O touch the hem of his garment,
and thou too shalt be free. His saving power this very hour
shall give new life to thee. Thank you for that special. Reminded
of why we call that a special. Some of you know this. Mike always
wants to know the passage of Scripture, the message it's going
to come from. He so carefully and prayerfully selects every
song for the service. Mike, we appreciate you. I'd
ask you to open your Bibles to Mark chapter 5. Mark chapter 5. I want to begin reading in verse
25. Read our text for this evening.
Mark 5, beginning with 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
better, 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 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, and 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 be whole of thy
plan. Here in verse 25, the first thing
we see here is this is a certain woman. that there was a certain
woman. In this large crowd of people,
no doubt there were many women present that day in that throng
of people that surrounded. But here we're told of a certain
woman. Her name, her name's never mentioned. Unlike Lydia, Mary, Martha, and
other of God's elect ladies mentioned throughout the Scriptures. We
don't know this lady's name. But we don't need to do it. God
knows her name. God knows her name. Her name's been written in the
book of life. Known from the foundation of the world. Paul
writing to the Philippians, he said, I entreat thee also, true
yokefella, help those women which labored with me in the gospel,
with Clement also, and with other of my fellow labors, whose names
are written in the book of Mark. She may not be known of anyone
else there that day, but she's known of God. And this woman, she's an object
of God's mercy. She's an object of His mercy.
What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power
known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath, fitted
for destruction, that he might make known the riches of his
glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had before prepared
unto glory." So this certain woman, known of God, not a vessel
of wrath, but a vessel of mercy. And then look at verse 25. Let's
continue. This certain woman, She had an
issue of blood. We read she had this issue of
blood for 12 years. That her condition would have
made her unclean by the law. This is a picture of sin. She's
a sinner. Leprosy, blindness, this woman's
issue of blood, these ailments throughout the scripture, they
had no natural cure. Only Christ can heal. And our
sin, our sin has no natural cure. Only Christ, only the Lord Jesus
Christ can save a sinner. Only He can make us holy. Man's
efforts, man's methods, man's works cannot cure us. Only God can save a sinner. Romans
6.23, we read, for the wages of sin is dead. but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. She had
an issue of blood. I can't help but think in reading
that about that infant back there in the Old Testament, cast out
in the open field over in Ezekiel 16. He said, when I passed by
and I seen thee polluted in thy blood, And that's our condition. That's this woman's condition.
That's our condition. Cast out into the open field,
polluted in our blood. But what did he say? He said,
when I saw you polluted in your blood, I said, live. When I saw thee polluted in thy
blood, I said unto thee, live. You know, he didn't say, he didn't
say, would you make a decision? He didn't say, would you just
let me into your heart? He said live. He said live. And then he went on to talk about
her beauty and her comeliness. But it was his beauty wasn't
it? This certain woman. This woman with an issue of blood.
This picture of a sinner. She had this issue of blood for
12 years. She was plagued with this. How
long will a sinner seek salvation apart from Christ? Twelve years
like this woman. Maybe eighteen years like that
woman there at the synagogue whom the Lord healed on the Sabbath.
Or thirty-eight years like that impotent man that lay there by
that pool at Bethesda. To look to anything or anyone
apart from Christ is to look to what Job said is a physician
of no value. He said, there are forgers of
lies, physicians of no value. To look to anything apart from
Christ. This woman, back in our text,
she had suffered many things of many physicians. And she had
spent all that she had and was nothing better. Rather, she grew
worse. I believe that's a clear picture
of false religion. False religion tells what you
can and what you can't do. It tells you to obey the law,
to seek justification by the law, to seek acceptance of God
by the law, obedience to the law. But listen, there's no peace.
There's no pardon to be found because the law can only do one
thing for us, and that's condemn us. It can only find us guilty. She had suffered many things
of many positions. You know, as many churches as
are in Ashland, probably every one of them has a different way
of salvation, and all of them involves man's works and man's
ways. Suffered many things of many
positions. She found no relief. She spent
all that she had False religion will take your money. They're
happy to take your time. But the results, what did Isaiah
say? He said, wherefore do you spend
money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
satisfies not? What was the results of these
many years? She was nothing. She was nothing
better. In fact, we read she grew worse. Turn over to Matthew 23. Back
a few pages to Matthew chapter 23. Beginning with verse 13. Our Lord said in verse 13 of
Matthew 23, He said, But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men. For you neither go in yourselves,
neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. Woe unto
you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses,
and for pretense make long prayer. Wherefore, you shall receive
the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte,
and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of
hell than yourselves. Have I stopped sinning enough?
