interested in was
the drama. All you were interested in was
the sensuality. All you were interested in was
the appetite and getting your bellies filled with the bread
and the fish. You liked the spectacle, but
you didn't understand the meaning. And I dare say it is the same
still today. There are many people for whom
church is a sensual experience. They like the entertainment.
They like the spectacle. They like the drama. They like
the music. They like the camaraderie. But
they have not an understanding of the spirituality. Now that's not to say that the
people to whom the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking had not physically
seen the miracles being performed. Those who ate the loaves and
the fishes, they certainly did. But they just viewed it as an
event. They wondered and they marvelled
at it without grasping the spiritual meaning. So now I'm going to link these
two things together. We were reading about the parables
in chapter four, and we read there about the fact that the
Lord said that these parables are basically just stories to
the men and women who hear them. The deeper meaning, the spiritual
meaning, was restricted to those who had eyes to see and ears
to hear. That is also true about the miracles. That's what the Lord has been
saying. That's what the Lord was saying there in John chapter
six to those to whom he spoke when he said, you don't see the
reality of these miracles. You just like being part of the
experience. So it is that the Lord when he
speaks and when he acts requires a spiritual understanding from
the men and women to whom he speaks and before whom he acts. Whether it's the parables with
their hidden meanings or the miracles being misunderstood,
only those who see things spiritually see them at all. In Luke chapter 10 verse 23,
the Lord turned to his disciples and said privately, so he's not
speaking to everyone, he says privately, blessed are the eyes
which see the things that ye see. You see, the disciples were
blessed to hear the meaning of the parables given privately
after they had been preached and spoken and conveyed to the
multitude. But the spiritual meaning was
given privately to the disciples. And so this little phrase, this
little verse in Luke 10 reinforces the fact that it was not only
the parables but the miracles. He turned him to the disciples
and said privately, blessed are the eyes which see the things
that ye see. And then again in Matthew chapter
13 verse 16, but blessed are your eyes for they see and your
ears for they hear. I hope it will be so with our
eyes and ears today. I hope it will be that our eyes
and ears are blessed today to see the Lord Jesus Christ lifted
up, to see and to understand that the Lord Jesus Christ crucified,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God sacrificed, is the way
of access, the way of opening and the way of life to sinners
like us. and finding that union which
he has forged as blood of our blood, flesh of our flesh, bone
of our bone, that union of grace, that covenant of peace, that
we have a blessedness of a spiritual nature in the Lord Jesus Christ. Where we are in our homes, in
our company right now here today, a blessed spiritual fellowship
together, one with the other, yes, but with the Lord Jesus
Christ as the utmost importance. When we come to this passage
today, the passage of the lady with the issue of blood, I would
like us to keep three things in mind. The actual healing of
this dear lady What the Lord was teaching his disciples by
it, because remember that is an emphasis that we have been
maintaining in the past in the context of the group of disciples
that the Lord had called to him, and was preparing for their own
ministry when his ministry would be completed at his crucifixion,
resurrection and ascension into glory. That great commission
that would be given to the disciples to go into all the world and
preach the gospel. The Lord was preparing them for
that even now and every word he spoke and every incident that
transpired was intended and designed, at least in part, to teach his
disciples about their future ministry. And the third thing
I want us to keep in mind is this, that we might ask ourselves,
that I might ask myself, do I understand what the Lord did here, and do
you? Just before we deal with those
points, let me make one other note about something which I
think is very important. We are told in this little passage
that much people followed Jesus and thronged him. So this was
a large group of people moving along the road. We didn't read
the introduction to the verses, a few verses before this, but
the context we will come back to on another occasion was that
they were heading towards Jerisey's home where his little girl was
close to death. But as the people moved along
the road, we're told much people followed Jesus and thronged him. Yet for all the shoving and the
pushing, for all the jostling and the jockeying for position,
only one lady actually came close. Only one lady actually came into
contact with the Lord that day. When the gospel is preached,
when we do what we are doing here today, the Lord passes by. The Lord passes by in the preaching
of the gospel. And when the Lord passes by,
it is only those who touch him by faith who touch him at all. It is only those who touch him
by faith who are blessed by that gospel message. May the Lord
enable us, by faith, to touch him today as he goes past. Whatever need we have, whatever
ailment we carry on our shoulders, whether it's in our body, on
our mind, in our heart, may the Lord today enable us to reach
