We'll be looking, Lord willing,
we'll be looking at verses 25 through 34 here in Mark 5. Let's read this passage of Scripture. 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 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 be whole of thy
plague. Now, the first thing I believe
we see here in verse 25, and this will be the title of the
message this morning, A Certain Woman, A Certain Woman. Here in this large crowd of people,
no doubt there were many women that day in that big throng of
people, maybe others that were sick or even worse off than this
certain woman. But here we're told of a certain
woman, a particular woman. Her name never mentioned. We never read her name, unlike
Lydia, Mary, Martha, and other of God's elect ladies mentioned
in the Scripture. We don't know this. We don't
know this woman's name. But it doesn't matter that we
know her name. God knows her name. Her name being written
in the book of life. Philip, or Paul, wrote this to
the Philippian church. He said, I entreat thee also,
true yoke felon, help those women which labored with me in the
gospel, with Clement also, and with other of my fellow laborers,
whose names whose names are written in the book of life. This certain
woman, she's known of God. This certain woman, she's an
object of God's mercy. What if God, willing to show
his wrath, what if God, willing to make
his power known, endured with much long-suffering 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 aforeprepared
unto glory." A certain woman, a certain woman known of God,
a certain woman, not a vessel of wrath, but a vessel of God's
mercy. That's who we're looking at here
this morning. And then look at verse 25, the
latter part there. It said here that this certain
woman, she had an issue of blood for 12 years, for 12 years. Her condition, her condition
would have made her unclean by the law. This is a picture of
This woman is a sinner. Throughout the scriptures, those
things like leprosy and blindness, this issue of blood that she
had, these were ailments that had no human cure. No human cure. There was no natural
cure for these things. Only Christ could make them whole. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could
heal these ailments. In the same manner, our sin. There's nothing we can go down
to the pharmacy and mix up to cure our ailment. There's nothing
we can do to cure us or take away our sin. Our best efforts,
our best efforts, Our best works cannot take away our sin. Only God can save the sinner. Romans 6.23, for the wages of
sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord. This woman, she had an issue
of blood. You know, I can't help in reading that, but think of
that infant, that infant back there in the Old Testament that
was cast out into the open field. Turn over to Ezekiel, Ezekiel
16, Ezekiel chapter 16. Look beginning with verse 1 of
Ezekiel 16. Again, the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations. And say, thus saith the Lord
God in Jerusalem, thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of
Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite, and
thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the
day that thou was born, thy navel was not cut, neither was thou
washed in water to supple thee. Thou was not salted at all, nor
swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee to do any
of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee. But thou was cast
out in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the
day that thou was born. But listen to what he says here.
When I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood,
I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. I said unto thee, when thou wast
in thy blood, live. He speaks life to that dead sinner. When you were in your blood,
I said, live. Not, would you make a decision? Would you get yourself up out
of that field and get yourself cleaned up? Not, would you give
your heart to me? No, he spoke in power and he
said, live. Live. A certain woman. Here's a certain woman. A woman
with an issue of blood. A sinner. A picture of a sinner. She had this issue of blood for
12 long years. How long? How long will a man
seek salvation apart from the Lord Jesus Christ? How long will
a man seek salvation his own way? Would you be like this woman?
Would you be like this woman for 12 years? Twelve years she
suffered from this issue of blood. Maybe like that woman there at
the synagogue who the Lord healed on the Sabbath day, we read 18
years. Eighteen years she was bowed
over and suffering. Or how about that impotent man
that laid there by that pool in Bethesda? Thirty-eight years. Thirty-eight years. to look to anything or anyone
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Job said this,
it's to look to a physician of no value. Job said this, he said,
they're forgers of lies, they're physicians of no value, of no
value. Look back in our text, back here
in Mark chapter 5. Verse 26 said, she had suffered
many things of many physicians and had spent all that she had
and was nothing bettered. Rather, rather she was worse. She grew worse. I imagine, I
imagine in most places in this town and back home, where people
are gathered together. This is what they're trying to
do. This is what they're trying to
do. False religion tells you what you can and what you cannot
do. False religion tells you to seek
justification by the law, by the keeping, by the doing of
the law. to seek acceptance with God by
the obedience of the law. Salvation is not found in man's
obedience. Salvation is not found in man's
doing or dying. There's no peace or pardon to
be found in the law. The law can do one thing, and
that's judge you and me guilty. It can condemn us and it can
find us guilty. She had suffered. She had suffered. It says she had suffered many
things of many physicians. How many of us have suffered
many things of many so-called physicians, many so-called preachers? She spent all that she had. She
was brought to the place She had no other place to turn.