Have I done enough? Have I done enough good works?
Have I given enough? He said, you make him you make
them twofold the child of hell than yourselves. Her condition,
this woman's condition, it was no better. Rather, it was worse. Look back in our text. Look at
Mark 5. Look at verse 27. Here's some good news. Here we read, when she heard
of Jesus, when she heard of Jesus. You know, I don't know, it doesn't
say when she heard, it doesn't say, the scriptures don't declare
how much she heard, but I do know this, this certain woman,
this woman with an issue of blood, this sinner, this sinner who
had tried everything, who had spent all that she had, to rid
herself of that ailment and only grew worse. Here we read, she
heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, looking back, I wonder,
what did she hear? What did she hear of the Lord
Jesus Christ? And looking back, just in the
book of Mark, if you go back to Mark chapter 1 and just begin
reading forward from there on, You see this. Maybe she heard
this. Maybe they're in the first chapter.
In the first chapter of Mark. They're in chapter 1. How that
after the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized, the heavens opened
up and the Spirit descended like a dove upon Him and a voice came
from heaven saying... Think about this. Think about
this. Almighty God spoke from heaven and said, This is My beloved
Son. in whom I am well pleased." Maybe she heard, he's the Son
of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Or how the
Lord Jesus Christ had spoke, saying, the time is fulfilled
and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the
Gospel. Maybe she heard that. You know, maybe she heard of
that... Earl, you were talking about
that leper. Maybe she heard about that leper
that came to him and said, Lord, if you will, you can make me
clean. And how the Lord Jesus Christ,
He said, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately,
his leprosy departed from him, and he went out, that fellow
went out, and he began to tell everybody he ran into. Can you
imagine? a leper, evil. He went out and
began to tell everyone to the point that the Lord Jesus Christ
couldn't even go back into the city because the fame of Him
had spread. She had heard of Jesus. She had
heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 2, when He entered
into Capernaum, there were so many people. He was there preaching
in the house, and there were so many people in the house and
gathered around the house that they brought this man sick of
the palsy and they couldn't get in. There was no way to get in
because of that great crowd that had come to listen to him. So
they went up on the roof and they opened a portion of that
roof and they lowered him down in front of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And how the Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words, Son, thy sins
be forgiven. Have you ever been told of a
man and give sins? Maybe she heard how the scribes
and Pharisees had murmured and said, how is it that this man
eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? And the Lord replied,
the whole don't need a physician but they that are sick. She knew
something of her conditions. Twelve years. Twelve years. And maybe, maybe she just thought,
Maybe there's mercy for me. He healed the leper. He spoke. He told those Pharisees, the
whole don't need a physician, but they that are sick. I'm sick.
I'm needy. She'd heard. She'd heard. Maybe
she heard Him say, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance. She had heard of Jesus. We read that there in the passage. Maybe there, if you look in chapter
3, how that man with the withered hand came to Him. And the Lord
Jesus Christ, he had that hand withered up, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, He said, stretch forth thy hand. And immediately, it
was whole, just like His other hand. Or of His sovereign power
over all creation, when Him and His disciples were out there
on that ship, And the Lord Jesus Christ, there asleep, and the
waves beat on that ship and the wind hit the side of that ship.
And His disciples came to Him and they said, Master, don't
you care? Don't you care that we perish? And we read that and say, how
could you say that? But how many times have we, Lord,
don't you care? What cares now not that we perish?