out and touch him by faith, that we, like her, might go from his
presence in peace, having felt his healing touch upon our soul
and in our heart. So let's think about these three
points then that I wanted to mention. The first one was the
actual healing of this dear lady. 12 years sick with a real debilitating,
weakening condition. Her life, we may say, was literally
draining away And this medical condition, this ailment and complaint
that the woman had, had been aggravated these 12 years in
that she suffered many things. of many physicians. Not only
did she suffer this issue of blood, but she suffered for 12
years through the diagnosis and the medical procedures that had
been inflicted upon her by all of these physicians and doctors
that she had sought out. Lots of people with lots of opinions
about how she could be healed. I don't know whether it's significant
or not, but... I wondered, in the case of this
lady, there's no mention made of a husband here. And perhaps
she was taken advantage of as well by some of these physicians
as she went through these 12 years seeking help for this issue
of blood which she had. It would not surprise me. But
what we are told is that after all her efforts, she was no better,
but rather she grew worse. We are additionally told that
now she was destitute, for she had spent all she had on these
people, and she had nothing left. What a pitiful condition this
woman is in. Let us not pass by this because
we know the end of the story before the beginning. But let
us, if we can, enter something, somewhat into the condition and
state of this dear lady. What a need she had. How low
she had gotten. How little she possessed. She
had nothing. But she'd heard. She'd heard. that Jesus helps people like
her. All what hope that must have
stirred in her heart. Here was a woman to be pitied
in so many ways, but she was an elect child of God. and she nevertheless had to go
through great hardship and great trial. For these 12 years she
had gone through this hardship and trial. Let us not imagine
that our lives with its problems are the first time that trouble
has come into a believer's life. It is the nature of a Christian's
experience to have trial and trouble. and she was no less
of a believer. This lady, make no mistake about
it, was one of the Lord's people. She did not become a believer
when she was healed. She came to the Lord Jesus Christ
for healing because she believed that he could heal her. and that
he would heal her. So sure, in fact, so confident
was she that she said within herself, if I may touch but his
clothes, I shall be whole. She'd heard of Jesus. She'd heard
the good news that this Jesus of Nazareth could heal the sick. and she knew herself to be sick.
It was all she had was her sickness and she trusted that he could
and that he would heal her. That's a wonderful picture of
sin and of a sinner coming to Christ for salvation. We will
make it our responsibility and our privilege to tell men and
women that the Lord Jesus Christ is able to heal them from their
sickness of sin. Sin is a long-lasting sickness
of the soul, and all who know themselves sick with sin They
pursue all manner of activities, trying to get ease of conscience,
trying to find an answer for the emptiness that they feel,
trying to find a way of easing the guilt that overshadows their
minds and darkens their souls. This lady had tried many physicians. She had gone to many places and
different people to try and cure this distress. What did she find? She found that all of these efforts
were in vain. How can I be forgiven? How can
I be right with God? How can I find righteousness?
How can I be justified with God? How can I be clean and made whole? Only by coming to Christ. Only
by having Him cleanse our sin. Only by the blood of Jesus Christ. May we have righteousness. That
is the way of peace. Have you heard that? That's the
gospel. Do you believe that? Then come
and touch Christ and find peace for your soul. What would have
happened if that lady, knowing what she knew, feeling as she
felt, had nevertheless decided to stay home that day? Jesus
says in Matthew chapter 11, come unto me all ye that labour and
are heavy laden. Oh, this lady laboured, and she
was heavy laden. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to the gospel,
come seeking Christ. What did I say? Christ passes
in the gospel. Hear the gospel preached. Come
unto the sound of the gospel. Come to Christ. And all that
the Father giveth me, says the Lord, shall come to me, and he
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Let us remember
the need that this woman had, and let us remember the fact
that the Lord Jesus Christ healed her. Yet as well as healing this
dear lady, as well as dealing with her in love and pity, the
Lord Jesus Christ was also teaching his disciples something about
the work which they would soon be called to do. There are a
number of lessons in this, I think, which we find from this lady's
attitude and approach to the Lord, which was designed to teach
the disciples something precious. And here's one of them. This
woman came to Jesus hoping, believing, and trusting. You know, she may
have been the only one in that crowd that day who came to the
Lord in that express attitude. Do you remember what the Lord
said to his disciples when they were in the boat in the midst
of the storm? Mark chapter four, verse 40,
we read it a couple of weeks ago. He said this, why are ye
so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And what did he say to this lady?