There was no other place to turn. That's false religion. False
religion. Isaiah said this, he said, wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread? Why do you spend
your labor for that which satisfies not? What was the result of this?
What was the result of what she had done? It says this, she was
nothing better. In fact, not only was she nothing
better, she was worse. She was worse. She grew worse.
Turn to Matthew 23. Turn just back a few pages to
Matthew 23. Look at verse 13 of Matthew 23. Our Lord said this, He said,
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men, For ye neither go in yourselves,
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows' houses,
and for pretense make long prayer. Therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to
make one proselyte, and when he's made, You make him two-fold
more the child of hell than yourselves." Have I stopped sinning enough?
Have I done enough good works? Have I given enough? He said,
you make him two-fold the child of hell than yourself. Her condition,
no better, but worse, worse. Look at verse 27. Here's some
good, here's some good news. Here's some good news. When she had heard of Jesus. You know, I don't know, I don't
know when she heard. I don't know how much she heard. But I know this, I know this,
the scriptures declare this, this certain woman, This woman
with the issue of blood, this sinful woman, this sinful woman
who had tried everything, this woman who had spent all that
she had to rid herself of this ailment and only grew worse,
it says this, she heard. She heard of the Lord Jesus Christ
when she heard of Jesus. You know, looking back, in the
first few chapters of Mark. If you go back to Mark chapter
1, I wonder, I just wonder what,
I know she heard of the Lord Jesus Christ, but what had she
heard? Maybe she heard there in chapter
1 how the Lord After the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized and
the heavens opened and the Spirit descended like a dove upon Him
and a voice came from heaven saying, Almighty God spoke and
He said, Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. I wonder if that's what she heard
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Son of God. The Son
of God in whom God Almighty was well pleased. 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. Believe God's Word. Maybe she
had heard of that leper. Maybe she had heard of that leper
early on there in Mark that came to the Lord Jesus Christ and
he said, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. Maybe how
the Lord Jesus Christ responded to that man and he said, I will,
I will be thou clean. And that immediately, that's
what we read in, immediately that leprosy departed from him. And that man, it's possible this
is what she heard because that man, when that happened to him,
he went out and he began to tell others what the Lord Jesus Christ
had done for him. And you know, it came to the
point where Christ could no longer even go into the city. He went
about town. I was a leper. Can you imagine
this? I was a leper, unjust, undone, and I went to the Lord
Jesus Christ. And He saved me. He made me whole
by His power, by His power. When she had heard of Jesus,
she heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe in chapter 2, the Lord
Jesus Christ, He entered into Capernaum. And there were so
many people around about Him that He went in that house. He
was in that house preaching. And four men carried a man sick
of palsy. They couldn't get in, they couldn't
get into any of those doors around the building for the crowd, but
they had to get to it. And they went up on that house
and they tore off the roof and they lowered him down, they lowered
him down in there through the roof and the Lord Jesus Christ
spake these words and he said, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Maybe she heard how the scribes
and Pharisees had murmured and said, how is it that this eateth
and drinketh with publicans and sinners. And that the Lord replied
and said, they that are whole, they don't need a physician,
do they? No, no, but they that are sick. She knew something
of her sin, didn't she? She knew something of her condition.
And she went to the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. She heard, she
heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or maybe in chapter three, maybe
in chapter three of Mark, how that man with the withered hand,
he had that withered hand and the Lord told him, he said, stretch
forth thy hand. And when he did, it looked just
like the other hand, didn't it? Restored as whole as the other.
In chapter 4, we read of our Lord's sovereign power over His
creation. When that great storm arose and
those waves began to beat on that ship, these men that had
spent all this time with the Lord Jesus Christ, they're on
the ship with Him, they'd seen these miracles. They had seen
Him perform these miracles. They had seen His power displayed
over and over again, yet when this storm came, This great storm
came and began beating on the ship, and the ship began filling
up with water. And the Lord was back there asleep
on a pillow. And his disciples, his own disciples, came to him
and they cried and they said, Master, don't you care that we
perish? Carest thou not that we perish?