And how He arose. And He spoke to the to the waves
and to the sea. And He said, Peace be still. Peace be still. And immediately,
the wind ceased and there was a great calm. You know, I think
of that calm that must have filled just the elements there. The
rain stopped and the wind stopped, but for His disciples, boy, there
must have been a great calm overcome them as well, wasn't it? Had
it ever been told? Had it ever been told? This woman,
this woman with the issue of blood, she heard. She heard of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe she heard how He had healed
that man there in the Gadarenes. We read later on in Mark, that
man that lived in the tombs. He had that unclean spirit, a
man that couldn't be bound with chains. He ran through the cemetery. naked and cutting himself with
rocks and all these things and how the Lord Jesus Christ crossed
his path. And how do we see him next? The
next thing we read is they found this man sitting, clothed and
in his right mind, sitting, sitting at the feet of the master, sitting
at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he desired one thing,
and that was to be with the Lord, to be with Christ. Maybe what she heard wasn't just
there after the Lord began His ministry. Maybe she heard back
in the Old Testament, like that eunuch. Turn back to Isaiah 53. Look beginning in verse four.
Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he
was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we're healed. Good and bad. Could it be she
heard these things? She heard these things about
the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, maybe she asked herself,
is there mercy? Is there mercy for me? Is there mercy reserved for me? The old hymn writer wrote, depth
of mercy, can there be mercy still reserved for me? Look at Mark, back to Mark, look
at chapter five. In verse 27, this certain woman,
this woman with an issue of blood, this unclean sinner who'd suffered
many things of many physicians, spent all she had, there's nothing
better, rather she was worthless, when she heard of Jesus, when
she heard of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, when she heard of His power to save, when she heard
of His sovereign power over all things, His power to heal even
those in the most desperate of conditions. The Lord Jesus Christ,
who would suffer and die for the sins of His people, who would
be made sin for His people, when she heard of Jesus. You know,
faith, faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. Have you heard of Him? Have we
heard of the Lord Jesus Christ? Over in Romans 10, whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How shall
they call upon Him whom they've not believed? And how shall they
believe in Him whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear
without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it's written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good She heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. When
she heard of Him, when she heard of Him, she came in behind the
press. She kind of snuck up behind Him,
or thought she was sneaking up behind Him, I'm sure. She came
humbly, humbly, not wanting to be seen. And she said this, if
I could just touch His garment, if I could just touch His garment,
I'll be made whole. She came in faith. She came believing
God. Without faith, without faith,
it's impossible. It's impossible to please Him.
For he that cometh to God must believe that He is. And He's
a rewarder for them that diligently seek Him. I was looking at Henry's
commentary in Hebrews. This is what he said about this
passage. He said, without faith, It's
impossible to please God. To be without faith is to be
without Christ. Christ who is our peace, Christ
who is our righteousness, Christ who is our sanctification. And
he said there's two fundamental truths in this passage. He that
cometh to God, he must believe that God is. Not just that there
is a God, but that God is, that God's who He says He is, Father,
Son, Holy Spirit, as He's revealed in the Scriptures, Old Testament
and New Testament. He's holy, eternal, unchangeable. He's love. He's mercy. He's truth. He's the God of all creation.
He's the God of all providence. He's the God of all grace. Must
believe that He is. And second, must believe that
He'll fulfill every promise and every purpose toward believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's one way to seek God,
and that's in the Lord Jesus Christ. True faith believes that
God will give us everything that the Lord Jesus Christ purchased. Why did Noah build that ark? Think about that. God told Noah,
he said, I'm going to destroy, I'm going to destroy all flesh. I'm going to destroy every man
walking. And he said, He said, make a covenant. Think about that. All those people
that walked the earth at that time, God opened the door of
that ark and He told Noah to go in. Noah went in, didn't he? Noah
went in believing God. I can't imagine that over the
course of the time of building that ark, People weren't asking,
Noah, what are you doing? Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
What are you doing, Noah? God's going to destroy the earth.
He'll flood the earth. Eight souls were saved. Noah
believed God. We read that of Abraham. Abraham
believed God. And throughout the Scriptures,
we're told to believe, to believe. Paul and Silas, they told that
prison guard, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt
be saved. Over and over in the Scriptures.
This is the record. This is the record that God hath
given to us eternal life. This life is in His Son. He that
hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath
not life. These things have I written.
that you might believe. Believe on the name of the Son
of God. This woman, she believed that
the Lord Jesus Christ was able to heal her. Able to do what
all of her money, all of her effort, and all those that took
those things from her could not do. He was able to make her whole. She said, if I could just touch
the hem of his garment. No other hope, no other help,
just the hem. Remember we used to sing that,
I think it's a chorus, reach out, reach out and touch the
Lord as he passes by. You'll find he's not too busy
to hear your heart cry. He's passing by this moment,
your need to supply. Reach out and touch the Lord
as he passes by. That's what she did, didn't she?