He said, thy faith hath made thee whole. What a contrast there
was between the way the Lord talked to his disciples there
in the midst of the storm and the way that the Lord talked
to this lady here in the midst of this crowd. What was the Lord
saying to his disciples? I know what he was saying to
the lady. What was he saying to his disciples at that moment? He was saying, here is faith
to be admired. Here is faith to be acknowledged
and to be recommended. Here is faith being exercised
for the securing of the help and the obtaining of the peace
that you didn't have. You didn't trust in me the way
that this lady is trusting in me. That was a personal lesson
to the disciples in that contrast and comparison that was being
made there that day. And again, here's another aspect
of the lady's approach to the Lord, which I'm sure was not
missed by the disciples, at least in retrospect. This lady came
modestly. She came in humility, but she
came with determination. She came determined to make it
through that crowd to Jesus. Let me tell you something about
that lady's disease, that lady's illness. That disease made her
unclean under the law, and that prohibited her and should have
prevented her from being even amongst so many people on that
occasion. But in the woman's mind, it was
all the more reason to press forward. What if she had said,
I'm frail 12 years. I'm frail. I'll be crushed in
that crowd. That wasn't what she thought.
Her determination was such that it was all the more reason to
press through the crowd to Jesus. And she was humble because she
had no desire to make any spectacle, any pretentious event out of
this. It was in her mind a simple case
of getting in there and getting out again. Getting in, out, and
away, without being noticed by anyone. Merely touching the Lord
Jesus Christ was being enough. My, she said to himself, I don't
even need to touch him if I can just touch his clothes, that'll
be enough. When the Saviour asked who touched
me, You can almost hear the condescending tone in the voices of the disciples. Listen to what they said to him.
Lord, thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and seest thou
who touched me? You see the difference between
that lady's approach and the attitude of the disciples here
at this moment? This lady was coming with a determination,
with a modesty, with a humility. And the Lord's disciples had
this attitude of, what are you talking about, Lord? Look at
all the people. Look at the throng. What do you
mean, who touched me? They did not have the humility
that this woman had. And that was a lesson which I'm
sure was not lost upon them in the days that lay ahead. And
then there was Jesus' gentleness. The Lord Jesus Christ is always
a gentleman, and that is a good lesson for the Lord's people,
the Lord's disciples, the Lord's apostles, the Lord's ministers,
if you like, to learn. Of course he knew who had touched
him. This was one of his little ones.
The Lord had known this lady from eternity. The Lord had come
to that place that day for that lady. He knew who had touched
him. That glancing touch in the melee
was imperceptible in any factual way, but power had passed between
the Lord and that woman. A need had been met in that moment. Blessing had been dispensed. And I imagine that there was
a hush fell over the crowd as the Lord Jesus stopped in his
tracks and turned around to face behind him. But the Lord didn't
point at her. The Lord didn't address himself
to her. He didn't identify this lady
in any way. He just simply scanned the crowd
and he waited. He knew. She knew. And she knew that he knew. And
here is a fine display of her love to the Lord as her faith
is strengthened in this moment. She had reached out to him secretly,
she had reached out humbly, and now she appears to display her
faith openly. She witnesses to everyone that
something had been done. Verse 33 tells us, the woman,
fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and
fell down before him, and told him all the truth. Fearful and
trembling, this woman came before the Lord. This is the fear and
trembling of a saved soul. You know, some of you I know
are anxious about your spiritual condition. Some of you I know
have questions about your own assurance. Some of you who listen
are fearful and trembling about your spiritual state. You might
wonder if you are really saved and you hardly dare hope that
it's true. Well, listen, you're in good
company. You're in good company. Dr. Gill, Dr. John Gill, he says
in some of his comments, he said, such people are sometimes afraid
they have no interest in Christ and in his love. They're afraid
that they are hypocrites and that the truth of grace is not
in them. They're afraid that they shall
never hold out to the end, that they shall perish and come short
of eternal glory. Notwithstanding, they know, as
this woman did, what has been done in them and done for them. Why is that? Because like this
woman, they know the shame of years. They know the issue of
blood. They know the uncleanness that
that brings. They know the corruption of sin. They know the troublesomeness
of conscience. But they also know that peace
is to be found only in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. and willingly
they confess their faith and deliverance by the power of the
Lord. And here's another lesson for
the disciples. The Lord calls her daughter. Why does he call
her daughter? Because she's a child of God.