Aren't we quick to do that? But the Lord arose. and he rebuked
the wind and the waves and he said to the sea, peace be still. He spoke peace. And we read that
the wind ceased and there was a great, great calm. This woman
with the issue of blood, she heard, she heard of Jesus. Maybe she heard How he healed
that man over there in the land of the Gadarenes. Remember that? The man who lived among the tombs.
That man that had the unclean spirit. Couldn't be bound with
chains. No, not with strong chains. He'd cut on himself with stones
and no man could tame him. She'd spent all she'd had. She'd
been to all these physicians. They could do nothing for her.
And this wild man of the Gadarenes, no man could tame him." Maybe
she heard of him because the Lord Jesus Christ, after he crossed
his path, that man, it says this, when the people came out, those
nosy neighbors came out to see what had happened, what's going
on over there, they found that man sitting clothed. He was in his right mind and
he had this desire to be with Christ, to be with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Maybe she heard what was written
back there in the Old Testament, what those Old Testament prophets
wrote concerning him, of his humiliation, of his suffering. of his dying for people, of his
power to save. Turn to Isaiah 53. I was thinking about this. Isaac driving
me down here this morning. Look at Isaiah 53. You know, that Ethiopian eunuch,
he'd come across this passage of Scripture, hadn't he? Maybe
this is where she heard of the Lord Jesus Christ prophesied,
prophesied in the Old Testament. Isaiah said, who hath believed
our report? To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he
shall grow up before him as a tender plant. As a root out of a dry
ground, he hath no form nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there's
no beauty that we should desire him. He's despised and rejected
of men. He's a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. And we hid where our faces from
him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely, surely he hath
borne our griefs." Maybe she read that. Can you imagine her
suffering? Can you imagine her humiliation?
Surely he hath borne our griefs, carried our sorrows, yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. He was
wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes. were healed. She had heard, she
had heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. She had heard of Him. And could it be, could it be
that when she heard these things about the Lord Jesus Christ,
she asked this, could there be mercy reserved for me? Huh? That old hymn writer wrote that,
didn't he? Depth of mercy. Can there be mercy still reserved
for me? This certain woman, this certain
woman, turn back to Mark chapter 5 verse 27. This certain woman,
this certain woman with an issue of blood, this unclean sinner
who had suffered many things of many physicians, she'd spent
all that she had and grew no better. In fact,
she grew worse. This certain woman with an issue
of blood, when she heard of Jesus, when she heard of the Son of
God, when she heard of His power to save, when she heard of His
sovereign power over all things and 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, the Lord Jesus Christ
who would be made sin, made sin that we might be made the very
righteousness of God of him when she heard of Jesus. The scriptures declare this,
that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Have you heard of Him? Have you
heard of the Lord Jesus Christ? Turn over to Romans chapter 10. Look at Romans 10, beginning
with verse 13. Romans 10 verse 13. For whosoever Whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? She heard of Jesus. AND SHE CAME IN THE PRESS BEHIND
HIM. WE READ HERE, SHE CAME IN THE PRESS BEHIND HIM HUMBLY,
HUMBLY, UNWORTHY. SHE COME IN THE PRESS BEHIND
HIM AND SHE TOUCHED HIS GARMENT. AND VERSE 28 SAID, FOR SHE SAID,
SHE SAID WITHIN HERSELF, IF I MAY BUT TOUCH HIS CLOTHES, I MIGHT
JUST TOUCH HIS GARMENT, I'LL BE MADE WHOLE. FAITH. FAITH. SHE CAME BY FAITH. HEBREWS
11, 6 SAYS, WITHOUT FAITH, it's impossible to please Him. For
he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He's a rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him. I was looking at Brother Henry's
commentary in Hebrews, and he said this about this passage
here in Hebrews 11, 6, without faith. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. For to be without faith, is to
be without Christ, is to not have him. 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. One is
this, concerning this passage, he that cometh to God, he that
cometh to God, and there's only one way to come to God, and that's
in the Lord Jesus Christ. But first, must believe that
God is, that Almighty God is, not just that there is a God.