She reached out and she touched his garment and straightway,
immediately, she was made whole. The fountain of her blood, we
read, 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, that power had gone out of him,
he turned about in the press and he said, who touched my cross. And we know, we know he did,
he knew, didn't he? He knew he touched him. Consider
that Jesus immediately knowing that virtue had went out of him.
Consider that great transaction in which the Lord Jesus Christ
was made sin for his people. And we, if she in return are
made the very the very righteousness of God in him. And his disciples,
they said unto him, they said, Master, this great thrall, can
you say who touched you? And he looked around about to
see her that had done this thing. He knew who it was, didn't he?
He knows it's she. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing
what was done in her, what was done in her. You know that salvation,
it's a workforce. And it's a work, it's a work
in. It's what was done in her. She knowing what was done in
her. And that throng of people, that great crowd of people that
were there. Yet only, at that point, only two people, only
two people knew what had happened. This salvation, it's a matter,
it's a work between the Savior and the sinner. But it's not
going to be a secret for long. Think about that man running
around the cemetery there. Everybody knew what kind of man
he was, didn't they? And then the next thing they know, there
he is, sitting at the feet of the master, clothed and in his
right mind. And this woman. And no matter who it is, if the
Lord is pleased to dwell in a man, it can't be a secret from Him. There's a rental place right
across the road from us. We know when somebody new moves
in there. Aaron, you've got it figured
out before they unpack the first box. I mean, you just know. You
just know. And if Christ is pleased to dwell
in a man or a woman or a young person, there ain't no hiding
it. There just ain't no hiding it.
And second with that, He must be confessed. This work, it must
be confessed. Look back there in verse 33,
the woman fearing, knowing what was done in her, came and fell
down before Him and told Him all the truth. She confessed
this work done in her. We read, if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. This is a, right here, this is
a public, it's a public confession. Lord, you, I was sick, I was
sinful, I was without help, I was without hope, and you saved me. And public confession, we do
that believer's baptism. It's identifying with Christ,
but it's a public confession. It's an answer of a good conscience
toward God, identifying with Him in His death, burial, and
resurrection. And He said unto her, look at
verse 34, daughter. I imagine that must
be an endearing term, daughter. You're mine. He's saying, daughter,
you're mine. Thy faith hath made thee whole.
Go in peace. Go in peace and be whole of thy
plan. I was reading here in this... Frank put an article by Brother
Henry in the Bulletin this past Sunday. And he said here, Henry
wrote, you must know the disease. to find the cure. You must know
the disease to find the cure. I just want to read a portion
of this. He said, here's the question to be settled by preachers
and people. What happened in the garden?
When one feels obliged to come to some conclusions on the subjects
of election and irresistible grace and particular redemption,
it would be wise for him to first determine the condition of the
sinner who's to be saved. A man was only wounded by the
fall. He needs assistance. He's dead in sins. He needs to
be resurrected. And that by the purpose and the
power of the God of life. I believe that's what we see
here in this passage of Scripture. Twelve years. Twelve years this
woman must have wrestled with a host of things concerning her
condition. But it all boiled down to this.
This certain woman. this certain woman with an issue
of blood, this poor, lost, sick, sinful woman that had spent everything
she had, tried everything, she heard of the Lord Jesus Christ.
She heard of Him. And she said this, she said,
if I could just touch the hem of His garment, if I could just
touch the hem of His garment, she believed She believed those
things that she had heard about the Lord Jesus Christ were true.
By faith, she believed. By faith, she reached out. And
you know, we read this, that she was made perfectly whole. He said to her, go in peace. Go in peace. All that he'd be
pleased to continue, to continue to call out is she. Those certain
ones, those ones of His elect, sick, sinful, without help, without
hope, without God in His throne, without no natural cure, and
reveal unto them the Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to save,
who is able to kill. Reach out and touch them. Reach
out and touch them. What was the result? he was made
perfect. And he said, he's pleased to
save a sinner. Imagine all that turmoil, all
that struggle, all that trouble.