Christ himself testifying to her of the union that she has
with him. There is for this lady an eternal
inheritance laid up for her in heaven. You know that lady has
been in glory for nearly 2,000 years? That woman has been with
the Lord for nearly 2,000 years. The Lord told her she was his
daughter. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear
the Lord Jesus Christ tell us that we are accepted in him? Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear
Jesus Christ himself tell us that we are justified, that we
are righteous, that we are eternally secure? Let me ask you a question,
what criteria had the Lord used to speak to this lady? Simply
this, her faith. When she had nothing but the
sickness of her body, nothing but the need of her soul, she
came to Jesus. Jesus saved her and Jesus made
her whole. So let me come to the final point
now and it's quick and we're nearly done. Let me ask you and
let me ask myself, what do I understand from what the Lord did here?
Do I understand the meaning of this miracle? Do you? You know, I think it's very interesting
that this account is, as far as I can make out, the only miracle
that Jesus performed where there was nothing to see. That lady's
illness was of the most private nature. And the Lord cured her. And after a few words, she just
disappeared into the crowd and out of history. Nothing here
to see. Unless, of course, you have eyes
to see and ears to hear. The crowd, the melee, they would
have been shouting over the head of that group of people, what's
happening? What's happening? And they would be saying to one
another, nothing, there's nothing. I don't know what's going on.
There's nothing happening. But a transformation had taken
place in that woman's life. A secret healing. And that's
the nature of salvation. It is a secret healing. It is
the taking away of our sickness. It is the cleansing of our sin. Do you understand that? Here
is this woman. The Lord saves her. The Lord
brings her into the kingdom of God. The Lord claims her for
his very own. He took her part. He took her
place. He took her sickness. He took
her sin and he carried it all away. Let me put it bluntly. He issued his blood that her
issue of blood might be stopped. He gave her life. at the cost
of his own. And this he did through that
great mediatorial role as substitute and saviour. He died that she
might live. He gave his blood that she might
keep hers. He healed her body and he saved
her soul. And I direct you to a little
phrase that gives this sermon its title today. And it takes
us to the very heart of personal salvation. It's in verse 33. She knew, Mark tells us, she
knew what was done in her. Brothers and sisters, friends,
do you know what has been done in you? What was done in her
was that she was given new life in Christ. She was given a knowledge
that she was accepted in him and that she was eternally saved. What was done in her was that
she was revealed as one of those of whom it is said, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace. Amen. Let us read another hymn together. It's a hymn by William Cooper, and it's a little reference to
the healing power of our God. Heal us, Emmanuel, here we are,
waiting to fuel thy touch. deep-wounded souls to Thee repair,
and Saviour, we are such. Our faith is feeble, we confess,
we faintly trust Thy word, but wilt Thou pity us the less? Be
that far from Thee, Lord. Remember him who once applied
with trembling for relief, Lord, I believe, with tears he cried,
O help my unbelief. She too who touched him, who
touched thee in the press, and healing virtue stole, was answered,
Daughter, go in peace, thy faith hath made thee whole. Like her
with hopes and fears we come to touch thee, if we may. O send us not despairing home,
nor send none unhealed away. Amen.