The devils believe that. But that God is who He says He
is in the scriptures. The Father, God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit, as He revealed in the Word of
God. He's holy, He's eternal, He's
unchangeable, He's love, He's mercy, He's truth. He's the God
of all creation. He's the God of all providence,
and He's the God of all grace. must believe that he'll fulfill
every promise written in his word. Every promise and purpose
toward believers in Christ Jesus. There's one way to seek God,
and that is in Christ. And true faith believes this,
that God will give us all that the Lord Jesus Christ purchased
for his people. You know, why did Noah Why did
Noah build that ark? You know, God told Noah. He said, I'm going to destroy
this whole earth. I'm going to destroy every living
thing. And he said this. He said, I'm
going to save, Noah, I'm going to save you and your family. Noah built that ark, didn't he?
Believing, believing God. And when that rain, imagine all
the people that, you know, they had to walk by and see what was
going on there and say, no, what's going on here? God's gonna destroy
the earth. There's one place of safety and
that's in this ark. What do we read? Noah and his
family went in that ark and God closed the door. And those in
the ark were safe and secure. Noah, Noah believed God, didn't
he? Noah believed what God told him
he was going to do, what God promised. Same thing with Abraham.
What do we read of Abraham? Abraham believed God. Abraham
believed God. And this woman, this certain
woman, she believed God. She believed God. Believed he
was able to heal her. believed he had the power to
heal her, to do all that her and her money and those around
her could not do for herself. Let's go back to our text. Mark
chapter 5, look at verse 29. And straightway, immediately,
the fountain of her blood was dried up And she felt in her
body that she had been healed of that plague. In verse 30,
Jesus, knowing immediately in himself that virtue, that power
had gone out of him, turned about the press and he said, who touched
my clothes? Immediately she was healed. Immediately
power went. He could sense that power was
going out of him. I can't help but think of that great transaction.
in which the Lord Jesus Christ was made sin for his people. He was made sin. We're made,
his people, his sheep, are made the very righteousness of God
in him. And his disciples, they said
unto him, they said, you see this multitude, this great number
of people walking around you, how do you say, how do you say
who touched you? How do you say who touched you?
And he looked around about to see her. You see that? He looked about to see her. She
come from behind. He knew who she was. He knew
who she was for all time. This is one of his sheep. This
is one of his elect. He knows his sheep, doesn't he?
But the woman, fearing and trembling. and knowing what was done in
her. What was done in her. Salvation. Salvation, it's a work for us,
but it's a work in us, isn't it? She knowing what was done
in her in that throng of people, that great gathering of people,
was thinking about this. At that point in time, only two
people knew what had happened, right? The Lord Jesus Christ
knew what had happened, and this woman, she knew. She knew what
had happened. Salvation's a matter between
the Savior and the sinner. But you know what? That's not
going to be secret for long, is it? Huh? If Christ dwells in a man or
woman, it's going to be pretty hard not to see that, isn't it? There's a rental place across
the road from us. We always know when somebody new moves in. Now, given, there's always some
things about the old fellow that used to live there you're still
going to see, still going to crop up, right? But when a new
man enters in, you can't. When the Lord Jesus Christ is
pleased to dwell in a man or a woman or a young person, you
can't help but see that. He must be confessed. He must
be confessed. Back in verse 32, knowing what
was done in her, she came and fell down before him. And that
great crowd of people, she fell down before him and told him
all the truth. That's a public confession. And
that's what baptism is. It's a public confession. It's
the answer, we read it's the answer of a good conscience toward
God, identifying with Him in His death, His burial, and His
resurrection. And He said, look at verse 34,
He said unto her, daughter. Well, she's got a name
now, doesn't she? Isn't that an endearing term?
Daughter, daughter. Only one person can say that,
and that's the Father, isn't it? Doc, you're mine. You're
mine. Thy faith hath made thee whole.
Go in peace. Go in peace and be made whole
of thy plague. Isn't that good news? Isn't that
good news? A certain woman, a certain woman
with an issue of blood, a sinner, a sinner. unjust, undone, with
help to be found nowhere else. She spent everything she had,
didn't she? Spent everything she had, tried everything, grew
no better, just worse. When she heard of Jesus, when
she heard of the Lord Jesus Christ, she said this, if I can just
touch his garment, if I can just touch his garment, She believed
what she'd heard about him. She knew this. She knew, I'm
a sinner. I'm a sinner. I have no hope. I have no help
outside of this man. I believe him. I believe him.
And she reached forth and she touched his garment. And we read,
she was made perfectly whole. Perfectly whole. And he told
her, And this is what can be said to every believer, that
Almighty God in Christ is pleased to say, go in peace. Go in peace. All right.